The transformational festival as a subversive toolbox for a transformed tourism: lessons from Burning Man for a COVID-19 world

Abstract

Examining transformational festivals can offer conceptual resources for a transformation of tourism into a more responsible and sustainable practice. By thinking together two usually distinct scholarly treatments of "transformation"-those of transformational tourism and those of transformational festivals-the COVID-19 pandemic can itself also be treated as a spatiotemporal threshold for the transformation of the travel industry. This approach can also help deconstruct the mechanisms that sustain deleterious aspects of tourism's guest-host divide. As borders reopen and mobility and recreation recommences, the capacity of transformational festivals-both within and beyond their highly porous time-spaces-to transform their participants offer lessons for the blurring, if not the outright obliteration of the demarcation between guests and hosts. The creative and pro-social responses of members of one such transformational festival culture-Burning Man-to this and past crises are presented as examples for how values such as participation and civic responsibility may help people overcome shared conditions of hardship, and support more sustainable tourism practices in the post-COVID-19 world. Such subversive inter-subjective inversions may bring the recognition, in-itself, and production, for-itself, of a shared humanity of co-creators and participants in not just ephemeral, but accretive transformational social and environmental projects.

Reviving tourism industry post-COVID-19: A resilience-based framework

“…Preferences are now shifting toward connecting and shopping locally. The virus has offered an opportunity to the tourism industry to recreate and contribute to society's welfare ( Benjamin et al, 2020 ; Rowen, 2020 ). Life, health, environment, etc., are the focused areas during disasters.…”

COVID-19: an opportunity to review existing grounded theories in event studies

“…That said, it is worth highlighting the fact that out of the 45 articles currently available, only one article focuses on events. Taking the example of the Burning Man (festival), Rowen (2020) explains that in the future events will have to play an even more important role in the education of consumers. Based on the dearth of research on the impacts and opportunities of COVID-19 for the event industry, this study could be said to be filling a gap in literature.…”

“…COVID-19 by limiting or interrupting the happenings of events (Jamal & Budke, 2020) is impacting negatively on the development of social capital within communities, and is also threatening the future of an industry, individuals and communities are depending on (Figure 1). That said, the outbreak of the virus is also offering the industry opportunities to reinvent itself, and to contribute even more to the wellbeing of the society (Rowen, 2020). Theoretical foundation and theoretical framework of the study The theoretical foundation overarching this study, has been influenced by the Janusian thinking approach, which is a reference to Janus, the Roman god with two faces, who looked in opposite directions simultaneously, and whom also played an essential role in the creation of the world (Rothenberg, 1996).…”

Diffusing innovation in times of disasters: considerations for event management professionals

“…Amongst this growing body of work on COVID-19 and tourism to date, very few studies have explored the impact of COVID-19 on the events industry. Namely, Rowen (2020) used the example of the Burning Man festival to explain that the future of events will play a significant role in educating customers. Ludvigsen and Hayton (2020) provided perspectives on the "post-pandemic" organizational aspects of mega sporting events with a focus on volunteering and security.…”