Grabbing the bucket with both hands – a study into the presentation of self through ‘Bucket List’ tourism in a social-media-focused world

Abstract

The notion of the travel ‘Bucket List’ has only recently begun to be explored within tourism research; however, it has garnered significant levels of attention within popular culture and gained cultural prominence. The Bucket List has become a framing device for ordering one’s identity and life goals (Thurnell-Read, 2017), and thus, research exploring the Bucket List use can uncover new insights into influences on travel consumption patterns. This study explores the phenomenon of the travel Bucket List through the lens of Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Goffman, 1959), positing that Instagram posts that use the #bucketlist are a performance by the poster on the platform. The study quantitatively examines the historical and geographical context for Instagram posts with the hashtag #bucketlist. It then takes a qualitative approach employing content analysis to explore the themes linked to the presentation of self of Bucket List posts on Instagram. Twenty-four categories of elements are found within #bucketlist posts. Consequently, four stages for the presentation of self in line with Goffman’s theory, are presented and explored, highlighting the ways people used their travel Bucket List on Instagram to present themselves to others. These stages are The Nature Stage; The Fit, Hot, Outdoorsy Stage; The Paradise Stage; and The Well-Trodden Stage. This study then identifies and explores a new concept – Aesthetic Production Design, where the content of the Bucket List photo seemed to matter less than how it is presented and what this says about the Instagram user. The study builds on the limited research into the travel Bucket List, concluding that on social media, the travel Bucket List is a popular concept that offers users an opportunity to present their travel self as an important component of their online self-identity. Theoretically, this study reinforces the re-emergence of Goffman’s (1959) theory of presentation of self in the context of travel, the online age, and the established notion of curation on social media. The research has implications for tourism marketers and destination management organisations in utilising the combined power of social media, analytical hashtag methods, and the idea of the travel Bucket List to enhance destination or attraction management by building on the newly identified travel consumption trends. Finally, this study suggests a direction for future research, including exploration of the concept of Aesthetic Production Design in other online spaces, primary research into Instagram users and their Bucket List experiences, examining the idea of the travel Bucket List in a post-COVID-19 era, and exploring the phenomenon on emerging social media platforms like TikTok.