Thematic direction of travel media

Abstract

Introduction. Travel journalism – a direction in journalism and a field of practical activity that produces travel information, aims to encourage people to travel, explore new countries, learn more about life and famous people, their lives, study ethnography, history, literature, architecture, trace the intergenerational connection, political system and its influence on evolution.

The purpose of the article is to study the topics, trends in the formation and development of tourism journalism in Ukraine as a factor influencing the cultural development of the nation.

Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for the research, in particular, content analysis, statistical methods based on grouping of tourist media on 9 topics: local lore, art, lifestyle, figures, nature, and ecology, tips, marketing and trends, tourist infrastructure, tourism development.

Results. It is shown that the activity of the tourism industry in Ukraine is determined by the Development Strategy, and the media market is represented by specialized tourism publications belonging to the spheres of both journalism and tourism business, and media that are focused on tourists. The most popular topic covered in all media is tourism infrastructure. All media, except professional ones, tell about the history and geography of the country, cultural monuments, architecture, interesting places, photos, and videos of impressive landscapes and amazing buildings. Topics about people’s lives, social priorities, crafts and professions, national communities, traditions, folklore, and ethnography, as well as advice on travel, emergency actions, trends in tourism, and various statistics, infographics are considered at a fairly high level. It is determined that professional magazines have priority in the topics of marketing, infrastructure, and development of the tourism industry. Lifestyles and tips are most important for TV shows and blogs. The topics of country studies, ecology, and advice predominate in user magazines, websites, and TV shows. On-board media cover all topics. Blogs are highly specialized, as they tell about the tourist route of travel or give advice on choosing hotels, planes, etc.

Conclusions. Tourist journalism is aimed at the cultural development of the nation, selfdevelopment of a particular person, and provides dissemination of information about tourist resources of Ukraine in the world information space.