Erik Cohen

Authenticity and commoditization in tourism

Abstract Three basic assumptions, common in the literature on tourism, regarding “commoditization”, “staged authenticity”, and the inability of tourists to have authentic experiences are re-examined. Authenticity is conceived as a negotiable rather than primitive concept, the rigor of its definition by subjects depending on the mode of their aspired touristic experience. New cultural developments may also acquire the patina of authenticity over time — a process designated at “emergent authenticity”. It is also argued that commoditization does not necessarily destroy the meaning of cultural products, although it may change it or add new meanings to old ones. Conclusions contrary to the deductions following from the above assumptions are spelled out, and a new approach to the study of authenticity and meaning in tourism, which could help the formulation of a more discerning tourism policy, is advocated.

The tourist guide: the origins, structure and dynamics of a role.

Abstract The two lines of origin of the modern tourist guide are the pathfinder and the mentor. These are the antecedents, respectively, of the leadership and the mediatory spheres in the guides role. Since each has an inner and an outer directed aspect, four major components of the role are distinguished: the instrumental, social, interactionary, and communicative. The dynamics of development of the role from the Original to the Professional Guide is represented as a transition of emphasis from the instrumental to the communicative component. Aside from this main line of development, two new role types have differentiated: the Animator and the Tour-leader, emphasizing, respectively, the social and the interactionary components. The Original Guides function is to produce attractions in the marginal regions of the ecological tourist system, while that of the Professional Guide is to reproduce the attractions in the central regions of the system.

Rethinking the sociology of tourism

Abstract Two principal general approaches to tourism are criticized. It is argued against the tendency to over generalize, to propose universal models and to conceive of the dynamics of tourism as a unilinear process. Instead, a multiplicity of types, different typologies and a multilinear approach to the dynamics of tourism should be favored. It is further argued that conceptual schemes should be further elaborated, illustrating the argument by an elaboration of MacCannells fundamental concepts. The article emphasizes the need for some basic problems in tourism research to be reformulated; it proposes a strategy for research which, while preserving theoretical pluralism and eclecticism, will safeguard continuity and the ability to generalize by developing a common research style for the sociology of tourism.

Nomads from Affluence: Notes on the Phenomenon of Drifter-Tourism1

I N THE GROWING literature on international tourism, attention focuses primarily on the ordinary mass-tourist, whose sterotyped image and behavior-patterns tend to dominate the thinking of contemporary entrepreneurs, planners and critics of tourism.2 To redress this imbalance, I have in a previous paper proposed a distinction between various types of tourist roles ranging from the standardized and highly institutionalized role of the &dquo;organized mass-tourist&dquo; through the &dquo;individual mass-tourist&dquo; and &dquo;explorer,&dquo; to the most individualistic and least institutionalized type, the &dquo;drifter&dquo;.3 When I wrote that paper (1968), I conceived of the drifter as: &dquo;... the type of [international] tourist [who] ventures furthest away from the beaten track ... He shuns any kind of connection with the tourist establishment ... He tends to

The impact of tourism on the physical environment

Abstract Cohen Erik “The Impact of Tourism on the Physical Environment”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. V, No. 2, April/June 1978, pp. 215–237. While moderate and well-distributed tourism may help to upkeep attractions and preserve the environment, tourism as a mass industry poses new environmental risks. This paper is a first attempt to assess systematically the environmental impact of tourism and to spell out the principal factors on which this impact depends: the intensity of tourist site-use, the resiliency of the eco-system, the time perspective of the developers and the transformational character of touristic developments. The environmental dynamics of the tourist ecological sub-system are shown to consist of a constant expansion at the margins and intensification at the mature core, leading to the creation of “contrived” attractions both at the core (as “natural” attractions decline) and the margins (to supplement meager “natural” attractions as tourism expands into less attractive regions). Two major types of measures for environmental protection are discussed: those protecting the environment for tourism and those protecting it from tourism. The need for the second type of measures is emphasized, particularly in developing countries, which face greater environmental risks from tourism than the developed ones.

Primitive and remote: Hill tribe trekking in Thailand

Abstract MacCannells concept of “staged authenticity” is applied to the study of “alternative tourism.” It is argued that such tourism offers entrepreneurs unsuspected chances to stage covertly the authenticity of attractions, precisely because the commodity they offer is “authenticity.” The staging, however, will consist primarily in the communicative presentation of the attractions, rather than in their substantive manipulation. The argument is examined by way of a content analysis of the advertisements of jungle-companies, offering trekking tours into the hill-tribe area of northern Thailand. The principal components of the hill tribes image, the experience offered to the trekkers, and the nature of the trekking tour itself, are analyzed in light of independently collected factual data. Thereby, the nature of the subtle staging of the hill tribes and of the trekking tour experience itself is brought to light.

Traditions in the qualitative sociology of tourism

Abstract Three principal “traditions” in the qualitative sociology of tourism, departing respectively from the approaches of Boorstin, MacCannell, and Turner are outlined. The emergent “research program” implicit in each tradition, and the degree and manner in which it was realized and expanded by its followers is indicated. The process through which each subsequent “tradition” sought to resolve the difficulties and problems encountered by that preceding it is described. In conclusion, the principal developments in the qualitative sociology of tourism which took place in the process of transition from the earlier to the later “traditions” are spelled out, their interrelationships analyzed, and ways for their mutual accommodation proposed.

Sociology and tourism

Abstract The sociology of tourism is as yet an ongoing enterprise. Since there is no universally accepted sociological perspective, it follows that there can be no single “sociology of tourism”. In order to substantiate this claim, the authors trace the development of sociological theory and the emergence of a variety of approaches. Differences in perspective in turn lead to alternative ways of conceptualizing tourism. They are also conducive to the stressing of a number of themes and to the omission of others. In various ways, they collectively contribute to a furtherance of a sociological understanding of the multifaceted phenomenon of tourism.

Authenticity, equity and sustainability in tourism.

Sustainability became a leading concept in tourism development practice and research, but should be submitted to a critical examination in the context of wider theoretical and practical concerns. Three issues are considered in this paper: the possible misuse of the concept of sustainability in advertisement and as a means of legitimising takeover of control over natural sites or cultural practices of local people by state agencies or private enterprises; the interface between the discourses of authenticity and sustainability; and the problems of equity provoked by restrictions of access to valuable sites, in the name of sustainability.

Marginal paradises: Bungalow tourism on the islands of Southern Thailand

Abstract In a longitudinal comparative study, some current issues concerning the nature, penetration, and impact of youth tourism on two beaches on two differentially developed islands in southern Thailand are examined. The beaches are “marginal paradises”—touristic paradises marginal to both the life plan of the tourists and the ecology and economy of the native society. Contrary to a widespread idea, vacationing youth tourists seek mainly “recreational” experiences, resembling those sought by most mass tourists, and show marked narcissistic tendencies. They have few relations among themselves or with the natives. Superficial native friendliness covers up a deeper resentment of the foreigners; while nude bathing causes inter-cultural misunderstanding, animosity finds expression in tourist- oriented crime. Though tourism development is of the small scale “craft” type, its benefits for the surrounding native villages are few, especially on the more developed island, where urban businessmen control the beach. The study lends some support to the multi-lineal model of touristic development, with the two beaches mainfesting differential development dynamics