Understanding Urban Tourism

Image, Culture and Experience

Martin Selby

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2003
• Print ISBN: 9781860648007
• eBook ISBN: 9781786724489
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Urban Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Despite the formidable growth of urban tourism there has been little of the critical engagement that one would expect from the social sciences: the rich potential of contemporary social science for urban tourism has yet to be realized. Martin Selby's textbook makes available to practitioners and students seeking to understand the phenomenon of tourism in towns and cities the methods and concepts that are currently enhancing and transforming our understanding of society in other areas of the social sciences. With an emphasis on image, culture and experience, the author draws upon the "cultural turn" to explains the human aspects of the urban tourism phenomenon. The discussions emphasize the significance of urban tourism within debates upon the contemporary city, postmodernity and the pursuit of social science. Clearly written, with case studies and further reading, this book should be welcomed by students and lecturers in geography, tourism, planning and sociology.

Chapter 1

Introduction

The following topics are covered in this chapter:

•An introduction to urban tourism as a field of study and research.

•The aims and objectives of the book.

•An introduction to the different perspectives on urban tourism presented throughout the book.

Studying Urban Tourism

This book is intended to add to the existing literature on urban tourism by presenting perspectives which draw upon social science. Although increasing numbers of practitioners, researchers and students are seeking to understand the phenomenon of tourism in towns and cities, the potential of contemporary social science has yet to be fully realised. In particular, the concepts and methods of social and cultural research have rarely been applied to urban tourism. This is despite the well-documented cultural turn within the social sciences. With some notable exceptions, the field of urban tourism has been rather insulated from the tectonic shifts in our understanding of the social and cultural world. This is not to say that the more applied and pragmatic approaches common to tourism studies have nothing to offer in terms of understanding urban tourism. Rather, there is an urgent need to complement established urban tourism research with concepts and methods currently enhancing our understanding of society.

The phenomenon of urban tourism has important and divisive implications for the pursuit of both social science and management. Whilst in practice the phenomenon of urban tourism unites people, place and consumption, their synthesis in the academic arena of conceptualisation and research is extremely problematic. Some years ago, Ashworth (1989:33) argued that a double neglect of urban tourism had occurred: tourism researchers had neglected the context in which urban tourism takes place, while urban studies researchers had neglected tourism. Around the same time, Hughes (1991:266) comments on the ‘pre-social state’ of tourism studies. Whilst one might expect that developments within both the social sciences and tourism studies have enabled considerable progress to be made, unfortunately there has been relatively little. In the tourism literature, it is common for urban tourism to be given an atheoretical and descriptive treatment. As Page (1995:5) argues, urban tourism ‘…is poorly understood in theoretical and conceptual terms…’. He also points out the ‘tendency for urban tourism research to be based on descriptive and empirical case studies which do not contribute to a greater theoretical or methodological understanding of urban tourism’ (Page 1999:163).

The urban tourism field exemplifies how an understanding of the social and cultural nature of tourism lags behind the redefinition and reconceptualisation seen in other disciplinary sub-fields (Squire 1994:19). According to Rojek and Urry (1997:2), a ‘response to the problematic nature of tourism is to abstract most of the important issues of social and cultural practice and only consider tourism as a set of economic activities’. They point out that most tourism textbooks conceptualise tourism as a set of economic activities, and tourists merely as bundles of preferences. It is relatively rare in tourism studies for individual voices and interpretations to be heard, as they are usually mediated by the tourism researcher who privileges the collective over the particular (Squire 1994:84). As Franklin and Crang (2001:5) argue, tourism studies has often been concerned with tracking and recording the growth of tourism through case studies which internalise industry-led perspectives. They also point out that much of this effort has been made by ‘people whose disciplinary origins do not include the tools necessary to analyse and theorise complex social and cultural processes’ (Franklin and Crang 2001:5). Theoretical development thus becomes dependent on a small core of theorists who provide standardised explanations.

Urban tourism, however, is also problematic for established social science disciplines. The challenging dichotomies of supply and demand, structure and agency, representations and landscapes, inside and outside the destination, make for a very difficult field of study. Problems are compounded by the notorious difficulties of conducting research within such a complex, fragmented and heterogeneous industry. Where geographers have devoted attention to urban tourism, for example, work has tended to be concerned with monitoring and describing patterns of land use and tourist flows. Multiplier effects, visitor flows and destination life-cycles have also dominated geographical studies of urban tourism. As Hughes (1997) points out, these patterns and flows are often discussed as if they are dependent on more fundamental causes. According to Squire (1994:81), it is only recently that researchers have begun to integrate ‘economic and growth-related concerns with other, more qualitative and interpretive dimensions of touristic experience’. Cultural studies, concerned with cultural texts, representation and consumption, has transformed intellectual enquiry in numerous fields. Not only does urban tourism play a major role in forming the identity of people and places through representation, but the tourist destination is a social and cultural construction, the meaning of which is contested by various groups. As Squire (1994) argues, however, there have been few points of contact between cultural analysts and tourism specialists. She points out that in cultural geography, for example, edited collections rarely engage with tourism, and even in studies focusing on travel writing, tourism scholarship is rarely cited. It would seem, therefore, that the phenomenon of urban tourism also poses problems to cultural researchers, better equipped than most to capture such a slippery phenomenon. Whilst the analysis of landscapes and representations per se has been convincing, an understanding of how ordinary people consume and experience the cultural texts of urban tourism has emerged sporadically and rather reluctantly.

Social scientists are beginning to recognise that leisure and tourism are actually central to social life, and are primary determinants of space in their own right. Urban tourism thus plays a major role in the development of the ‘ludic space’ which dominates contemporary environments. The semiology of urban tourism is also of significance to society in general, as representations of places become the common currency of both place-marketing organisations and the mass media. Urban tourism works through dreams and myths, and these play a vital role in differentiating space into places. As urban tourism is symptomatic of an increasingly mobile society, rather than being marginal, it is actually centre-stage in explanations of contemporary society. There have, however, been relatively few social scientists willing to grapple with the messy phenomenon of urban tourism. It is necessary, therefore, to take a slightly more lateral journey, positioning oneself towards different genres of writing and research in order to gain alternative insights. As Franklin and Crang (2001:6) argue, ‘the theoretical net needs to be cast much wider so that tourist studies is constantly renewed by developments in social and cultural theory and theory from other disciplines’.

As one attempts to delimit the concerns of a student or researcher of urban tourism, it becomes apparent that there is no single unifying discipline on which to draw. This book, therefore, develops different theoretical perspectives on urban tourism, drawing upon both the tourism and marketing literature, and different social science perspectives. The book also develops a theoretical model which synthesises the different perspectives and incorporates concepts relating to the neglected yet crucial experience and culture of urban tourism. It is not intended to provide a standardised and universal understanding of urban tourism, as it is necessarily selective. This selectivity also extends to disciplines, and sociology and human geography figure most prominently. The book deliberately focuses on perspectives neglected within the urban tourism literature, such as postmodernity, culture and experience. However, it is not the theory per se which is of interest to students and researchers of urban tourism. Instead, the book explores the unique insights into urban tourism provided by different and relatively neglected theoretical perspectives.

It is intended that the theoretical evaluation of urban tourism is a contribution salient to a diverse range of tourism students, researchers and practitioners. Whilst some readers may be interested in following the lines of argument to the model presented in chapter seven, others may be much more selective. It is intended that the book is useful in its entirety to researchers and students seeking an in-depth understanding of urban tourism, the culture of tourism and the tourist experience. It is perhaps more likely, however, that readers will use particular sections of the book, focusing on specific perspectives according to their own interests. To facilitate the latter use in particular, a different perspective is addressed in each chapter, and the reader is presented with both the contributions and limitations of each. A summary of these, and other key points, is presented in the form of bullet-points at the end of each chapter. Although much of the content of the book is of a theoretical nature, examples, case studies, figures and photographs are used within each chapter to illustrate the different ways of looking at the phenomenon of urban tourism.

The book aims, therefore, to explore the images, culture and experience of urban tourism, evaluating the implications of such themes for conceptualisation and research. In exploring how urban tourism is conceptualised and researched according to different theoretical perspectives, there is an attempt to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each. The discussions emphasise the significance of urban tourism within debates concerning the contemporary city, postmodernity and the pursuit of social science. Incorporating contributions from a range of literature, a conceptual model and a research agenda for urban tourism are presented.

Urban Tourism Perspectives

Chapter two considers the theory and practice of urban tourism, in an attempt to locate useful avenues of conceptualisation and research. Whilst the practice of urban tourism management and place marketing has increased greatly in scale and sophistication in recent years, challenges remain. These relate both to evidence of incoherence and inconsistencies between different organisations and spatial scales, and a lack of true differentiation of individual localities within urban tourism markets. To an extent, both of these problems appear to stem from a difficulty in co-ordinating activities relating to both the demand and supply sides of urban tourism.

Interest in urban tourism within the tourism literature has also developed in recent years. Authors such as Page, for example, seek to consider a ‘framework for the analysis of the tourist’s experience of urban tourism’ (1997:112–13). A promising development, it would seem, is the application of the service-quality model (Parasuraman et al. 1985) to urban tourism. As authors such as Gilbert and Joshi (1992) argue, managing the gap between the expectations and experiences of urban tourists is vital. Unfortunately, the urban tourism literature also has some quite serious limitations. Particularly problematic, according to Page, is ‘a failure to relate cases to wider issues’ (1997:112). Pearce (1987:209) has long identified ‘…a need to move away from isolated, ideographic case study…’ in urban tourism research. Both Page (1995) and Ashworth (1989) have identified a neglect of urban tourism amongst researchers. Page (1995:8) attributes the problems to a vicious circle, whereby the lack of quality research on urban tourism results in a lack of interest within the public sector – and the lack of interest limits both funding and data sources. Echoing observations by authors such as Vetter (1985), Page (1995:5) argues that urban tourism ‘…is poorly understood in theoretical and conceptual terms since few researchers adopt an integrated approach’.

More specifically, it would seem that the literature on the experience of urban tourists is particularly weak. Shaw and Williams (1994:2087) point to a ‘somewhat limited literature on visitor activity in urban areas’. Page considers it particularly important ‘to constantly evaluate to establish if the actual experience met the tourist’s expectations’ (1995:24). Despite such a consensus concerning the deficiencies of urban tourism research, however, little progress appears to have been made in addressing them. Only a narrow range of theoretical perspectives has been drawn upon by urban tourism researchers. Several urban tourism researchers advocate behaviouralist approaches to research the experience of urban tourists (Page 1995, 1997; Pearce and Fagence 1996; Walmsey and Jenkins 1992). Behaviouralist research, however, has been extensively criticised for its atheoretical nature and its inability to incorporate social relations or culture (see Phillips 1993; Werlen 1993; Knox 1992; Ley 1981a; Cullen 1976).

Chapter three explores the role of urban tourism in postmodernity. The chapter discusses the materialist position on urban tourism, contrasting it with an alternative which draws upon authors such as Lyotard (1984), Lefebvre (1970) and Soja (1989). It is apparent that there is a dichotomy between conceptualisations of the city concerned with human agency, experience and culture, and materialist approaches attributing urban tourism merely to a symptom of ‘late capitalism’ (Jameson 1984). Harvey (1989a) is used to exemplify the materialist position, arguing that place marketing and urban tourism development is merely a reaction to the latest phase of capitalism, and in any case, will result in a ‘zero-sum game’ as every city gains a waterfront development. Ironically titled, The Urban Experience (Harvey 1989b) actually demonstrates the universalising tendencies of materialist conceptualisations of urban culture. Harvey reveals that he prefers to climb to the highest point in a city and look down at ‘the city as a whole’ (Harvey 1989b:1). The scathing critique of urban tourism, heritage and place marketing within the materialist literature is examined. This includes an alleged appropriation of local history and culture as a means of accumulating capital, the packaging and selling of a ‘bogus history’ (Hewison 1987) and the ultimate failure of most towns and cities to differentiate themselves in urban tourism markets (Harvey 1989a). The heritage industry is ‘expected more and more to replace the real industry upon which this country depends’ (Hewison 1987:11).

The limitations of the materialist position are alluded to in one of Hewison’s few references to heritage consumers, the pensioners of an English heritage site called Wigan Pier ‘who seem to throng the centre’ (ibid.:21). As authors such as Bagnall (1998) demonstrate, however, if anyone can judge the authenticity of the Wigan Pier experience, it is those consumers sufficiently advanced in years to have memories of the exhibits. It would seem that, however convincing the materialist perspective is at the macro-scale, it offers a conceptualisation of urban tourism and place marketing which is devoid of people. In stark contrast to the materialist view, authors such as Lyotard (1984) draw attention to ‘local knowledge’, emphasising local context and ‘ground rules’ rather than universal and macro-level studies. Lyotard uses the term ‘language games’ to discuss the complexity and speed of images produced in contemporary society, destroying universal or fixed meanings. Lefebvre (1967, 1986) also challenges the materialist perspective, conceptualising the city as ‘actually lived and socially created spatiality’ (Soja 1989:18), and a place of encounter and experience. Lefebvre (1986) was interested in the rhythm of the body within the city, while also emphasising the influence of social groups on experience. Such authors, therefore, challenge the materialist perspective by emphasising the culture and experience of the city.

As chapter four argues, particularly pertinent to urban tourism development and place marketing have been promising developments in the field of place image. As the literature on postmodernity indicates, images have become crucial to postmodern society in general. Chapter four demonstrates how images are both the raw material and the product of place marketing, reviewing some of the important developments within this field of the tourism and place-marketing literature. In particular, there has been an interesting and valuable genre of research aiming to compare and contrast different types of images of destinations (e.g. Ashworth and Voogd 1990). Research has indicated the overwhelming significance of place images in tourist decision-making. Furthermore, it would seem that unofficial or ‘organic’ images are often considered to be more credible by tourists than the official ‘projected’ variety of marketing organisations. Particularly useful in terms of informing urban tourism and place-marketing policy have been studies aiming to compare and contrast the ‘naive images’ of potential visitors with the first-hand experience of actual visitors. This type of research appears to offer the potential of highlighting policy implications in terms of place-product development, place promotion and destination positioning.

It is also argued in chapter four, however, that the place image literature has some limitations, apparent in both theory and research. In terms of research, an overemphasis on statistical techniques at the expense of epistemological underpinning is identified. There is often very little consideration of the constructs used in surveys, and whether or not they are salient to consumers. If the epistemology of place image studies is considered, again it is behaviouralism which is dominant. Influential place image authors drawing heavily on behaviouralism, and particularly the work of Lynch (1960), include Ankomah and Crompton (1992), and Pearce and Fagence (1996). Although the behaviouralist approach has been unquestioningly adopted by numerous place image researchers, for several decades writers have been drawing attention to a number of inherent limitations. These include a lack of theoretical underpinning (Knox 1992), difficulties in incorporating emotions and feelings (Richards 1974), problems concerning universal claims about subjective processes (Phillips 1993), parallels with ‘Skinnerian’ psychology (Ley 1981a) and confusion between ‘behaviour’ and ‘action’ (Werlen 1993). In the context of contemporary urban tourism, it is also clear that behaviouralism has no place for the contested meanings and realities of places currently being addressed within cultural studies. While there are valuable contributions within the place image literature, it is argued that the experience, social relations and culture of urban tourism are neglected.

The focus of chapter five is the culture of urban tourism, as an engagement with cultural geography is argued to offer great potential in overcoming some of the limitations of urban tourism research and theory. In particular, we are offered a conceptualisation of representations and landscapes as contested and negotiated, in stark contrast to some of the more deterministic tourism studies. Cultural studies offer a powerful approach to conceptualising and researching the ‘cultural texts’ of urban tourism.

While cultural geography’s emphasis on representation would seem to have great potential in terms of understanding urban tourism, it is argued in chapter five that there are limitations. The chapter explores ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Tables, Figures and Illustrations
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Urban Tourism
• 3. Urban Tourism and Postmodernity
• 4. Place Image and Urban Tourism
• 5. The Culture of Urban Tourism
• 6. The Experience of Urban Tourism
• 7. Understanding Urban Tourism: A Synthesis
• 8. Conclusion
• References