Mass Communicator: International Journal of Communication Studies

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has defined sustainable tourism as; “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”. For successful implementation of sustainable tourism practices it is important to deliver the message to all the stakeholders in a way, that it captures their imagination. In the context of travel and tourism, the memorable travel experiences are all about stories-stories of the local communities and their cultural traditions, stories told by the guides, and stories by the travelers themselves, become part of the travel experiences. In early human history, there was a oral tradition when people used to sit together to hear the experiences of those who have traveled far and wide, witnessed something new or, simply wanted to pass their legacy to their successors. Those who heard the story owned the idea. In the broadcast era, ideas became the exclusive property of their creator. Communication became monologue instead of dialogue. The audience was open and receptive in the oral tradition when stories were dominated. A story engages its listeners at many levels, so when the storyteller makes the point, it sticks, because it evokes both visual image and emotion. In the broadcast era that turns to captive audience. However, again with the advent of social media, now we're getting back into the initial stage where everybody owns an idea. What is different today is we are in an era where stories dominate again. Social media and storytelling are helping to communicate with the audience in a more humane way. It's simply people sharing stories with other people. The technology facilitates and accelerates the process.

The paper aims to explore the role of social media in storytelling for sustainable tourism practices, which ultimately leads to sustainability.