Urban Beaches, Virtual Worlds and 'The End of Tourism'
Authors: Gale, T.
Journal: Mobilities
Volume: 4
Pages: 119-138
ISSN: 1745-0101
DOI: 10.1080/17450100802657996
Abstract:This paper revisits John Urry's ideas on 'the end of tourism', or the de-differentiation of tourism and everyday life under disorganised capitalism (to the extent that the former ceases to be 'special' and the latter 'mundane'). Against the backdrop of the recent and exponential growth in the number of tourists and migrants flowing to and from the countries of the world that comprise the 'pleasure periphery', it takes the notion of everyday space (including cyber-space) being reconfigured as tourism space one step further with reference to two quite distinct, but theoretically intertwined phenomena: urban beaches and virtual worlds (the former represented by a case study of Paris Plage, and the latter by examples of the most popular Massively Multiplayer Online Social Games or MMOSGs, including Second Life and There). In exploring what these case studies have in common reference is made to ideas about liminality and liquid modernity, which provide a context for understanding the contemporary relationship between tourism and the everyday. There follows a brief conclusion that reflects upon the consequences for tourism-related research of the turn to mobilities in the social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Mobilities is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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