Travel agent discourses of mass tourism

Beyond Stereotypes

Bibliographic Data

ID5762045
AuthorsVilhelmiina Vainikka (0000-0003-0821-7792, University of Oulu, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume16
Issue2
Pages318-332
Publication date2014-03-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueTourism Geographies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-6688 • E-ISSN: 1470-1340
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14616688.2014.888466
OpenAlexW1987763905
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited45

The widely used term ‘mass tourism’ is often considered as a self-explanatory concept that refers to an unpleasant and an overcrowded form of tourism. Nevertheless, contemporary mass tourism is a complex phenomenon and different actors within the tourism industry conceptualize it in different ways. In this study, mass tourism is understood to be socially constructed and negotiated through discursive practices. This is a case study that analyses how Finnish travel agents of mass package tour operators engage with mass tourism. The discourse analysis of pair-interviews is focused on the attitudes and aims of agents’ responses. For the travel agents interviewed, the term ‘mass’ evoked outsider perspective, negative meanings and was mostly considered as a historical and taken-for-granted category. Through practical examples of package tourism, they challenged the stereotypes of ‘mass tourism’. Package tourism was illustrated through discourses of restriction, possibility and dynamism, whereas mass tourism was articulated through discourses of scale, negatively distinguishable, cultural tradition and uncertainty. I argue that personal experiences or embodied practices and open-minded attitudes are key issues in understanding the ‘truths’ of package tourism. Mass tourism is not a static but dynamic and multifaceted concept. Thus, further research on mass tourism focusing on the relationship between discursive practices and experiences is needed.Keywords: mass tourismpackage tourismtravel agentstour operatorsrepresentationdiscourse analysispair-interviewFinland AcknowledgementsThe author would like to thank the anonymous referees for their constructive comments. Also, Jarkko Saarinen, Päivi Rannila, Lauren Martin, Kaarina Tervo-Kankare, Eva Kaján, Maaria Niskala and Joni Vainikka have given valuable comments in different phases of this paper. The author would like to thank the tour operators Aurinkomatkat, Finnmatkat and Tjäreborg for research cooperation and thank their respective contact people Arja Schobesberger, Kari Henner and Peter Kåla for their interest and express gratitude to all interviewed travel agents.Additional informationFundingThe funding for the research is provided by the Department of Geography, University of Oulu.Notes on contributorsVilhelmiina VainikkaVilhelmiina Vainikka (MSc) is a PhD candidate in human geography working at the Department of Geography. Her research interests include: representations and spatiality in tourism, contemporary mass tourism, package tourism, human geography and qualitative research methods

Alternative tourism · Constructive · Dynamism · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Process (computing · Sociology · Tourism · Tourism geography · Computer Science · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Hospitality and Tourism Education · Law · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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