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An analysis of leading data and analytics company GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics (SMA) Platform, which identifies and tracks the emerging trends, pain areas, new fields of innovation among discussions of Twitter Influencers and Redditors, has revealed ‘Virtual Tourism’ as the most popular type of tourism, followed by ‘Space Tourism’ in 2021*.

With tourism being a major contributor to the GDP of several countries, governments are taking various measures to revive the industry’s business from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smitarani Tripathy, Influencer Analyst at GlobalData lists the top five popular types of tourism in 2021*.

1.Virtual Tourism | 4,400 + discussions

‘Virtual Tourism’ tops as the most discussed tourism type among Twitter influencers and Redditors in 2021*. Discussions around ‘Virtual Tourism’ were related to how virtual tour has provided a new experience to the visitors through different technologies-enabled methods such as 360-degree photo, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), a video tour, Google Arts.

Smitarani explains “Influencers’ sentiment was largely positive about ‘Virtual Tourism’ as it became an alternative solution for tourism business to rebuild interest among travellers during the COVID-19 pandemic where social distancing became a new norm.”

2.Space Tourism | 4,100 + discussions

‘Space Tourism’ emerged as the next most discussed tourism type according to GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics Platform. Majority of the discussions on this topic were based on the launch of two successful space flights - ‘Virgin Galactic’ by Richard Branson and ‘Blue Origin’ by Jeff Bezos in July and August, respectively.

Twitter influencers were seen more active in discussions related to ‘Space Tourism’, as compared to Redditors in 2021*. Among them, the technology experts have opined that though the era of space tourism was heralded with the successful launch of both space flights, it could be a giant leap for air pollution.

3. Adventure Tourism | 3,100 + discussions

Discussions around ‘Adventure Tourism’ were mostly driven by epic ideas shared by Twitter influencers for various adventure travels in different countries like mountain climbing in Tuscany’s Rolling Hills and Dolomite Mountains in Italy, Sperrin Mountain in Northern Ireland, Choquequirao trek in Peru.

They also shared tips and the essential items to be packed while going for any adventure travel, including waterproof socks, flashlights, tow rope and ice scraper. Influencers opine that ‘Adventure Travel’ can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement.

4. Food Tourism | 1,510 + discussions

The conversations on ‘Food Tourism’ were largely about attractive food tourism destinations with reasonable prices, such as Vancouver and Nova Scotia in Canada and Bern in Switzerland. The contributors also discussed their foodie experiences, delicacies, and the culinary heritage of different destinations globally. Mole Poblano Sauce of Mexico was one of the top discussed food items among influencers.

5. Wine Tourism | 900+ discussions

Discussions around ‘Wine Tourism’ surged the most during the first week of September 2021, led by the fifth UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism in Portugal, which was focused on the potential to generate development opportunities in rural destinations. Influencers also discussed various initiatives taken by different countries to promote ‘Wine Tourism’, such as the Santorini event by Greek and the implementation of the ‘Iter Vitis Caucasus route’ by Azerbaijan.

*As on 10th October 2021

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