Author:

Keywords:

imaginaries, imagination, fantasy, tourism mobility, circulation of ideas, transdisciplinary theory, Social Sciences, Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism, Sociology, Social Sciences - Other Topics, imaginary, 1504 Commercial Services, 1505 Marketing, 1506 Tourism, Sport, Leisure & Tourism, 3506 Marketing, 3508 Tourism, 4406 Human geography

Abstract:

It is hard to imagine tourism without the creative use of both seductive and restrictive imaginaries about peoples and places. This article presents a theoretical framework for the study of tourism imaginaries and their circulation. Where do tourism imaginaries come from, how and why are they circulated across the globe, and what kind of impact do they have on people’s lives? I discuss the multiple links between tourism and the imaginary, illustrating the overlapping but conflicting ways in which imaginings drive tourists and tourism service providers alike. By applying this conceptual approach to international tourism in developing countries, I show how the critical analysis of tourism imaginaries offers a powerful deconstruction device of ideological, political, and sociocultural stereotypes and clichés.