Real and Imagined
The Tourist Gaze in the Age of AI: Expectation vs. Reality
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kristin Barry
Sociologist John Urry’s Tourist Gaze (1990) defined the visual phenomenon through which tourists consume places. While the original theory predates social media, general audience Virtual, Augmented, and Extended Reality (VR/AR/XR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the theory remains applicable to visitor expectations at tourism sites. Urry and his later collaborators (2002, 2011) posit that the media that visitors have consumed prior to traveling has a direct impact on their expectations upon arrival at a place, and that some sites may not live up to the expectation that promotional media inspires. AI is the newest technology to “make waves” in the tourism industry, though for different reasons. Using its capabilities to develop visitor profiles, schedule and reserve, perform customer service, create itineraries, and provide cultural and language translations, the tourism industry was an early adopter of AI, particularly exploiting its efficiencies and streamlining through its processes. Yet, AI has also presented a challenge for the Tourist Gaze, as tourism sites that rely on visual imagery or aesthetic experience to draw in new visitor. In the wake of generative AI, computers can create previously-unimaginable and landscapes and magical worlds, presented as realistic places, leaving real spaces underwhelming in comparison. This paper presents the contextual development of AI as the newest challenge to the Tourist Gaze, positing the evolving role of tourism in the 21st century computer era, posing the questions: Now that we can construct anything, what is beauty tourism for? With the technology to experience places virtually, is travel necessary for tourism?
All About the Body
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rachel Roberson
This paper explores the colonial systems of power that enable and perpetuate the commodification of colonized bodies at the intersection of sport tourism and sex tourism. Mega sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, Olympic Games and Super Bowl in the United States, are often constructed as corresponding sites of bodily tourism (Urry and Larson, 2011; Stoddart and Graham, 2016), with a shared motivation among some tourists to purchase and consume both commercialized sport and sex. As such, the paper situates this intersection within the colonial matrix of power and the structural hierarchies maintained through the colonial framing of power, race, gender, and sexuality (Fanon, 2008; Mignolo, 2007; Quijano, 2000). I argue that sport and sex tourism sustain a larger colonial project fueled by the predatory, neoliberal relationship between the First and Third World and the continued dehumanization of colonized peoples. In this sense, tourism is defined as roving colonialism (Sykes). Using the colonial matrix of power as a theoretical framework, then, we evaluate the libidinal economy (Bennett, 2010; Chapman, 2020; Sexton, 2010, 2017; Wilderson, 2010) of sport and sex tourism and propose a conceptual understanding of physical and bodily labor and exploitation at this unique intersection. By using this conceptual framework, this paper calls for further empirical study that explicitly evaluates the impact of corresponding systems of sport tourism and sex tourism simultaneously at play within national and international sporting events.
Cultural and Land-Based Activities to Promote Well-Being Among Indigenous Boys and Men in Canadian
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Matthew Numer
Due to colonization, Indigenous people in Canada face racialized challenges to their wellbeing and have been resourceful in developing culturally embodied forms of resistance. Using Indigenous cultural leisure and ceremonial activities as interventions can improve outcomes by providing a protective effect against ongoing colonial harms. There is a gap, however, regarding research into the experiences of Indigenous boys and men residing in Canada. We aim to identify how cultural interventions support favourable outcomes related to well-being by enabling Indigenous boys and men to establish a meaningful connection to their culture, community, and selves; and to explore whether this process is impacted by participants’ perceptions of masculinity. We further aim to provide new directions in critical leisure studies aimed at improving wellbeing among Indigenous people in Canada. Workshops and multi-day events were held by community partners where participants engaged in various cultural activities. Semi-structured interviews with participants explored culture, wellbeing, and masculinity. Interviews were inductively coded and thematically analysed to investigate potential capacity-building for wellness. Results: Connecting with other men and culture was linked to greater emotional and relational literacy. Engaging with material culture like drum-making generated feelings of pride and self-efficacy. Land-based activities produced expressions of gratitude, clarity, and self-acceptance. Positive masculinity was described as empathetic and generous towards others. Specific cultural interventions may support sexual wellbeing by building capacity to resist colonial violence and develop qualities conducive to wellbeing such as respect for oneself, others, nature, and diversity.
