Tourism is the ‘ism’ that drives the
largest industry of the modern world. It forms an integral component of the
fast growing business of leisure. Accounting for roughly 11% of global GDP,
tourism is a major ‘movement’ impacting the world.
The
Search for the Authentic Other
A very substantial part of tourism, as we
know today, is the individual’s search for authenticity; of people travelling
away from their home societies to an authentic (often primitive) other; drawn by myths embedded in folklore, heritage, religion, literature.
It is this search for the authentic other
that has brought tourism closer to religion, blurring boundaries between a
pilgrim and a tourist. The tourist of the west, searching for the authentic
other, is a pilgrim of the modern secular world. His religion is the
individualistic religion of the modern society, as different from the
collective and organised notion of civil religion. The tourist, fed up of the
western secular materialism, locates his elective centre ‘out there’ away from
his home society. The counterpart of the western tourist is the pilgrim of the
east who locates his elective centre in the holy places of worship.
Thus, there is a great degree of
similarity in the sacred pursuit of authenticity for a western tourist and an
eastern pilgrim. This search for authenticity, in both cases, is thwarted by
the tourism industry and the religious establishments respectively by setting
up of staged authenticities - fake representations that are perceived as real
by the pilgrim and the tourist.
Tourism
for Recreation
The rest of the tourism movement is driven
by recreation; of people whose centres are firmly rooted in their own societies,
who travel to indulge in ‘play’ - a characteristic feature of post-modernistic
society.
These people are lured by the myths
created by the tourism industry; indulge in pleasures - becoming paupers, kings,
visiting miniature ancient Egypt etc.
The
most striking example of this kind of tourism is the concept of theme park,
notable Disneyland. The theme parks ‘recreate
reality’ and creates myths about peoples, countries, concepts, civilisations
etc. The tourist plays with these, often deriving a vicarious pleasure.
Thus a useful way of looking at tourism is
to look at two major motivations propelling modern tourism
·
The search for the authentic other (driving
many tourists of the west and pilgrims of the East).
·
The recreation and the concept of ‘play’
