Professional adventure tourists

Producing and selling stories of ‘authentic’ identity

Bibliographic Data

ID12697705
AuthorsMaurice J Kane (University of Otago, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume12
Issue3
Pages268-286
Publication date2012-10-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTourist Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-7976 • E-ISSN: 1741-3206
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1468797612461087
OpenAlexW2156483282
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited50

The ability to experience distinctive adventure appears limited today in comparison to the accounts of past exploring heroes. Even with these perceived limitations, there is continued growth in remote adventure tours. Guided by a Bourdieusian lens, this article examines the negotiation of authenticity, distinction and identity in the websites and blogs of companies and tourists during the 2010 spring Mt Everest climbing season. The interpretation suggests company blogs offer tourists an experience framed in mountaineering myth. The mountaineering guides’ capital derived from skill, experience and decision making ability make this experience possible. The tourists’ blogs offer authentically, recognisable environments, practices, and emotions disguising their limited mountaineering abilities. Tourist’s existential stories seek to transcend and appropriate mountaineering capital. For the females in this study, tour experience has supported careers based on mountaineering adventurer social identities. The companies’ tourism products facilitate the professional adventure tourist’s role model claims to ‘authentic’ adventurer identities

Adventure · Advertising · Aesthetics · Art · Business · Identity (music · Interpretation (philosophy · Mountaineering · Political science · Recreation · Sociology · Tourism · Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · History · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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