SOC3073 Sociology of Travel and Tourism
Alex Seal
Thursday 9am-11am LTH
Week 1 – The Rise of Travel and Tourism:
Where did tourism come from?
Many people argue it came from the Romans (around 300AD).
Early forms of travel and tourism from the Romans reserved for the wealthy.
Romans appropriated the seaside as a destination to relax.
Beach as where we ‘do’ travel and tourism.
Conception of travel and tourism as recharging in the sun.
The Grand Tour (1600-1800s) aristocratic young men from Europe, go off around Europe to
be educated in arts, politics etc because gaining this kind of experience was seen as
important to have a career in diplomacy/politics. A form of cultural capital.
Both Roman travel and Grand Tour reserved for the wealthy.
Birth of mass tourism:
Started just before WW2 – however this restricted it.
During WW2:
The use of private motor cars generally restricted.
Rationing meant there was no money for travel.
Some holiday resorts were used as military bases.
General lack of safety on beaches.
But after WW2: The boom of mass tourism (1950s-1960s):
Many societal changes – people have more money, more ability to travel.
Middleton (2005) the working class have to have the ability to travel for mass
tourism to exist.
Rise of tight knit nuclear families.
Fordism played a key role:
Increased annual leave.
Stimulated interest in leisure activities,
More money + more time = greater leisure capabilities.
The rise and fall of the British Seaside:
Bed and breakfasts expanding in seaside destinations.
Proliferation of leisure activities.
The seaside as a coveted destination – because it offers not just the beach but a range of
family activities.
British seaside resorts completely reconceptualised tourism – the most notable being
Butlins.
Offered people the chance to ‘get away’ in the post war period.
The ultimate construction of fun and relaxation at seaside locations in the UK.
Standardisation of resorts created ease of use for tourists – Butlins created an
experience which people knew would be fun and relaxing, but at the same time it
was a very structured experience. It was highly regimented and timetabled; which
people were used to.
After living under the threat of war, the chance to get away was very appealing to
people.
The fall:
, A third of the railway network was eliminated – and this was one of the main ways
that people travelled to holiday destinations.
Air travel – the same families had the ability to go to sunnier destinations.
In the 1950s/1960s there was large consumption at seaside resorts, leading to reinvestment
and a vibrant industry. Today there is almost a reverse of this.
Butlins as a victim of its own success.
Centre Parcs:
Took Butlins blueprint but changed it to fit around what people want today.
Exploration at your own pace – rather than regimented timetable.
Tourism today – sociological themes:
1968 World Tourist Organisation defined an international tourist as: ‘temporary visitors
staying at least twenty-four hours in the country visited and the purpose of whose journey
can be classified under one of the following headings: (a) leisure (recreation, holiday, health,
study, religion and sport); (b) business (family, mission, meeting).’
Useful in some ways but very practical.
In sociology we’re interested in ‘viewing the tourist’s motivations and desired experiences in
the context of the basic structural themes and cultural symbols of modern society.’ (Cohen,
1984, p.377)
How are experiences shaped and constructed through the visited environment?
What is that tourists actually seek to gain through their travel?
How are core sociological ideas, such as gender and race and ethnicity affected by (and
played out) in certain types of tourism?
Do different types of travel correlate with social class.
Why is tourism important to study?
Tourism accounts for 10% of global GDP.
Tourism is a significant part of how people spend their leisure time.
Spaces and places are often created around touristic desires.
Week 2 – Understanding ‘Experiences’: The Tourist Gaze
Urry and The Tourist Gaze:
Tourist gaze rests on this division between the ordinary of our everyday lives and the
extraordinary of going away.
Tourism give us this opportunity to engage with the extraordinary, but this is always in
binary to the ordinary.
When we can engage with the extraordinary we compare it to what’s happening back home.
When we go away we look at the environment with interest and curiosity ‘it speaks to use in
ways we appreciate, or at least we anticipate that it will do so.’ (Urry, 2002, p.1)
Notion of pre-departure important was we create and anticipate the type of experience we
might have.
Is the reality matching up with the expectations?
Eiffel Tower example – its not what it is, but what it represents to us. Relationship between
the signified and the signifier.
The tourist gaze highlights that we create ‘frames of reference’ for how we (anticipate) what
and how we will experience things in our destination.
The term gaze is significant:
Reflective.
Contemplative.
Non-passive.
Inquisitive.
Example – The Holiday:
, British house very typical of stereotypes.
As soon as she hears the destination she automatically envisions her trip; building
her frame of reference.
Excitement as house matches expectation; cements what she’s imagining.
Binary oppositions:
Nice scenery as important because its different to the scenery we see at home.
Food – important because its in a different context.
The reasons we enjoy going away is because the things we might normally be doing
are placed in extraordinary contexts.
The romantic gaze:
Romantic aesthetic; getting back to nature.
‘Notions of the romantic gaze are endlessly used in marketing’ people want to have these
experiences.
Eg beach hut over the water in The Maldives.
The collective gaze:
Involves conviviality.
Festivals used as an example; liveliness, large numbers of people.
When you have large people descending onto a particular place it creates a carnival
atmosphere; the place to be.
The mediatised gaze:
Particular sites famous for their mediated nature.
Those gazing relive elements or aspects of the media event.
Eg Friends building; it places you within the show.
Overlap of reasons we go to the cinema and reasons we go on holiday.
‘The experience the viewer has whilst immersed in a film is something which may not only
prompt them to visit the place depicted but also go there to recapture or relive that very
experience.’
Going deeper into the gaze:
Mundane experience of going to the supermarket in another country.
Difference; extraordinary environment.
Seeing thing that we have known about before and being able to access them; meeting
expectations.
Out of the ordinary experiences are not simply based on ‘big’ landmarks that we visit.
The tourist gaze in action:
‘I feel like we’d spent a lot of time not doing anything, if you know what I mean.’ Immense
enjoyment; but doing the same things she was doing at home in an extraordinary
environment.
Tourist gaze isn’t about the big things; its about the smaller things eg eating and drinking.
Some problems:
Dean MacCannell’s argument against Urry’s Tourist Gaze:
The metaphor of unfamiliarity vs. ordinary/mundane is too weak.
Objects of the tourist gaze become nothing other than constructions of
extraordinary.
Eg Empire State building representing the extraordinary.
Urry’s Tourist Gaze represents ‘narcissistic determinism’
‘Urry tourists have their ego requirements. ‘I am an extra-ordinary person
unfit for the life I normally lead, therefore the scene I look upon while on
holiday must be worthy of my exalted gaze.’
We feel that these destinations should be extraordinary, they should be
matching the expectations we have.
, Narcissistic; what can this destination offer me? Will it match up to my
expectations?
People are demanding an extraordinary experience.
Willis et al (2017)
Study on business travellers.
Seeing how the tourist gaze works for those on business trips.
But they found the Tourist Gaze just wasn’t there.
‘For many respondents, the experience of ‘being away’ was tinged with a longing for the
normal routines or home…even when the surroundings were extraordinary, some still
craved the comforts and the familiarity of ‘home’ (p.53)
Disneyland business trip example; sharing the same space as tourists but being there for
different reasons.
So not everyone that goes abroad experiences the Tourist Gaze.
‘Frequent business travellers obtain different perceptions of touristic spaces and develop a
different ‘gaze’ to their leisure tourist counterparts despite inhabiting the same space at the
same time; an understanding encapsulated in the idea of the ‘business tourist gaze.’
This is a big finding because it shows us that it is not the place or destination that creates the
tourist gaze, but rather the tourist’s motivations, anticipations, expectations etc.’
Summary:
The Tourist Gaze as a conceptual tool to understand how people experience new
destinations.
A very good theory for allowing us to understand the ‘smaller’ moments of travel
experiences?
Ordinary vs extraordinary too simplistic though?
Wallis et al. (2017) highlights the reference frames business travellers do not build their
anticipations. No reference frame = no tourist gaze?
Questions:
1. Outline the tourist gaze:
Rests on the division between the ordinary of everyday life and the extraordinary of
going away.
The way we look at the things around us when we’re away; in the extraordinary
context.
2. How does the tourist gaze work at the ‘pre-departure level’ and the ‘whilst abroad level’?
Pre-departure level centres around the anticipation of the travel experience; the
‘whilst abroad level’ is about seeing if the place matches your expectations.
3. Is the tourist gaze restricted to going abroad?
Not necessarily, you can go to places within your own country and still experience
the tourist gaze.
Week 2 Reading Urry, J. and Larsen, J. (2011) The Tourist Gaze 3.0. London: Sage.
Ch.1 Theories:
Summary:
Notion of the tourist gaze.
People gaze upon the world through their own particular filter, coming from their upbringing
and place in the world.
Gazing orders, shapes and classifies rather than reflects the world.
Tourist gaze is about learnt ways of seeing.
Tourism as opposed to normal, everyday life.
Alex Seal
Thursday 9am-11am LTH
Week 1 – The Rise of Travel and Tourism:
Where did tourism come from?
Many people argue it came from the Romans (around 300AD).
Early forms of travel and tourism from the Romans reserved for the wealthy.
Romans appropriated the seaside as a destination to relax.
Beach as where we ‘do’ travel and tourism.
Conception of travel and tourism as recharging in the sun.
The Grand Tour (1600-1800s) aristocratic young men from Europe, go off around Europe to
be educated in arts, politics etc because gaining this kind of experience was seen as
important to have a career in diplomacy/politics. A form of cultural capital.
Both Roman travel and Grand Tour reserved for the wealthy.
Birth of mass tourism:
Started just before WW2 – however this restricted it.
During WW2:
The use of private motor cars generally restricted.
Rationing meant there was no money for travel.
Some holiday resorts were used as military bases.
General lack of safety on beaches.
But after WW2: The boom of mass tourism (1950s-1960s):
Many societal changes – people have more money, more ability to travel.
Middleton (2005) the working class have to have the ability to travel for mass
tourism to exist.
Rise of tight knit nuclear families.
Fordism played a key role:
Increased annual leave.
Stimulated interest in leisure activities,
More money + more time = greater leisure capabilities.
The rise and fall of the British Seaside:
Bed and breakfasts expanding in seaside destinations.
Proliferation of leisure activities.
The seaside as a coveted destination – because it offers not just the beach but a range of
family activities.
British seaside resorts completely reconceptualised tourism – the most notable being
Butlins.
Offered people the chance to ‘get away’ in the post war period.
The ultimate construction of fun and relaxation at seaside locations in the UK.
Standardisation of resorts created ease of use for tourists – Butlins created an
experience which people knew would be fun and relaxing, but at the same time it
was a very structured experience. It was highly regimented and timetabled; which
people were used to.
After living under the threat of war, the chance to get away was very appealing to
people.
The fall:
, A third of the railway network was eliminated – and this was one of the main ways
that people travelled to holiday destinations.
Air travel – the same families had the ability to go to sunnier destinations.
In the 1950s/1960s there was large consumption at seaside resorts, leading to reinvestment
and a vibrant industry. Today there is almost a reverse of this.
Butlins as a victim of its own success.
Centre Parcs:
Took Butlins blueprint but changed it to fit around what people want today.
Exploration at your own pace – rather than regimented timetable.
Tourism today – sociological themes:
1968 World Tourist Organisation defined an international tourist as: ‘temporary visitors
staying at least twenty-four hours in the country visited and the purpose of whose journey
can be classified under one of the following headings: (a) leisure (recreation, holiday, health,
study, religion and sport); (b) business (family, mission, meeting).’
Useful in some ways but very practical.
In sociology we’re interested in ‘viewing the tourist’s motivations and desired experiences in
the context of the basic structural themes and cultural symbols of modern society.’ (Cohen,
1984, p.377)
How are experiences shaped and constructed through the visited environment?
What is that tourists actually seek to gain through their travel?
How are core sociological ideas, such as gender and race and ethnicity affected by (and
played out) in certain types of tourism?
Do different types of travel correlate with social class.
Why is tourism important to study?
Tourism accounts for 10% of global GDP.
Tourism is a significant part of how people spend their leisure time.
Spaces and places are often created around touristic desires.
Week 2 – Understanding ‘Experiences’: The Tourist Gaze
Urry and The Tourist Gaze:
Tourist gaze rests on this division between the ordinary of our everyday lives and the
extraordinary of going away.
Tourism give us this opportunity to engage with the extraordinary, but this is always in
binary to the ordinary.
When we can engage with the extraordinary we compare it to what’s happening back home.
When we go away we look at the environment with interest and curiosity ‘it speaks to use in
ways we appreciate, or at least we anticipate that it will do so.’ (Urry, 2002, p.1)
Notion of pre-departure important was we create and anticipate the type of experience we
might have.
Is the reality matching up with the expectations?
Eiffel Tower example – its not what it is, but what it represents to us. Relationship between
the signified and the signifier.
The tourist gaze highlights that we create ‘frames of reference’ for how we (anticipate) what
and how we will experience things in our destination.
The term gaze is significant:
Reflective.
Contemplative.
Non-passive.
Inquisitive.
Example – The Holiday:
, British house very typical of stereotypes.
As soon as she hears the destination she automatically envisions her trip; building
her frame of reference.
Excitement as house matches expectation; cements what she’s imagining.
Binary oppositions:
Nice scenery as important because its different to the scenery we see at home.
Food – important because its in a different context.
The reasons we enjoy going away is because the things we might normally be doing
are placed in extraordinary contexts.
The romantic gaze:
Romantic aesthetic; getting back to nature.
‘Notions of the romantic gaze are endlessly used in marketing’ people want to have these
experiences.
Eg beach hut over the water in The Maldives.
The collective gaze:
Involves conviviality.
Festivals used as an example; liveliness, large numbers of people.
When you have large people descending onto a particular place it creates a carnival
atmosphere; the place to be.
The mediatised gaze:
Particular sites famous for their mediated nature.
Those gazing relive elements or aspects of the media event.
Eg Friends building; it places you within the show.
Overlap of reasons we go to the cinema and reasons we go on holiday.
‘The experience the viewer has whilst immersed in a film is something which may not only
prompt them to visit the place depicted but also go there to recapture or relive that very
experience.’
Going deeper into the gaze:
Mundane experience of going to the supermarket in another country.
Difference; extraordinary environment.
Seeing thing that we have known about before and being able to access them; meeting
expectations.
Out of the ordinary experiences are not simply based on ‘big’ landmarks that we visit.
The tourist gaze in action:
‘I feel like we’d spent a lot of time not doing anything, if you know what I mean.’ Immense
enjoyment; but doing the same things she was doing at home in an extraordinary
environment.
Tourist gaze isn’t about the big things; its about the smaller things eg eating and drinking.
Some problems:
Dean MacCannell’s argument against Urry’s Tourist Gaze:
The metaphor of unfamiliarity vs. ordinary/mundane is too weak.
Objects of the tourist gaze become nothing other than constructions of
extraordinary.
Eg Empire State building representing the extraordinary.
Urry’s Tourist Gaze represents ‘narcissistic determinism’
‘Urry tourists have their ego requirements. ‘I am an extra-ordinary person
unfit for the life I normally lead, therefore the scene I look upon while on
holiday must be worthy of my exalted gaze.’
We feel that these destinations should be extraordinary, they should be
matching the expectations we have.
, Narcissistic; what can this destination offer me? Will it match up to my
expectations?
People are demanding an extraordinary experience.
Willis et al (2017)
Study on business travellers.
Seeing how the tourist gaze works for those on business trips.
But they found the Tourist Gaze just wasn’t there.
‘For many respondents, the experience of ‘being away’ was tinged with a longing for the
normal routines or home…even when the surroundings were extraordinary, some still
craved the comforts and the familiarity of ‘home’ (p.53)
Disneyland business trip example; sharing the same space as tourists but being there for
different reasons.
So not everyone that goes abroad experiences the Tourist Gaze.
‘Frequent business travellers obtain different perceptions of touristic spaces and develop a
different ‘gaze’ to their leisure tourist counterparts despite inhabiting the same space at the
same time; an understanding encapsulated in the idea of the ‘business tourist gaze.’
This is a big finding because it shows us that it is not the place or destination that creates the
tourist gaze, but rather the tourist’s motivations, anticipations, expectations etc.’
Summary:
The Tourist Gaze as a conceptual tool to understand how people experience new
destinations.
A very good theory for allowing us to understand the ‘smaller’ moments of travel
experiences?
Ordinary vs extraordinary too simplistic though?
Wallis et al. (2017) highlights the reference frames business travellers do not build their
anticipations. No reference frame = no tourist gaze?
Questions:
1. Outline the tourist gaze:
Rests on the division between the ordinary of everyday life and the extraordinary of
going away.
The way we look at the things around us when we’re away; in the extraordinary
context.
2. How does the tourist gaze work at the ‘pre-departure level’ and the ‘whilst abroad level’?
Pre-departure level centres around the anticipation of the travel experience; the
‘whilst abroad level’ is about seeing if the place matches your expectations.
3. Is the tourist gaze restricted to going abroad?
Not necessarily, you can go to places within your own country and still experience
the tourist gaze.
Week 2 Reading Urry, J. and Larsen, J. (2011) The Tourist Gaze 3.0. London: Sage.
Ch.1 Theories:
Summary:
Notion of the tourist gaze.
People gaze upon the world through their own particular filter, coming from their upbringing
and place in the world.
Gazing orders, shapes and classifies rather than reflects the world.
Tourist gaze is about learnt ways of seeing.
Tourism as opposed to normal, everyday life.
