In a digital world where trends mutate and fluctuate so fast that most organizations and traditional media can only attempt to play catchup, it’s entirely possible that Greece is missing out on advertising its tourism product to a potentially powerful target group. Although Gen-Z doesn’t care. With travel as with everything else, they make their own trends.
According to a recent study by PourMoi looking at the latest type of travel content on social media, known as “travel aesthetics,” Greece was the second most popular country in the world to feature. It beat countries like France and Italy and was surpassed only by Japan. The trend – in effect mood boards featuring short clips and images of destinations in reel-style videos – is a platform chameleon, popular on both TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest.
@emmygoesplaces @emmygoesplaces ♬ original sound – Luca Epifani
Contrary to the unique content that tourism organizations are typically investing in, the imagery in these videos in itself isn’t always that special (according to the research, it usually depicts white-washed houses, blue sea, ancient ruins, and pops of pink bougainvillea). Instead, it’s all about the format. To make your own, simply line up images or seconds-long clips from your latest vacation, add a remixed pop song, and write a caption. “POV: You’ve just arrived in Greece…” works.
@pinterest_moodboards #greenscreen Mama Mia summer 🌊☀️⛵️🐚🍷🤿🇬🇷 #AmazonVirtualTryOn #MakeASplash #mamamia #pinterestaesthetic #europeansummer #greeceaesthetic #linen #pinterestoutfit ♬ HE ALWAYS USED TO LOOK AT ME THAT WAY – evie
Also trending on TikTok this week is a personality quiz titled “Which tragic Greek figure are you?” which appears to be raising interest in Greek mythology in an unconventional way. Uploaded by the signature “merryvalentines” on uquiz.com, a website where anyone can create their own quizzes, users have been posting their results on TikTok by the thousands. And it’s not what you think. Unlike most personality tests out there matching you with things like desserts and Friends characters, this test is not here to make you feel good. The results are brutally honest, and why not; the Greek mythological heroes were far from perfect after all. It seems to resonate with Gen-Z, and with the new culture forming on social media where perceived perfection is no longer the goal.
@bookreviewsbycat ib: @sunrisas #greenscreen @sunrisas CRYING IN THE CLUB PT 2 brb calling my therapist. #tragicgreekfigure #orpheus #booktok #booktoker #bookreviewsbycat #bookworm #booklover #bookish #fyp #foryoubooktok #booklover #wintertbr #winterbooks #winterreads #januarytbr #januaryreads #librarylover #readingiscool #readersoftiktok #bookishvibes #goodreads #bookishhumor #tbr ♬ original sound – sofia 🙂
After completing a series of 13 questions such as “Are you aware that you’ve done wrong?” “What do you value most?” and “Choose something to kill with,” you find out whether you most resemble Achilles, Antigone, Arachne, Bellerophon, Cyparissus, Icarus, Odysseus, Orestes, Orpheus, Patroclus, or Pentheus, and the unapologetically real reason why. Users love it and hate it in equal amounts. “Like, I’m fully aware that I’m a very angry person. please stop reminding me,” user @randombrainrot commented on his result (Achilles), while user @madison.luvs.books said she almost cried upon getting Patroclus. Others comment saying their result was a mythological figure they had never heard of before, and find the characters surprisingly interesting.
These aren’t the first things Greek to go viral on the platform. In 2021, the #bakedfeta hashtag caused a global boost in sales of feta cheese. Then as now, many who might have gained something from it appeared painfully unaware.
