New directions in the sociology of tourism

Abstract

This review article starts with an examination of the shifting nature of tourism discourse from the 1960s up to the present, and then focuses on seven topics that we consider to be on the forefront of current developments in the sociological study of tourism: emotions, sensory experiences, materialities, gender, ethics, authentication and the philosophical groundings of tourism theories. We find that in recent years the sociology of tourism was marked by three general trends: the growing application of specific novel theories from other fields to tourism, the examination of new facets of touristic phenomena, and an intensified inquiry into the status of tourism as an intellectual or cultural project. We conclude that while the application of a range of novel theoretical perspectives and facets largely reflects the postmodern move away from binary thinking and concepts, the sociology of tourism still makes little contribution back to the discipline of sociology, and will need to address important emergent topics such as deglobalization and current nationalistic movements toward isolationism, to do so.

Hell is other people? An existential-phenomenological analysis of the local gaze in tourism

“…Sympathy, on the other hand, is commonly used to as an individual's response to a person's misfortune, which often leads to pro-social helping behavior. Although in the field of tourism these concepts lack of a deeper understanding (Cohen & Cohen, 2017), it can be argued that there is a type of sympathetic connection which the Local Gaze enables; while a true empathic connection may be sought for, but is not found.…”

“…Maoz, 2006;Zara, 2015). Additionally, following wider sociological trends in the tourism field, as highlighted by Cohen and Cohen (2017), there are calls to acknowledge further realities which are likely to play into the formation of the gaze. Scholars have called for more awareness regarding embodied experiences with a particular focus on emotions, such as empathy, engagement, shame and discomfort (Frazer & Waitt, 2016;Gillespie, 2006;Tucker, 2016).…”

An ecological-phenomenological perspective on multispecies leisure and the horse-human relationship in events

“…The ecological-phenomenological perspective we have introduced in this paper overcomes some of the potential limitations of ANT outlined previously in that it makes analytical space for individual animals and their unique abilities, corporeal realities and personal histories to shape leisure experiences. Whereas individual animals may disappear from focus in much ANT research (Cohen & Cohen, 2017), an ecological-phenomenological framework makes the individual(s), and their interactions with each other and the environment, the core focus of analysis. The fictional scenario presented above analysed with a conceptual framework informed by ANT may foreground other, nonanimate actors in this scenario, and consequently animate actors (both human and nonhuman) and their interactions with the environment may disappear from focus.…”

Changes in Traditional Activities of Industrial Area toward Sustainable Tourism Development

“…Studies on the residents' attitudes regarding directions of development of the local community are treated as interdisciplinary studies in the field of environmental sociology (natural and social), and this field of sociology was especially developed over the last three decades [27][28][29][30][31][32]. Research on the residents' attitudes toward tourism development, including their willingness to participate in entrepreneurial activities in the tourism sector, was previously conducted and presented in numerous studies [33][34][35][36][37].…”