The dialogue with MacCannell essentially seems to be trying
to understand a contemporary understanding of tourism typologies.
The traditional tourist is described as seeking an escape
from the challenges of modernity, in contrast to a moderate, less hedonistic type
of tourist seeking meaning-making, without reference to religious imperatives
per se.
The discussion includes references to the ‘tourist gaze’, in
particular considering the notion that the tourist gaze might free the tourist
from determinism, as argued by Urry. MacCannell suggests a more Lacanian view leading to his development of the second gaze, where
even touristic sites ‘gaze’ back – promoting self-reflection.
The argument reminds me of an existentialist response from
someone like Simone de Beauvoir, who argues this like of self-reflection,
against a backdrop without religious determination demands for more robust personal conduct and a system of ethics that is grounded in social structures.
Finally, the challenge of host/tourist intersubjectivity; gentrification
and the ethics of tourism is discussed. Perhaps the most striking theme in the final section
is that of commodification, especially while considering through the visual ‘lens’
– where tourist/host relationships are reified from the I/thou. There is a
danger ‘successful’, or commercial successful destinations become radically
altered by the more powerful ‘other’.
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