Viral Bay

Viral Bay: media and social media influence on sustainable tourism

This free game is part of our Cambridge iGCSE Travel & Tourism (0471) course for exams in EXAM YEARS 2027-2029.

How media influences sustainable tourism

In the Cambridge IGCSE Travel and Tourism (0471) course, media is any way that information reaches people. Traditional media includes TV, documentaries, newspapers and magazines. It reaches big audiences and is trusted. Social media includes Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, influencers, hashtags and reviews. It is fast, visual and shared by users.

Media can help or harm sustainable tourism, which balances three pillars: the environment, the economy and local communities.

• Positive influences: raising awareness, educating tourists about responsible behaviour, promoting eco-friendly businesses, supporting campaigns and spreading tourists to places that need them.
• Negative influences: overtourism at viral hotspots (the "Instagram effect"), geotagging of fragile places, copycat disrespectful behaviour, greenwashing and unrealistic expectations.

In Story 1 of the game, Boost or Flag?, you run the bay's social media account. You boost posts such as #LeaveNoTrace and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and flag posts that geotag a secret waterfall or show tourists feeding monkeys crisps for a selfie.

Spotting greenwashing

Greenwashing is when a business makes itself look more environmentally friendly than it really is, to attract customers. Social media makes it easy, because anyone can post a pretty photo with a green slogan. In Story 2, the Greenwash Detector, you scan sponsored posts for four warning signs:

• Vague language: words like "green", "eco" or "nature-friendly" with no details.
• No certification: no independent award or audit.
• Irrelevant claim: one small action while bigger impacts are ignored, such as paper straws alongside private-jet transfers.
• Stock imagery: photos that are not really from the place.

Genuine claims are specific, measurable and independently certified, for example by Green Globe, Green Key or Rainforest Alliance. Greenwashing destroys trust, but social media can also expose it, because reviews and comments call out fake claims fast.

Case studies to learn

Story 3, Rescue the Bay, uses real case files. Learn these for named examples in the exam:

• Maya Bay, Thailand: made famous by the film The Beach and then social media, it had up to 5,000 visitors a day. It closed in June 2018 and reopened in 2022 with strict limits on visitors and boats. Blacktip reef sharks returned.
• Trolltunga, Norway: under 800 hikers a year until 2010, then over 80,000 in 2016, with 40 rescues that summer. Local authorities brought in fees and restrictions.
• Blue Planet II (2017): the plastic episode helped lead to the UK ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds.
• Palau Pledge (2017): visitors sign an eco-pledge stamped into their passport, the world's first legal eco-pledge for visitors.
• Australia (2020): after the bushfires, Tourism Australia's "Holiday Here This Year" campaign and #EmptyEsky sent tourists and their money to regional towns.

Exam tips

The game ends with a 6-mark question: "Evaluate the impact of social media on sustainable tourism." Top answers:

• Give positives and negatives, each with a named example such as the Palau Pledge or Maya Bay.
• Link points to the environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainability.
• Remember that media works best alongside management, such as closures, visitor limits, fees and education.
• Finish with a clear, justified conclusion.