For example, the relationship with and feelings we have toward the places of our everyday lives can play a role in the demand for tourism. In addition to feelings of affection and attachment, the familiarity of these places can generate feelings of complacency or even hostility if we begin to perceive that we are tied to or imprisoned there. Even though we know that these are the places to which we’ll always return, we may still feel the need for a temporary change of place. Tourism provides us with this opportunity.
The sense of place that we have for “our” places is instinctive and unconscious. In fact, it is something that we think little about. However, developing a sense of place can also be a conscious act. Although tourists will not develop a sense of a place equal to an insider’s, they nonetheless have the potential to gain insight into a place if they are willing to be open-minded and sensitive to its nuances.6 Taken a step farther, tourism becomes the means of experiencing new places and places in new ways. Unfamiliar places are experienced differently than familiar ones. While we take certain aspects of a familiar place for granted, everything in a new place is different and unknown. We may have a greater sense of curiosity and excitement. Activities that seem mundane in our daily lives—driving from one place to another, taking a walk up the street, going to the store, finding something to eat—can suddenly turn into an adventure. As we have the potential to encounter new things, we tend to observe more carefully. We typically have a greater sense of security in the places that we consider our own; thus, to varying degrees based on the context, we may even be challenged to pay more attention to our surroundings in a new place to find what we need or to keep ourselves safe.
Because of widespread representations of places in today’s world, there are few places for which we have no preconceptions or expectations. The meanings these places hold may be abstract and are most likely based on stereotypes. However, with every experience we have in places, we build upon these preconceived ideas. Over the course of a trip, we create more nuanced, personal meanings of place that constitute a type of sense of place.
Finally, experiences in new places often cause us to reflect on our experiences in those places most familiar to us, those that constitute the setting of our daily lives. In some cases, the sudden absence of those aspects of a place that we take for granted may prompt us to appreciate them more upon our return, at least for a little while. We may find that there are aspects of a place we would rather see changed, to be more like that of a place visited. In essence, experiences in other places may cause us to refine our sense of place.
Experience of Place
There are countless factors that can affect tourists’ experience, ranging from poor infrastructure to the presence of pests. Perhaps one of the greatest factors that have a distinct impact on tourists’ experiences is the weather conditions of a place at the time of a trip. Nothing is likely to ruin a tourist’s experience more than unexpected and undesirable weather conditions that prevent them from seeing or doing the things they had planned (see box 6.1). While it may be an unusual—perhaps even unprecedented—occurrence for that place, it’s the only experience tourists have with that place. Of course, other factors may be unrelated to the place but will affect the tourists’ experience of it nonetheless. For example, tourists who are sick during their vacation may not be able to participate in certain activities, and they are likely to enter into their experiences with far less enthusiasm than they would have otherwise.
Interactions with the people at a destination can play an important role in tourists’ experience of that place. In a new place, we may not know where to go, how to act, or whom to trust. Tourists are often wary of being taken advantage of or cheated—in some cases, rightly so. Tourists may have little knowledge of how much things should cost or the way things work; consequently, they are at the mercy of tourism stakeholders and local people to deal with them fairly. Encounters with local people who are honest and friendly, or those who go out of their way to help strangers, can have an extraordinarily positive impact on tourists’ experience. Conversely, encounters with even a few people at the destination who are dishonest, unhelpful, hostile, or harassing can ultimately shape the way tourists forever think about that place.
Personal factors, such as previous experiences and personality, play a role in the way an individual experiences a place. We approach experiences with different attitudes. Some tourists feel apprehension, anxiety, or even fear, perhaps from the very moment they leave home, at the unknown of experiencing a new place. This is most often the case among tourists who have had little experience with new and especially different places. However, this should lessen with time spent in the new place, as the tourist becomes more familiar and comfortable with the circumstances. In contrast, other tourists may experience a sense of euphoria at being in a place where everything is novel. This, too, can lessen with time as the novelty of the experience begins to wear off.
Tourists have different logistical options for experiencing a destination. The following sections discuss guided tours and independent travel as two options and how each shapes the experience of place.
Guided Tours
Guided tours present one option for tourists to experience a destination. There is an endless variety of experiences that range from a complete package trip to a day-long excursion as one part of a larger trip, from a group with dozens of participants to a one-on-one experience. Tourists might choose this experience for a number of different reasons, reflecting the type of tourist, the desired tourism product, the choice of destination, or the motivations for the trip. Essentially, guided tours can serve different purposes and provide different types of experiences of place.
For example, organized mass tourists are often interested in the convenience of a package tour such as the “European Dream” eight-day coach tour spanning London, Amsterdam, Paris, Lucerne, Milan, Venice, and Rome. The itinerary is preplanned (e.g., what places to visit and for how long), and all of the logistical arrangements have already been made (e.g., how to travel, where to stay, where to eat). This creates a “worry-free” holiday for tourists who don’t have the time or interest in planning a trip and don’t want any surprises. These tours may be considered suitable for relatively inexperienced travelers who are anxious about traveling in an unfamiliar, especially foreign, destination where they may not know the customs or speak the language.
Although these tours are tremendously popular, they are commonly criticized for minimizing the experience of place. There is little need to come to the destination with any knowledge of the place, as all arrangements have already been made and guides provide necessary information along the way. With a set itinerary, there is little opportunity for exploration and interaction with the place or its people. The spontaneity of the tourism experience is eliminated, and tourists are reduced to passive observers of place through the windows of a climate-controlled bus.
In comparison, individual mass tourists are likely to visit the same, or similar, destinations as their organized counterparts (e.g., London or Rome); however, they are likely to outline their own itineraries and/or make their own travel arrangements. This will require more research and planning in the pre-trip stage. At the destination, they may choose to do a combination of the guided tour and independent travel for their experience; for example, they might take a day tour or sightseeing bus to get information about the place and to see the highlighted attractions before exploring a bit more on their own.
Guided tours may also be used to facilitate certain types of special-interest tourism, such as those that require specific skills. For example, tourists may be interested in participating in an activity at the destination—such as rock climbing, scuba diving, or horseback riding—but have little previous experience with that activity. As such, a tour provides them with instruction, necessary equipment, and a guide to help them along the way and ensure their safety. Likewise, special-interest tourism may require in-depth local knowledge. Tourists interested in bird watchin
g, wildlife photography, hunting, or fishing may require a local guide who will know when and where they will have the greatest opportunities for these activities.
Finally, guided tours may be necessary to allow tourists to visit places they would not otherwise know about or have access to (i.e., MacCannell’s back region stages). This can include places not generally made known to outsiders, such as an unmarked hiking trail, or those not open to outsiders except on a tour because of logistical or safety reasons (e.g., the subterranean passages of the Seattle Underground). Some destinations impose such specific regulations on tourists that a guide is necessary to ensure that proper procedures are followed; some of the strictest controlled destinations actually require that tourists travel with a guide. This is the case in places like Tibet and Bhutan. Thus, while the types of tourists who visit these “off the beaten track” destinations are fairly adventurous explorers and drifters looking for a unique experience, they must travel in a different manner than they would normally.
The existence of tour guides dates back to the earliest eras of tourism. Tour guides played a particularly important role in the Grand Tour era, before the tourism industry and infrastructure were developed. With little in the way of guidebook information, maps, signs, or other features that facilitate tourism, outsiders were dependent on guides. On one hand, the guides would literally guide tourists in places that were unfamiliar, inaccessible to outsiders, and in which they would be met with suspicion or hostility by the local population. On the other hand, these guides would metaphorically guide tourists in the process of personal development that was intended to accompany an experience such as the Grand Tour.7
Modern tour guides continue to serve a variety of functions (figure 13.2). In addition to taking care of logistical arrangements, guides are generally responsible for the safety and well-being of tourists during the course of the trip. At the same time, they are responsible for ensuring that tourists are familiar with and abide by local customs and policies. This is particularly the case in places where guides are required. For example, if a tourist does something in Tibet that is prohibited by the Chinese government (e.g., staying to travel independently after the tour or engaging in political activism), the tour guide and/or the travel agency that arranged the tour will be punished for the offense.
Figure 13.2. This tour guide in St. Kitts transported his tour participants to a local hiking trail, provided information about the area’s flora and fauna, and told stories about exploring the forest as a child growing up on the island. (Source: Tom Nelson)
Tour guides are expected to have a good knowledge of the places visited. While some tour itineraries are preplanned, others are flexible, and it is up to the guide to determine the course of the trip/excursion to reflect the interests of tour participants. The guide may be expected to find routes that will yield the best opportunities to encounter desired points of interest. This is particularly applicable on special interest tours where those points are moving targets (e.g., wildlife). In addition, guides must be able to convey their knowledge of a place to participants. This must be done in a way that is easily understood by visitors, which may require translating or interpreting things that might seem strange or unusual to outsiders. Yet, guides must also balance providing information about places and entertaining tourists on holiday (for a humorous take on this topic, see the 2009 film My Life in Ruins).
Tour guides may be required to have certain skill sets, such as fluency in multiple languages, and also some knowledge of the tourists’ culture to understand what their interests are, what type of experience they want, and how to best represent the places visited. Some tourists may want information about the places, while others may be more interested in myths or personal stories. In some cases, tourists may not want any interpretation at all; the guide is simply intended to facilitate travel and highlight sights to be seen and/or photographed. Guides must be flexible and accommodating to meet the needs of tour participants as they arise.
Tour guides can have a highly important role to play in tourists’ experiences of a place. They constitute another form of representation; they represent local peoples and places to tourists. As such, they have tremendous power in determining what is important and will be seen—and, conversely, what won’t—and shaping what tourists think about those places and their experiences. Guides are considered an essential interface between tourists and the destination. However, they are not entirely autonomous; they may be required to represent the aspects and stories of the place that are officially sanctioned. In other words, they may be limited by what places the government will allow guides to take tourists and what topics they can discuss.
Tourists place a great deal of trust in their guides to be honest, give them accurate information, and generally deal with them fairly. Of course, this is not always the case. Guides may fabricate information, advise them to purchase inauthentic souvenirs, or require them to pay additional “fees” that line their pockets or those of their acquaintances. However, tour companies depend on their reputation, and the Internet has become a powerful forum for dissatisfied customers to spread the word about any problems they had with a tour. Moreover, because tour guides play such an important role in representing the destination, governments frequently implement regulations and/or require licenses for tour guides. Nonetheless, unlicensed guides operating in the informal sector of the economy are common in many destinations around the world, and experiences with them vary widely.
Independent Travel
Many tourists—particularly explorers and drifters—prefer to experience a place on their own. Just as organized package tours are criticized for minimizing tourists’ experience of place, independent explorations are often considered to provide the greatest opportunities for tourists to develop a sense of place. Of course, a deeper experience of a place does not necessarily translate into a positive one, and there can be both advantages and disadvantages of going it alone at the destination.
Those who prefer independent travel typically value the flexibility to set their own itinerary. Based on their interests and priorities, they can choose what places they want to visit and what sights to see. These may be primary attractions, but one of the advantages of independent travel is the ability to get off the traditional tourist track and experience more of the place than the front regions. For example, tourists come en masse to visit Piazza dei Miracoli, the main tourist complex in Pisa, Italy, featuring the famous Leaning Tower. This is a well-known primary attraction and one that all kinds of tourists to Tuscany are likely to see. However, those on a guided tour will likely only experience this part of Pisa, while those traveling independently have the potential to explore other parts of the historic city if they choose.
Likewise, tourists who travel independently are not bound by a strict schedule, unless they set it for themselves. They have the flexibility to linger at a site that they find enjoyable or interesting without feeling rushed, and conversely, they are free to move on to the next attraction if they decide they have done all they wanted in that place. Consequently, tourists can feel that they had the fullest experience of a place with little perceived wasted time (e.g., waiting at rendezvous points).
To some extent, those who travel by personal vehicle may be subject to the same criticisms as those who travel by tour bus: that their only experience of other places is from a distance and in passing. However, personal vehicles can be used as a means of getting to a destination but not the primary means of experiencing it. Independent travelers may choose to walk or use public transportation at the destination, which will provide opportunities for interactions with local people, access to back regions, and insight into the lived experience of the place.
This more flexible style of travel allows for greater spontaneity in the experience of place. Independent travel does not always go as planned; in fact, it frequently does not. Yet, for many tourists, their most memorable and rewarding experiences of a place are those that were stumbled upon by acciden
t in the course of exploring—and in some cases, getting lost—on their own. These are the experiences where they met interesting local people, found a great restaurant, saw places they never would have encountered otherwise, and observed or participated in a unique local event.
Of course, not all unexpected experiences are pleasant ones. For many tourists, the prospect of traveling without a guide and the prospect of facing the unexpected alone are great sources of stress. Tour participants benefit from operators who scout out the best attractions, accommodations, or restaurants. Tourists who plan their own trips, on the other hand, must make selections from their best guess based on whatever information is available, and not always with positive results (see box 12.3).
Similarly, tour participants benefit from dedicated transportation that takes them directly to points of interest. In contrast, those who rely on public transportation may be frustrated by restrictive schedules and an inability to get to tourist sites not served by transportation systems. Independent tourists also run the risk of getting lost. For some, this is an adventure and creates opportunities, but for others, it is a source of stress. These tourists face the potential frustration of not reaching the desired attractions as well as the potential anxiety of finding themselves in undesirable, possibly unsafe, locations.
Independent tourists may not always have access to the same extent of information about the places and attractions visited. Sites have varying degrees of information available to independent tourists. Some highly developed sites have self-guided audio tours, guidebooks, and/or well-annotated displays; however, many sites present little information or use only the local language. Moreover, this information is typically limited to basic facts without providing the level of detail or richer stories that a good tour guide might have to offer.
An Introduction to the Geography of Tourism Page 39
