Travel and Aspects of Societal Structure: A Comparison of India and the United States

Most theoretical studies in tourism depend on the methods of illustrative comparison and case study. The limitations of the case study approach have lately been discussed. Like the method of illustrative comparison, it does not allow deductive development of theory. To rectify this situation, and to overcome the lacunae in methodology that Dann et al. (1988) and Nash (1996) complain about, the method of formal or systematic comparison can be brought to bear on tourism in various societies. In such a study, this paper compares two large, complex societies - India and the USA - and looks at the ramifications of travel. It analyses the institutionalisation of travel in a modern (US) and a modernising (Indian) society, including aspects of societal structure that are reflected in the language, and debates whether MacCannell's (1989) argument that tourism is a 'modern ritual' can be borne out. The paper concludes by looking at some of the theoretical implications and discussing the practical implications of the study for development of tourism in India.