Tourism boycott calls by Twitter users due to concerns for the welfare of animals

Abstract

There has been an increase in tourism boycotts from 2008, especially with the introduction of the Internet and social media. Despite this increase, there is a dearth of knowledge about tourism boycotts. Behaviours that raise concern for animal welfare is one of the reasons that destinations have become targets of boycotts. Yet, animal-oriented activism in the tourism context remains relatively under-researched. Considering the practical overlap of tourism boycotts, animal welfare, and social media as a platform for activism, this thesis aims to examine participation in tourism boycott calls due to animal welfare concerns on Twitter. Boycott calls refer to calling for a boycott and not necessarily participating in any resultant boycott. To contribute to the aim of the thesis, this research investigates: (1) the spatial distribution of Twitter users who participated in boycott calls; (2) the characteristics of the Twitter users who participated in the boycott calls; and (3) the strategies utilised by the Twitter users who participated in the boycott calls to influence mobilisation. The research employed a qualitative inquiry, analysing tweets and profiles of Twitter users who participated in the boycott calls of four destinations: China, Kerala (India), South Africa, and Spain. A total of 4,559 Twitter user profiles and 2,152 tweets were collected from Twitter between 1 August and 15 September 2016. The Twitter data were analysed using content analysis. The results demonstrate that Twitter users who participated in the boycotts are spread across continents and many countries, with Twitter users involved from an average of 42 countries across each of the four boycotts. The wide geographical spread of participants prompts concern for target destinations, especially given the potential for the boycott calls to damage the destination’s image. Additionally, this finding should provide hope for animal lovers that people across the globe are fighting for the welfare of animals. Despite the geographical spread of the participation in the boycott calls, it was observed that a large percentage of Twitter users participating originated from western and developed countries. The findings from the thesis mirrored some of the earlier studies in identifying support for equality and justice, pet-ownership, veganism, concern for the environment, being politically opinionated, and liberal-mindedness as important characteristics that demonstrate support for animal welfare. Women were dominant in their support for the welfare of animals in their participation in the boycott calls. However, one of the significant observations was the diffusion of support for animal welfare and related boycott calls across diverse groups of people. This stands in opposition to the stereotypical images of people who support the welfare of animals as people with extreme ideologies. The analysis of the content of the tweets revealed that hashtags, images, videos, hyperlinks, and the mention convention were utilised to influence mobilisation from the audience. The content of the tweets was employed for several purposes: (1) to disseminate information, (2) to seek support from specific groups (e.g., international leaders and organisations), (3) to evoke emotional responses (focus on anthropomorphising animals as well as highlighting the cruelty endured by the animals), (4) to use celebrities to gain attention and support, (5) to apply surrogate boycotts to pressure business organisations in the target destination, and (6) to create awareness about similar practices that impact animals in other destinations, as well as practices that involve other animals in the target destination.