The visible-invisible tension of slum tourism influencers

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the tension between the visible and invisible aspects in slum tourism influencers’ content, addressing a gap in the literature regarding this kind of influencers and enhancing visual methodologies by including the analysis of invisible phenomena.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a qualitative analysis of the most-watched slum tourism influencers’ content in Brazilian ‘favelas’ (totaling 24,000,000 views) using Rancière's (2004) visual research framework and interpretation of the most frequent words in 27,000 comments on these videos.

Findings

Slum tourism influencers often attempt to depict what cannot be shown due to risks to the hosts and influencers. The inability to show certain aspects is compensated by the proliferation of alternative images hinting at the unseen. Comments reveal that while the desire to perceive the unseen may drive viewership, the influencers and locals emerge as the primary visual focal points. Consequently, the marginalized setting of the slum fades into the background, with individuals taking precedence in viewers’ discussions.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to explore the role of the invisible in slum tourism influencer content and followers’ reactions. It illustrates that rather than imposing restrictions on the visible, the invisible serves as a catalyst for the proliferation of images through alternative means.

Citation

Fernandes, A. (2025), "The visible-invisible tension of slum tourism influencers", Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/CBTH-05-2024-0168