Tourism Studies

Tourism studies examines travel and tourism as social, cultural, and economic phenomena and their effects on places and peoples.

Scope

It covers the motivations and experience of tourists, the tourism industry and development, authenticity, and the impacts of tourism on host communities.

Core questions

• Why do people travel as tourists?
• How is the tourist experience produced?
• What are the impacts of tourism on places?
• How is authenticity sought and staged?

Key concepts

• Tourist motivation
• Staged authenticity
• The tourist gaze
• Tourism development
• Sustainable tourism
• Host-guest relations

Key theories

Staged authenticity

MacCannell analysed tourism as a search for authenticity that is often 'staged' for visitors.

The tourist gaze

Urry argued tourism is organized around a socially constructed 'gaze' on places and difference.

History

Tourism studies developed sociological theories of the tourist (MacCannell) and the tourist gaze (Urry), alongside management and development perspectives on the industry.

Debates

Authenticity in tourism

Whether tourists seek and can find authentic experiences or consume staged performances.

Key figures

• Dean MacCannell
• John Urry

Seminal works

• maccannell-1976
• urry-1990

Frequently asked questions

What is the tourist gaze?

Urry's concept of the socially organized and learned ways tourists look at and consume places as different from the everyday.