Reconnecting the space of tourism and citizenship

The case of tourists’ hubris

Bibliographic Data

ID19554396
AuthorsLuigi Tomassini (0000-0001-9660-966X, Stenden University of Applied Sciences, corresponding author), Leanne Schreurs (Stenden University of Applied Sciences), Elena Cavagnaro (0000-0002-5347-2509, Stenden University of Applied Sciences)
Year2021
Volume7
Issue3
Pages337-349
Publication date2021-11-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Tourism Futures (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2055-5911 • E-ISSN: 2055-592X
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/jtf-10-2020-0176
OpenAlexW3168504588
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited55

Purpose The rapid growth of tourism prior to the COVID-19 pandemic prompts the need for critical reflection of tourism’s “local-global” responsibility in the wake of that pandemic. Conceptually driven by the ancient Greek notion of hubris, this study reflects on the perception of tourists as actors disconnected from citizens’ necessities, safety and well-being. In so doing we develop further knowledge on the relationship between the spaces of tourism and citizenship and how this might build a sustainable future-proof tourism. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected daily for two weeks via three Google Alert queries set to mine Italian online news media contents immediately after the Italian Government’s adoption of mobility restrictions due to COVID-19. This study uses a thematic narrative analysis to examine the contents related to tourists during the COVID-19 outbreak. Findings The exploratory findings reveal how tourists are largely presented as taking over the space of local residents and, by breaking the rules set by national and local authorities, as disregarding those residents’ safety and well-being. Hence, they appear disconnected from any sense of belonging to a local or global community, and from a space to which they owe a duty of care. Originality/value By framing tourists as hubristic subjects ontologically belonging to a neoliberal leisure space disentangled from the citizenship space, this study establishes a novel theoretical grounding from which a sustainable future-proof tourism that is rooted in citizenship space can be rethought

Citizenship · Hubris · Originality · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Sustainable tourism · Tourism · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · History · Law · Religious Tourism and Spaces · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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