Cohen, Helen Sarah2018-08-142018-08-142018-08-142018-04-04http://hdl.handle.net/10012/13593The aim of this study is to explore how tourists present and manage impressions of the self as tourist, on Facebook, while travelling. This study applies a qualitative content analysis to the tourism-related, user-generated content of individual Facebook pages with the aim of exploring mid-travel tourism identity representation on Facebook. A literature review uncovered a shortage of academic research on the mid-travel phase of tourism consumption, prompting the focus of this study. The study is framed through the lens of symbolic interactionism, the theoretical perspective guiding this research journey. Eight semi-structured interviews were carried out, and a constant comparative analysis was applied to generate three main themes, each with subsequent sub-themes. The results include a discussion on place and self representation, perpetuating popular destination images, situating the self as part of a collective, and social media engagement and reciprocity. Opportunities for future research in social media tourism are elucidated.encontent analysisFacebookidentityqualitative researchrepresentationsocial mediasymbolic interactionismtourismtravelMaster Thesis