Post-Tourist
Apparantly, there is a term called "post-tourist", I guess this term is talking about tourism in our post-modern world. Here are a couple quotes about tourism and post-modernity to help you and I to understand what is a "post-tourist".
"Moderinism, then is to be understood as a process of differentiation, especially as we have seen here, of the differentiation between the various cultural sphceres both horizontally and vertically. Postmodernim, by contrast, involves de-differentiation." Page 84The post-tourist is someone who does not have to leave the confines of their home to “see” the objects of the tourist gaze. They are aware of the similarity between seeing the object within a frame whether it be through a television screen or the window of a car. The distinctiveness of the tourist gaze is being lost to post-modern pop-culture. The second element of being a post-tourist is the awareness of choice, they are free from the constraints of ‘high culture’.
"Postmodern cultural forms are not consumed in a state of contemplation (as in the classical concert) but of distraction." Page 85
"Tourism is prefiguratively postmodern because of its particular combination of the visual, the aesthetic, and the popular." Page 87
“Now he [sic] wants to behold something sacred; now something informative, to broaden him, now something beautiful, to life him and make him finer; and now something just different, because he’s bored” Page 100
They can simultaneously enjoy a replica of the Eiffel tower as a piece of kitsch or/and as a socially revealing artifact. The post-tourist is a creature of knowledge and they are able criticize the post-modern world but at the same time they are able to live within it without shame. The third aspect is the most important. The post-tourist knows that they are tourists, and that tourism is a game and that this is an ongoing experience that has infinite possibilities.
This idea of post-tourist is very peculiar, and right now I would have to say that this is most peoples view on tourism. Perhaps people are more informed about the world? I am not sure. At the moment it is an interesting observation on the tourist sensibility.
Urry, John. The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage Publications Ltd., 1990.
1 COMMENTS:
I'm not positive I know what Urry is talking about, but the idea of tourists who are aware of the game of tourism is interesting. I often wonder to what degree people who do cheapo resort tours think about their economic impact, and if it affects their choice. Cuba? Dominican? Mexico? Cruise Ship?
What about the post-audience member? Somebody who goes to music type shows put is aware that touring with a band is a game as much as tourism.