Akrasia and tourism: why we sometimes act against our better judgement?

Abstract

There are many practical problems that we must come to grips with in our daily lives. Often, we are presented with options or alternatives in reference to these problems. How we weigh and choose which course of action to pursue is of obvious significance. We may choose rationally, i.e. we may choose the option that is judged to be in our best interest, or we may choose irrationally, i.e. against our better judgement. In the latter case, we would be succumbing to akrasia -demonstrating weakness of will, where the search for pleasure overwhelms good judgement. This paper applies the concept of akrasia to two tourism case studies: one, on the choice to purchase endangered animal souvenirs in Cuba, and the other on sex tourism in Costa Rica. I conclude by suggesting that codes of ethics, accreditation schemes, guidebooks and interpretive programmes have a role to play in educating tourism actors on the importance of choosing alternatives that support broader initiatives over those of a strictly personal (i.e. self-interest) nature.

“Souvenir Shopping is for Schmucks!”: Exploring Tourists’ Deviant Behavior Through the Items They Bring Back

“…In this regard, what emerges from the study is more complex but more complete insights into the range of behaviors and motivations for tourist memento collecting. Specifically, regarding the motives for the illegitimate or unethical aspects of memento accumulation, our findings suggests that tourism misbehavior may not just be attributed to the fact that tourists enter a liminal zone (Urry 2003) where they are unwilling or unable to control their desires ("akrasia";Fennell 2015). A consistently important aspect of this behavior has been that in their quest for authenticity and legitimacy tourists disregard "souvenirs" and seek authentic "trophies"; mementos that offer enjoyment and benefits to the ego, status, or self-esteem which often accrue from and stimulate deviant behaviors.…”

“…Rather, they position social harm as the ultimate unethical practice and redefine deviance as a transgression of the "ethical duty to the other" (Smith and Raymen 2018). While previous criminology and sociology work has focused on highly visible forms of harm, such as substance use in the night-time economy (Ayres 2019); performance enhancing drugs among crossfitters (Mulrooney and van de Ven 2019); gambling (Raymen and Smith 2020); and even sadomasochism (Williams 2009), previous research has ignored the capacity to locate harm in Fennell (2015) Akrasia and tourism: Why we sometimes act against our better judgement?…”

“…A final reason is related to the unique emotional, social, and cognitive factors of tourists in the pursuit of pleasure. Fennell (2015) introduced the concept of akrasia , or the inability of an individual to restrain their desires (Mele 1994) in the tourism literature to explain why anticipating pleasure might motivate actions against the tourist’s better judgment. From this perspective, misbehavior is not due to the in-between state of tourists or their unique service encounters, but it is motivated by the will to break free from rules and norms, in an effort to feel “more” alive (Belk, Ger, and Askegaard 2003).…”

“…From this perspective, misbehavior is not due to the in-between state of tourists or their unique service encounters, but it is motivated by the will to break free from rules and norms, in an effort to feel “more” alive (Belk, Ger, and Askegaard 2003). Touristic endeavors often elicit powerful emotions and displace rational thoughts in the background (Fennell 2015). Tourists, therefore, may misbehave because they are unable to restrain their desires or follow their rational judgment.…”

Is Sex Tourism Intention Uncontrollable? The Moderating Effects of Ethics and Law

“…Whether legally permitted, many societies negatively perceive prostitution because the legitimacy of sex tends to be evaluated from the ethical point of view instead of the law (Döring, Mohseni, and Walter 2020; Fennell 2015). For example, Fennell (2006) adopted the five normative theories presented by Schumann (2001), namely, utilitarianism, rights, distributive justice ethics, virtue ethics, and ethics of care, to explain why sex tourism is ethically wrong.…”