Introduction: Toward an anthropology of tourism imaginaries

In this edited volume, we conceptualize imaginaries as socially transmitted representational assemblages that interact with people's personal imaginings and that are used as meaning-making and world-shaping device

Personal identity (de)formation among lifestyle travellers: A double-edged sword?

This article explores the personal identity work of lifestyle travellers – individuals for whom extended leisure travel is a preferred lifestyle that they return to repeatedly. Qualitative findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews with lifestyle travellers in northern India and southern Thailand are interpreted in light of theories on identity formation in late modernity that position identity as problematic. It is suggested that extended leisure travel can provide exposure to varied cultural praxes that may contribute to a sense of social saturation. Whilst a minority of the respondents embraced a saturation of personal identity in the subjective formation of a cosmopolitan cultural identity, several of the respondents were paradoxically left with more identity questions than answers as the result of their travels

Unraveling the Complexity of Tourist Experience with NFC Technology and Mobile Wallets

By considering the tourist experience as a complex dynamic system, in this paper we depict the traveler as a kybernetes (\u3ba\u3c5\u3b2\u3b5\u3c1\u3bd\u3ae\u3c4\u3b7\u3c2 is the ancient Greek word for \u2018sea captain\u2019, \u2018steersman\u2019, or \u2018governor\u2019) in search of powerful tools to help him or her to obtain directions in the mare magnum of complexity, overcoming the fear of action and taking decisions. We focus our attention on the key role of Near Field Communication technology and mobile wallet as \u2018attenuators of complexity\u2019 in the travel and tourism industr

Tourism and transformation: negotiating metaphors, experiencing change

WOS:000338007000001 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)The article introduces this special issue on tourism and transformation. After offering a brief review of the place and significance of ‘transformation’ in social sciences studies of tourism – from ‘impact studies’ to ethnographies of tourists and, more recently, ‘tourist media studies’ – we propose to take one step further and focus our attention on the performativity and reflexivity of ‘transformation’. Our main argument is that much may be gained analytically by considering how notions and experiences of transformation are addressed, negotiated and purposefully deployed in tourism contexts. We conclude with an outline of each of the contributions to this special issue, stressing that the collection re-opens the issue of transformation in tourism and provides new insights into how experiences-turned metaphors and metaphors-turnedexperiences influence both the travel experience and the development of theory

Authenticity and Product Geography in the Making of the Agritourism Destination

Agritourism is emerging as a common solution to sustain agriculture-based communities bereft of economic viability. Drawing from the intersecting literature of product country-of-origin and destination branding, we use a case study to show how agritourism in Messinia, Greece, creates and houses a multitude of meanings suitable for tourism consumption. The study highlights the challenge for the destination to sustainably convey experiential authenticity and interpreting its role in a greater product geography to sustain that capability. The agritourism destination must develop consistency in addressing the multitude of meanings it embeds while simultaneously addressing its stakeholders' divergent needs

Contemporary Asian Artistic Expressions and Tourism – An Introduction

This introductory chapter presents and critically discusses the various themes underpinning this book. Firstly, it provides an examination of the notion of ‘contemporary art’, including an overview of the existing definitions and debates in the current literature. Secondly, this chapter discusses the nexus between tourism and contemporary art by providing an overview of the past studies conducted on cultural and heritage tourism. In this section, the various themes underpinning the different parts of the literature on art tourism (e.g. identity, authenticity, commoditisation and capitalism) are considered. Thirdly, a discussion on the relationship between tourism and Asian contemporary art is presented, which also includes a part problematising and questioning terms like ‘Asia’ and ‘Asian art’. Finally, an overview of the different chapters that constitute the backbone of this collection is offered alongside the four themes around which the book is structured

Ephemeral Masculinities? Tracking Men, Partners and Fathers in the Geography of Family Holidays

The discussion presented in the following pages is anchored in data derived from a broader sociological study into contemporary family rituals. The core argument is that in heterosexual couples, the family–centred holidays presents an opportunity for the everyday gendered division of domestic labour and children care work to be negotiated and temporarily restructured. Through its focus on the role men play in family holidays, this chapter makes an important contribution to debates about masculinity, travel and familial relationships within heterosexual couples. While one needs to be attentive to the complex realities of the modern family life and intra-family relations towards travel and tourism, studying the traditional nuclear family remains an exciting and fruitful work to the extent that one cannot neglect the fact that this model is (still) behind many experiences and representations of families on holidays

Tourism culture(s): The Hospitality Dimension

The focus of the paper is on tourism culture as it operates where commercial hospitality is on offer, especially at hotels and resorts in developing countries. It is suggested that three quite distinct perspectives can assist in helping us understand this aspect of tourism culture, which emerges where worker and tourist roles inevitably converge and interact. In themselves, such perspectives are not new, but they rarely seem to have been applied in the context of hotels and resorts. The first perspective, derived from the work of Homi Bhabha, conceives of tourism culture as hybrid in nature, operating in a ‘third space’ between tourist and ‘host,’ and directs attention to the uncertain and negotiated aspects of tourism culture. In the second, that of the socio-technical system, tourism culture is seen as an interface between, on the one hand, the formal operational rules and procedures designed to deliver an organisation’s mission and, on the other hand, the on-going and lived-in cultures brought into the ‘system’ by tourists and the hospitality providers. The third perspective, that of the total institution, derived from Goffman, focuses to the social and physical boundaries that separate the hotel or resort from the outside world and on the cultural practices that serve to further differentiate it and its population from the outside. It is suggested that use of these perspectives can further our understanding of the nature of tourism at different destinations and the ways hotels and similar institutions impact on both staff members and holidaymakers. As a consequence, they are theoretically, empirically relevant and politically important

Young tourists’ experiences at dark tourism sites: Towards a conceptual framework

While dark tourism aimed at adults reminds them of past tragic fights, faults and follies, thousands of children and youth also consume inherent memorial messages at dark tourism sites. This paper addresses these unnoticed childhood encounters, about which scholarly discourse remains conspicuously silent. At present, dark tourism research focuses almost exclusively on adults and does not adequately explain young tourists’ experiences. How children experience dark tourism sites has much to do with their understanding of death. Because younger children may not possess an adult-like knowledge of death, they are unable to experience a site as dark. Other theoretical disparities include children’s limited agency in choosing their destinations and their unique and often playful exploration of dark places. To address the inadequacy of current dark tourism conceptualisations, we propose a new framework to encourage scholarly interrogation of children’s experiences at dark tourism sites. Drawing from multiple sources including archival studies and original research with youth, we offer a rationale for considering four major, intersecting influences on a young tourist’s experience: understanding of death, visit preparation (at home or in school), site and interpretation features and dynamics of the specific visit (e.g. group membership, norms and itinerary). Ultimately, this paper uncovers potential research avenues to bring children’s perspectives and experiences to the core of dark tourism research