AustLit

'The Internet has changed the way we travel. All around the world, people are using the Internet to facilitate their travel: whether this is researching and buying travel online, or using the Web for virtual travel. Consultant sites and booking agents such as Qantas, Zuji, and Travel.com.au are multi-million dollar e-businesses, and their presence provides consumers with a one-stop shop for travel. The functionality of travel websites is not limited to allowing people to buy what they see, to find a travel idea online and go and do it. Travel sites also allow travellers and tourists to travel virtually: to have something of the experience of travel without actually moving from their computer station. A range of entities, commercial and non-profit, have recognised the potential for virtual travel on the Web. Sites, including those of travel magazines and travel companies of all kinds, serve people who have the curiosity, but not the urge for an in-person experience. For example, Virtualtourist.com is a site specifically designed for armchair tourism.
As the Internet has changed the way we travel, it has also changed the way we write about travel. Scholars have been researching the significance of travel writing for decades. However, little has been written about the ways in which the Internet is facilitating new practices for travel writing.' (47)