The shared oasis

An insider ethnographic account of a gay resort

Bibliographic Data

ID12697609
AuthorsOscar Vorobjovas-Pinta (0000-0002-2666-9453, University of Tasmania, corresponding author), Oskaras Vorobjovas-Pinta (University of Tasmania), B Robards (0000-0001-5031-1235, University of Tasmania)
Year2017
Volume17
Issue4
Pages369-387
Publication date2017-01-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTourist Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-7976 • E-ISSN: 1741-3206
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1468797616687561
OpenAlexW2572200799
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited39

The literature pertaining to critical tourism studies has sought to challenge the traditional scientific dichotomy between the detached researcher and research participant in the production of tourism knowledge. This article argues for the value of an ethnographic approach in further challenging that dichotomy, by way of a study seeking to better understand a specific culture in tourism: gay resorts. We aim to outline the methodological component of this research project, centred on a gay resort in Australia, and to argue for the value of ethnography in understanding other specific tourism cultures. Often a researcher’s proximity to and pronounced familiarity with a topic is obfuscated in service of ‘non-biased’ and ‘value-neutral’ results, but in this article, we attend closely to the value of insider research in critical tourism studies. The experiences reported here – around insider perspectives, rapport building, in-depth interviews, participant observations, becoming embedded in a research environment and respecting participants – are argued to have much wider currency

Autoethnography · Critical ethnography · Currency · Ethnography · Insider · Participant observation · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Tourism · Value (mathematics · Anthropology · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Law · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access