Abstract
Tourism, a domain of considerable importance in the contemporary world, has long been overlooked by social scientists, but has recently become a field attracting a growing body of research. In sociology, the relation between tourism and modernity at first constituted the issue of principal interest, the discourse focusing on the extent to which modern Western tourists seek authentic experiences on their trip. The article discusses the changes in the terms of the discourse, contingent upon the growing similarity of the world in the wake of globalization, the emergence of the “post-tourist,” and the diversification in the composition of tourists, with the growth in the number of travelers from non-Western countries. The question of the limits of the future expansion of the tourist system is raised in conclusion.
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Further Reading
Boorstin, D. J. (1964). The image: a guide to Pseudo-events in American society. New York: Harper & Row.
Cohen, E. (2004). Contemporary tourism: diversity and change. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
MacCannell, D. (1976). The tourist: a new theory of the leisure class. New York: Schocken.
Rojek, Ch., and J. Urry, eds. 1997. Touring Cultures, Routledge, London.
Smith, V. and M. Brent, eds.2001. Hosts and Guests Revisited, Cognizant Communication Corporation, New York.
Urry, J. (1990). The tourist gaze. London: Sage.
Wang, N. (2000). Tourism and modernity: a sociological analysis. Kidlington, Oxon: Pergamon.
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Cohen, E. The Changing Faces of Contemporary Tourism. Soc 45, 330–333 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-008-9108-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-008-9108-2