ABSTRACT
In recent years, social media have revolutionised travel and tourism with special attention to tourist user-generated content (UGC) and the formation of online communities; however, little attention has been given to tourist events entirely generated by users through social media. The aim of this chapter is to define and characterise the phenomenon of tourism user-generated events (UGEs) through social media around users’ new role of empowerment, and to highlight their interest for tourism organisations. A quantitative framework approach is used to store, analyse and compare events in relation to social media, complemented with qualitative, observant participation at the events. This mixed-method approach is applied to analysis of three Instagram Meetups organised by a specific online community at three Pyrenean ski resorts. Results confirm the great capacity of UGEs for image dissemination and attraction, and outline their differential characteristics resulting from this new user empowerment.
