The Image of Geolocations in a Virtual Environment: the Case Studies of Indonesia and Croatia on Google Trends
The Image of Geolocations in a Virtual Environment: the Case Studies of Indonesia and Croatia on Google Trends

Summary/Abstract: The main framework of this interdisciplinary research interconnects the cyclic process of space creation in a virtual environment, including the various perspectives in social sciences. Combining media, communication, popular geopolitics, PR and big data this paper introduces a model for testing and evaluating the importance of transaction data on image analysis of geolocations in tourism, as well as the importance of shown interest for different destinations. The data is gathered through the Google Trends tool introduced by Google in 2012 (information available from 2004 onwards). The first goal is to compare trends in Google searches for Indonesia and Croatia and find potential geopolitical patterns of interest. The second goal is to explain the causal effects on potential peaks in trends and their reasons both in a positive and a negative context. The main thesis is that the interest is primarily regionally focused, comprised of predictable geopolitical patterns, with the exception of unexpected events and crises with potential global implications which can provide both a positive and a negative perception.

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