Representing identities through tourism: encounters of ethnic minorities in Dali,Yunnan Province,People's Republic of China

In the current era of globalisation ȧand regional economic integration, localised concerns with cultural identity, historical memory and collective belonging are assuming a new significance. Rather than signalling the end of localised identities, however, the current period has infused processes of identity formation with elements of political economy. One central component of political economy through which these processes are being expressed is tourism. In this context, as the social sciences have begun to take tourism seriously when addressing broader issues of culture and society, this paper elaborates on new arenas through which processes of identity formation are being articulated. Drawing on a current research project focused on cultural tourism in Dali, Yunnan Province, China, the discussion emphasises the extent to which cultural identities are appropriated, constructed and traded through and around material objects of touristic exchange. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Memory impressions in slow tourism: Intrapersonal and interpersonal authenticity as antecedents

With the trend of developing slow tourism in the global tourism industry, this study aims to examine the role of memory impressions in slow tourism. Building upon the theoretical support of authenticity, this study proposes an authenticity-driven model for memory impressions in slow tourism. Data were collected from 303 foreign tourists who have been to three slow towns in Taiwan, including Chishang, Nanzhuang, and Chaozhou. Analytical results show that, in slow tourism, intrapersonal authenticity enhances interpersonal authenticity. Intrapersonal and interpersonal authenticity both improve memory impressions. Destination satisfaction and destination loyalty are significant outcomes of memory impressions. In addition, we found that memory impressions could mediate the relationship between intrapersonal, and interpersonal authenticity, satisfaction, and destination loyalty. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first attempts to contribute knowledge of memory impressions in slow tourism.     

A small place,by Jamaica Kincaid: envisioning literary tourism in Antigua

ABSTRACT

This work departs from a reading of the novelistic essay A small place (1988), by Jamaica Kincaid, to analyse the representation of the tourism industry and of tourists in Antigua (the author's birthplace). From there, we present Kincaid's text as ‘tourist literature’ (Hendrix, 2014), also aiming to contribute to the examination of tourism-centred literary texts. Within the context of literature and tourism studies as well as comparative studies, this paper examines Kincaid's literary text in order to consider the promotion of literary tourism in Antigua. This example is then considered in light of recent contributions from literary tourism, space production, community-based tourism, mass tourism as well as responsible and sustainable tourism. Literary heritage as a resource for the tourism industry could bring tourists and locals closer and conspire to break down barriers between the largely dark-skinned hosts and the white tourists in Antigua.     

Pajala as a literary place: in the readings and footsteps of Mikael Niemi

This paper concerns the relationship between literature and tourism, with specific focus on the Swedish novelist Mikael Niemi and his influence on local tourism development in his home municipality of Pajala. Attention is paid to how the success of Niemi's breakthrough novel Populärmusik från Vittula has turned Pajala into a well-known ‘literary place’, at the same time increasing tourism in the region. This paper discusses the literary meanings of Pajala by comparing two alternative ways of comprehending the idea of ‘Pajala as a literary place’. Pajala is approached as (1) a stage for the local and regional identities represented in Niemi's novel, and (2) a re-produced real-world experience for ‘literary pilgrims’, tourists wandering in the footsteps of Mikael Niemi. This paper also discusses the contradictions and disharmonies between these two literary worlds and the implications that these may have for local development strategies based on literary tourism.     

The growth of literary places in ancient town tourism destinations: based on the theories of Bourdieu,Danto and Dickie

Literary literature and tourism are closely connected, but the research on that connection is limited. Literary tourism spots are no longer just the places where historical accidents happened or were sites of a writer's birth or death, they can be any other places which have actual or even imaged linkages with the authors or their works. Based on Bourdieu's 1992 field theory and the ‘Artworld’ described by Danto [1964. The artworld. The Journal of Philosophy, 61, 571–584] and Dickie [1974. Art and the aesthetic: An institutional analysis. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press; 1984. The art circle: A theory of art. New York, NY: Haven], this study proposes an analytical framework comprising the atmosphere, activities and agents of art field development in order to understand the formation of a literary tourism product. San Mao teahouse in Zhouzhuang, China is used as an example. On-site observations, interviews and secondary data were collected for this study. The study finds that San Mao Teahouse as a literary venue is the result of the interaction of the literary field of San Mao and the tourism field of the historical town of Zhouzhuang. In the early stage of development, the owner and manager of San Mao Teahouse played the role of producer and marketer, and later on, tourists took more active roles by writing more literary works and promoting the site on websites based on their faith in San Mao, her work and the place. The research also finds that literary tourism is not a conventional art product, but a special experience of literature in the tourism world. Overall, the research contributes to the current knowledge by presenting a new case of formation of literary venues in tourist spots, introducing a new analytical framework and also facilitating the understanding of cultural change in tourist destinations.     

Dark tourism through the lens of attachment theory and domestic tourists

This study explores the factors that affect domestic tourist attachment to dark tourism destinations by developing a hybrid model using several methods, including structural equation modeling (SEM) and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), predicated on attachment theory. The study collected data from 60 tourism experts and 622 domestic tourists. The study found that tourist motivation, national identity, tourism impacts, and destination attachment are all crucial factors that explain domestic tourist behavior towards dark tourism. The results of the mediation analysis indicate that destination attachment mediates the relationship between tourist motivation, national identity, and negative tourism impact with tourist satisfaction. The FAHP results show that place identity has the highest influence while place dependence has the lowest influence in shaping domestic tourists' selection of dark tourist destinations. The study's findings provide valuable insights for tour operators and destination managers to meet domestic tourists' expectations of dark tourism, adding to the existing knowledge related to the factors that impact dark tourism.     

Motives and behaviour of second home owners in Iceland reflected by place attachment

Second home tourism has a long tradition in the Nordic countries, and seems to be gradually growing worldwide. The processes underpinning the decision to own a second home are often complex and connected with numerous influencing factors such as cultural setting, personal preferences and attitudes, economic situation, as well as practical questions regarding distance, anticipated utilization, and localization factors. The relationship between the environment in which the second home is situated and the prospective homeowners is likely to have a strong geographic character. This study aims to assess and analyse the habits and motivations of second home owners in Iceland and evaluate whether their behavioural patterns and patterns of geographical preferences can be explained by the concept of place attachment. The results reveal that place attachment can be seen as a significant localization factor influencing temporal and spatial development of second homes, which in turn helps explain the observed geographical patterns. While it has also been shown that homeowners with a prior connection to the locations in question do display different behavioural patterns than homeowners who obtained property in locations to which they had no prior connection, the results further reveal that heterogeneity is caused by diversity in lengths of ownership rather than being due to place attachment. In conclusion, the concept of place attachment is of only limited use in seeking to explain differences in behaviour among second home owners subsequent to the acquisition of property, suggesting that different forms of place attachment produce similar behavioural patterns.     

New heights in climbing and tourism: Jordan's Wadi Rum

Climbing tourists, seeking out evermore exciting locations in which to practise their sporting and touristic ‘envelope-pushing’, provide an excellent example for analysis of how foreign places and peoples are enmeshed in individual narratives of othering and ‘selfing’ predicated in no small part on individualised and marketised (mis)conceptions of embodied risk, heavily gendered forms of ‘extremeness’ and ethnic difference. Based on observer-as-participant fieldwork carried out in Wadi Rum, and analyses of marketing publications aimed specifically at rock-climbing tourists, this article explores how this particular landscape is masculinised to appeal to the ‘hard’ [Robinson, V. (2008). Everyday masculinities and extreme sport: Male identity and rock climbing. Oxford: Berg] Western climber, who is invited to experience Rum as hard or extreme play; as a performance of leisure that is unpredictable and unusually dangerous and risky for several reasons. Wadi Rum's ‘soaring sandstone towers’, inhospitable desert environment and Bedouin inhabitants feature heavily in holiday advertisements; the Bedouin people are valorised for both their ‘inherent primitiveness’ and capacity to adapt to, and ultimately conquer, their land's inhospitable summits. It is under these terms that adventure tourist ‘spaces’ become racialised, gendered and often classed and sexualised through various intersecting discourses.