However, if tourists encounter a reality that is vastly different from their expectations, they are likely to leave dissatisfied. Consequently, in the post-trip part of the tourism process, they will return home to tell friends and family about their experiences, submit posts to review sites, or even blog. This negative reporting can be hard for a destination to overcome. People are frequently skeptical of advertising; thus, even though promotional images and literature show one thing, the reports of someone who has been there can prove to be more powerful.
Conclusion
Place is one of the key concepts in geography, and it is equally important in the geography of tourism. Tourism is an inherently place-based geographic phenomenon. Yet, we must first understand the ways in which people think about places before we can begin to examine ways in which people interact with and experience places through tourism. Our most concrete ideas about places come from firsthand experience, but we also have ideas about all kinds of places we’ve never been. In a sense, we “experience” these places through representations. These representations can be extraordinarily powerful in shaping our perceptions of places, which plays a role in determining whether or not we wish to visit that place for ourselves. In recognition of this, destinations around the world have now also taken an active role in trying to represent their place in specific ways that will attract tourists. However, the impact of representations does not end with the destination-decision-making process. The ideas of places created by representations also shape the way we experience places, which will be examined in the final chapter.
Box 12.3. Experience: Disappointed Expectations
We live in the northern part of the country. By March, we’re pretty much fed up with winter and ready for a change. I am a professional tennis instructor, and after teaching inside for months, I look forward to the opportunity to experience some nice weather and play outside. My wife is a teacher, and she looks forward to her spring break from classes. One year, when my wife and I were looking for someplace warm to go on a nice—but reasonable—week-long vacation, I came across an ad on my national association’s website. A pro was promoting his resort by offering discounts to other pros (and, presumably, their families and clients). This place was described as a “golf and tennis resort” in San Antonio, Texas. Of course, I imagined what I think anyone would of a golf and tennis resort: a beautiful, spacious, quiet property with nice facilities and well-manicured grounds; high-quality, comfortable—if not luxurious!—accommodations; lots of activities and guest services, and more. I checked out the resort’s website. Everything sounded good, and the pictures looked nice. I assumed that the weather in Texas at that time of year would be a marked improvement over what we would be experiencing. I went ahead and made the reservation, and, for the next couple of months, we anticipated our trip.
Come March, the reality of what we found was disappointing to say the least. It turns out that the “resort” was located not in the vicinity of San Antonio but in the city itself on a busy commercial street. The place itself was very old and run-down. I distinctly remember the carpets throughout the property being stained and threadbare, and the rooms were no better than those of a cheap motel. The golf course turned out to be a 9-hole par 3, with no evidence of recent maintenance. The tennis courts were equally neglected, with ragged nets and a faded, cracked playing surface. The tennis pro who had made the promotional offer was long gone by that time, and there was no organized program. To top it all off, the weather that week was cold and dreary, and it rained often.
My wife, good soldier that she is, never complained about any of these poor conditions, or her disappointed expectations. We still managed to have a good time exploring San Antonio; however, we’ll always remember that “resort,” but not for the right reasons. I learned my lesson, though, and since then, I have been much more careful about researching the places that we choose to go on vacation.
—Tom
Key Terms
placelessness
place promotion
Notes
1. Edward Relph, Place and Placelessness (London: Pion, 1976), 58.
2. Dean MacCannell, The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class (New York: Schocken Books, 1976; reprinted with foreword by Lucy R. Lippard; Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999), 110. Citations refer to the California edition.
3. Kelly J. MacKay and Daniel R. Fesenmaier, “Pictorial Element of Destination in Image Formation,” Annals of Tourism Research 24, no. 3 (1997), 538.
4. Anthony Trollope, The West Indies and the Spanish Main, 4th ed. (London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1968), 50.
5. Algernon E. Aspinall, The Pocket Guide to the West Indies, 2nd ed. (London: Duckworth & Co., 1910), 42–43.
6. Richard H. Gassan, The Birth of American Tourism: New York, the Hudson Valley, and American Culture, 1790–1830 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2008), 73–75.
7. Jill Steward, “‘How and Where to Go’: The Role of Travel Journalism in Britain and the Evolution of Foreign Travel, 1840–1914,” in Histories of Tourism: Representation, Identity, and Conflict, ed. John Walton (Clevedon, UK: Channel View Publications, 2005), 44–45.
8. Frank T. Bullen, Back to Sunny Seas (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1905), vii.
9. TravelBlog, “Free Online Travel Diary,” accessed January 3, 2012, http://www.travelblog.org/about.html.
10. Relph, Place and Placelessness, 90.
Sources
Gassan, Richard H. The Birth of American Tourism: New York, the Hudson Valley, and American Culture, 1790–1830. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2008.
Hall, Derek. “Brand Development, Tourism, and National Identity: The Re-Imaging of Former Yugoslavia,” Brand Management 9 (2002): 323–34.
Morgan, Nigel. “Problematizing Place Promotion.” In A Companion to Tourism, edited by Alan A. Lew, C. Michael Hall, and Allan M. Williams, 173–83. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004.
Relph, Edward. Place and Placelessness. London: Pion Limited, 1976.
Simmons, Jack. “Railways, Hotels, and Tourism in Great Britain, 1839–1914.” Journal of Contemporary History 19 (1984): 201–22.
Steward, Jill. “‘How and Where to Go’: The Role of Travel Journalism in Britain and the Evolution of Foreign Travel, 1840–1914.” In Histories of Tourism: Representation, Identity, and Conflict, edited by John Walton, 39–54. Clevedon, UK: Channel View Publications, 2005.
Suvantola, Jaakko. Tourist’s Experience of Place. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2002.
Urry, John. Consuming Places. London: Routledge, 1995.
Williams, Stephen. Tourism Geography. London: Routledge, 1998.
Chapter 13
Experiences of Place in Tourism
While media representations play a crucial role in the creation of place meanings, these meanings can also be individual. This will be shaped by overarching cultural conventions, personal preferences, and perhaps most importantly, direct experiences with places. Although place is an important topic in geography, studies in the geography of tourism have been criticized for giving the experience of place in the context of tourism relatively little attention.1 This is primarily due to the fact that the human geography tradition has focused more on the meanings that come from experiences in places that are most familiar. However, the potential to draw upon this tradition in the geography of tourism to explore the experience of other places is clear.
Places are complex entities, and they become even more complex with the development of tourism. The character of a place may be changed as a result of tourism, and it may become more stratified as some areas of the place embrace the influx of outsiders while others remain reserved for locals. Likewise, the meanings associated with a place may be changed and new layers of meaning added, based on the experiences of outsiders in addition to those of insiders. This chapter further examines the relationship between place and tourism; in particular, how tourism shapes the character of places and how tourists experience the places they visi
t.
Places and Tourism
In the previous chapter, we saw how important representations of places are in shaping the ways in which people think about tourism destinations. While these representations are selective in the images that are offered to potential tourists, they must have some basis in the character of the place; otherwise, the destination runs the risk of tourist dissatisfaction when the experience does not match up with expectations. As such, the character of a place is important in attracting and maintaining tourism. Yet, the unique character of a place may ultimately be affected by tourism.
One of the most influential works on the geography of place has been Edward Relph’s Place and Placelessness (1976). In this work, Relph defines a geography of places that are unique and full of meaning; these places create a world that is rich and varied. He contrasts this with a placeless geography. Non-places have few characteristics that situate them in their location or distinguish one from another, and they lack meanings beyond certain stereotypical ideas. Thus, in a placeless geography, the character of the setting is devoid of significant or unique features, and people don’t recognize that places are different. Consequently, placelessness involves both a look and feel of sameness.
For example, the tropical beach has been described as one such non-place. These beaches feature the same, typically stereotyped characteristics (e.g., sunny skies, palm trees, white sands, clear waters, possibly even umbrellas and lounge chairs), regardless of their actual location in the tropical world. In fact, even when such a place is visited, there may be few readily apparent features that would distinguish it from other, similar places or indicate the wider character of the place in which it is situated. These beaches are loaded with superficial meanings, such as fun, relaxation, and escape, but they often lack the depth of meaning associated with places that are unique (figure 13.1).
Figure 13.1. Is there anything about this scene that might give you a clue as to where it is? (Source: Tom Nelson)
Box 13.1. Case Study: China’s Deliberate Creation of Placeless Tourism Destinations
Hallstatt is a small, lakeside Austrian town in the Salzkammergut Lake District. The area has a long history of human settlement based on the presence of salt, which has been mined over three thousand years, since the Middle Bronze Age. Hallstatt became the type site for the predominant pattern of life characterizing much of Central Europe during the Early Iron Age, now referred to as the Hallstatt Culture. The modern town has origins that date back to the medieval period, although much of the architecture is characterized by the late Baroque style after a fire destroyed part of the town in 1750. Today, the picturesque town set against a dramatic Alpine landscape has less than 1,000 inhabitants but receives some 800,000 tourists each year. UNESCO has designated Hallstatt and the greater Salzkammergut region a World Heritage Site based on its natural beauty and its great human heritage, as well as the integrity with which it has been preserved over the years.
And soon it can be seen in China.
In mid-2011, China Minmetals Corporation began construction on what is intended to be an exact replica of Hallstatt in Guangdong Province, near Hong Kong. The decision to re-create a European town in China may not be as surprising as it initially sounds. Chengdu’s British Town was modeled after Dorchester, England, and the “Shanghai One City, Nine Towns” plan has already seen the development of a Nordic Town, Holland Town, Thames Town, and German Town intended to represent “typical” towns from the respective European countries. Moreover, Austria’s Hallstatt has been a popular destination among Asian tourists. The new town is designed to serve as a tourism destination for the middle-class Chinese market and European expatriates living in China.
The architectural aspects of the town are to be replicated down to the last detail, and it is intended that the shops will offer some traditional products, including Austrian crystal and other souvenirs that might be bought by tourists in the original town. However, it will be difficult to replicate Hallstatt’s unique geographic setting. Although an artificial lake will be created, the hilly, subtropical region can little compare to the Alpine climate and landscape of the original. Additionally, the replication will necessarily lack the rich history of Hallstatt and the meanings that have accrued to the place over the years. Representatives of the Catholic Church, in particular, have expressed serious concerns about the traditional village church being stripped of the functions that it serves in its community and instead merely providing an aesthetic focal point in a tourist attraction.
Responses from the Hallstatt community have varied. Some residents and officials are flattered by the imitation, and the local tourist board suggests that the new town will serve as an advertisement for and possible inducement to visit the original. Others have questioned the legality of replicating a town and UNESCO World Heritage Site without permission, although there appears to be no legal precedent against it. In the media, the idea has been widely condemned. In one commentary after the news of this development broke, AOL Travel contributor Andrew Burmon criticized the plan for its blatant Disneyfication. He writes, “Chinese tourists apparently like visiting Western-style towns denuded of their history and context. A similar thing could be said, I suppose, of people who go to Epcot Center, but Epcot seems much more innocent, presenting tamed ideas of different countries rather than simulations of specific places.”1 Also in response, CNN’s foreign affairs host Fareed Zakaria blogs: “What I would love to find in China is a beautiful replica of a traditional Chinese village, but these have become almost impossible to find nowadays.”2
Discussion topic: As a tourist, are the meanings of a place important to you? Would you visit a destination such as China’s Hallstatt replication? Why or why not?
Map 13.1. Hallstatt—the old (Austria) and the new (China). (Source: XNR Productions)
Notes
1. Andrew Burmon, “Hallstatt, an Austrian Hamlet in Communist China,” AOL Travel, June 17, 2011, accessed July 5, 2011, http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/06/17/hallstatt-an-austrian-hamlet-in-communist-china/.
2. Fareed Zakaria, “China Replicating Western Towns,” CNN Global Public Square Blogs, June 21, 2011, accessed July 5, 2011, http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/21/china-replicating-western-cities/.
Source
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. “Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape.” Accessed July 5, 2011. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/806.
Relph is particularly critical of tourism and argues that it plays an integral role in creating placelessness: “Tourism is an homogenizing influence and its effects everywhere seem to be the same—the destruction of the local and regional landscape that very often initiated tourism, and its replacement by conventional tourist architecture and synthetic landscapes and pseudo-places.”2 In other words, tourism destinations are prone to becoming non-places. This is often attributed to the standardization of mass tourism. Mass tourism destinations are typically characterized by multinational companies that build resorts and restaurants in the same style and offer the same services regardless of location. These multinational companies reflect the demands of organized mass tourists that the places they visit—even if they are foreign places—have at least certain elements of home that are familiar and comfortable. To maintain tourism, destination stakeholders seek to meet these demands. However, in the process, this fundamentally changes the character of that place, at least within certain areas (i.e., the tourist zone). Thus, there may be a certain sameness to mass tourism destinations in many parts of the world.
Another variation of placelessness refers to places that are artificial, contrived, and have little relationship to the history and/or reality of the places in which they are situated. Again citing tourism as a crucial contributing influence, Relph describes this as a process of “Disneyfication” in which the synthetic world of the theme park has begun to affect the character and development of other places.3 Indeed, scholars have applied this concept to
various places around the world, including existing places that have been subject to Disneyfication, such as New Orleans or Cornwall, as well as places that have been developed in this way, such as Las Vegas or Cancún.
Although there is certainly some truth in the relationship between tourism and placelessness (both non-places and Disneyfied places), this type of blanket criticism of tourism is not entirely justified. There is a tremendous variety in tourism, and not all tourists are looking for a standardized experience. Tourists at the opposite end of the spectrum—the explorers and drifters—specifically avoid such destinations and instead seek out new and different places to experience. Although tourism will inevitably bring changes to these destinations, these changes can be made conscientiously to avoid destroying the character of that place.
In addition, the perceived homogenization of places in the modern world has stimulated a process of localization. In other words, in the face of standardization as a result of global processes, including tourism, some places have attempted to reassert local interests, traditions, and distinctiveness. This helps reinforce, and in some cases re-create, a unique sense of identity and character for places that might otherwise be lost. While this process of localization may be initiated by local people to protect their heritage, it also has the distinct advantage of giving that place a competitive advantage among tourists (or place consumers) who are looking for a unique experience of place.
Sense of Place
Sense of place refers to the association with and emotional attachment to places based on the meanings given to those places. It is one of the ways in which we are connected to the world and therefore an integral part of the human experience.4 A sense of place is developed by experience in and a relationship with a place. In particular, geographer Yi-Fu Tuan has argued that “sense of place is rarely acquired in passing. To know a place well requires long residence and deep involvement.”5 Thus, the places of our everyday lives are those that hold the most meaning for us and therefore are the ones to which we are most attached. As such, these are the places, relationships, and meanings that geographers have been most interested in. Nonetheless, sense of place can contribute to our understanding of the geography of tourism.
An Introduction to the Geography of Tourism Page 38
