Liminality in Tourism

Spatial and Temporal Considerations

Robert S. Bristow, Ian Jenkins, Robert S. Bristow, Ian Jenkins

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000434835
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

Liminality is not typically associated with tourism, even though it can be viewed as an intrinsic element of the social/cultural experiences of tourism. Liminality in Tourism: Spatial and Temporal Considerations aims to build upon the tradition of liminality as expounded in social and anthropological disciplines, elaborating on the theoretical principles and concepts found within certain aspects of the tourist journey and tourist product. The emergence of post-modern society has impelled a change in the tourist gaze towards a more experiential and adventuresome globalised experience. An important aspect of the tourist phenomenon of liminality is where a transformative experience is triggered by entering a liminoid tourist space, leaving the tourist permanently psychologically transformed, before returning to normalised society.

The narrative provides a new perspective on the tourist experience with a provocative examination into the multidimensional aspects of tourism, by exploring tourism within the spatial and temporal aspects of liminal landscapes. Covid-19 has further changed the rubric of tourism. Until the current pandemic, tourism has basically been a fun experience. In a post pandemic world, however, the tourist is now facing an unknown future which will almost certainly affect tourism liminality.

This book presents the reader with a wealth of examples and case studies closely illustrating the association between tourism and liminal experiences. The geographical perspectives explore the more subconscious outcomes of destination and tourist product consumption. The book should be a useful reader to tourism geography where the theory of liminality can be synthesized into tourist experiences.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Tourism Geographies.

Spatial and temporal tourism considerations in liminal landscapes

Robert S. Bristow and Ian S. Jenkins

ABSTRACT

Anthropogenic geographic studies in tourism should consider the liminality of the experience. Tourism by definition means a temporal and/or spatial movement takes place. How the tourist interacts and behaves during this transitory experience is a logical progression into human leisure behaviour. Several recent international gatherings of geographers provide the foundation to explore liminality in tourism and we build on those papers in this special issue. The papers are varied in geographies, yet have a central theoretical basis in all things liminal. Invited papers in this special issue are founded on the research presented at two international geography conferences in sessions devoted to tourism. The American Association of Geographers meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in 2017 and the Royal Geographic Society with the Institute of British Geographers in Cardiff, Wales in 2018 gathered geographers from around the world to study this theme. The following papers give the most comprehensive geographic review in tourism to date and we encourage additional dialogue.

摘要

旅游地理研究应该考虑到经验的阈限。旅游的定义是指一种时间和/或空间的移动。游客在这种短暂的体验中如何互动和行为表现是人类休闲行为的逻辑发展。最近几次国际地理学家会议为探索旅游业中的阈限提供了基础, 本期特刊中的论文以这些会议论文为基础发展而来。这些论文涉及到的地理区域各不相同, 但所有主题都以阈限为核心理论基础。本期特刊的特邀论文是基于两个国际地理会议旅游论坛的研究成果。2017年, 美国地理学家协会(American Association of geo)在马萨诸塞州的波士顿召开;2018年, 英国皇家地理学会(Royal Geographic Society)在威尔士的加的夫(Cardiff)与英国地理学家协会(Institute of British geo)在威尔士召开会议。本期论文提供了迄今为止最全面的旅游地理评论, 我们鼓励开展更多的对话。

Introduction

Liminality has recently grown in importance for a number of tourism scholars and the tourism discipline (Andrews & Roberts, 2012; Brooker & Joppe, 2014; Crouch, 2000; Mulcahy, 2017; Preston-Whyte, 2004; Pritchard & Morgan, 2006; Wu, Li, Wood, Senaux, & Dai, 2020). The transitional time and space for the tourist experience is an important one to understand since it has a great impact on the overall encounter and experience. Yet the sheer nature of liminality is generally so abstract (Preston-Whyte, 2004) that only recently has research attempted to explore the relationship in tourism. The concept is so fluid that scholars across the disciplines have applied the term to any transition that may occur, permitting an explanation for something that the author may or may not be able to explain. And this of course may mean a digression from the initial theory of liminality, and the notion of threshold created in the late 19^th century from the Latin ‘limen or Limin’.

In other words, authors sometimes use the term liminal because they really do not know how to explain something. But this fluidity is useful. Downey, Kinane, and Parker (2016) suggests this ‘malleability’ permits a broader explanation in an imprecise world. Further its use in humanities and social sciences are commonly threaded by spatiality. This blends nicely with geography and our exploration in this issue.

Andrews and Roberts (2012) identify the inherent spatio-temporal link of liminality noting the threshold denotes spatiality and sequential elements alluding to temporal. Without this foundation, liminality just becomes the catch-all phrase to explain the unexplainable. And while these authors suggest liminal landscapes can be explored in a multidisciplinary approach, tourism by definition has this spatio-temporal groundwork.

Liminality is anthropologically associated with Rites of Passage (van Gennep, 1909/1960). Van Gennep suggests three stages in the experience, a separation, the liminal threshold and aggregation. The first phase occurs with the detachment from the social norms. The transition of the second phase fuses preconceived and future unknowns and are set aside permitting an immersive experience. The final phase elevates the person to a higher plane, fed by their personal journey and the liminal encounter.

Turner (1974) and Shields (2013) broadened liminality as the temporal and/or spatial transition from one stage to another. It is this extrapolation that permits the additional use, and misuse of liminality to explain behaviour.

Thomassen (2012) cautions us about using Turner’s ‘liminoid’ to explain liminal space in today’s world. And this is wise, considering the miss use and abuse to explain an unknown or threshold. If we remain true to van Gennep’s writings, only a few of the papers that address pilgrimages in tourism in this special issue would apply. Yet we would argue that Turner’s expansion of the original theory is most relevant in a tourist experience once we view the entirety of the trip, both in space and time. Are these not characteristic of Thomassen (2012) fear of transformative events and those celebrations that follow?

For the tourist experience, the chance to break away from the norms of daily life is an important aspect of tourism. Liminality is a logical transition for tourists since they are leaving the comfort of home to travel across time and space and some threshold or boundary to various unknown experiences. This reflects the period and space during the early phases of the experience (Clawson & Knetsch, 1966; Lew, 2012; Light, 2009; Nelson, 2017; White & White, 2004).

The Clawson and Knetsch (1966) model is simple yet frequently forgotten in our desire to understand the tourist. Beginning with the anticipation phase, the tourist begins to ponder the trip. During this planning phase the traveler begins to review guidebooks, travel review sites, Google Earth and other resources needed to actually take the trip. Next, the travel phase occurs where some mode of movement is aided by transport. It could be a car, bus, train, or plane. This transition is part of the experience and the traveler is typically excited about the anticipated experience. On-site, opportunities for experiences take place. Something new and unexpected is found at the destination, and this is a primary reason to take the trip in the first place. Returning home perhaps exhausted and broke, the excitement winds down as we re-enter our life, be it the work place, or home responsibilities. We next recollect the trip. Good times and bad are remembered. For many, even the bad experiences (e.g., sun burned) are quickly forgotten although others may not be so easy (e.g., dropped cell phone in ocean). But in any case this post-travel opportunity fuels the next anticipation phase (i.e., remember to take sun screen, and don’t take cell phone on the fishing boat).

As noted earlier, liminality as a subject in tourism has never been a main focus of interest, but recently there has been a resurgence in its importance with current literature reflecting this view. A quick evaluation of previous texts relating to tourism and liminality, reveals some research in this area, with certain publications discussing features of a tourist’s ‘rite of passage’. For example Disney and aspects of liminality can be found in Moore’s paper (1980). Typically this paper reflects the more religious aspects of liminality and its relationship to one of the biggest players in the tourism industry that is the Disney Corporation.

Perhaps the revival of liminality in tourism mirrors some major cultural shifts that have taken place in tourism for example the tourist gaze and its link to postmodernist theory. Some influential seminal texts, such as Urry’s ‘The Tourist Gaze’ (2002) have given a new meaning to experiential aspects of tourism, to the extent that a more behavourist and reflective approach has developed in the way that tourism is viewed and researched. Post-modernism has in one sense identified significant changes in tourist experiences, in particular reflecting a hyper-reality product, more closely linked to liminality (Urry, 2002; Wang, 2000). Transformative personal experiences are a common theme to be found in many products of the current tourist market. Numerous tourism products are developed which exploit the human need for novel experiences, whereby the consumer is transported out of the everyday and mundane into more novel, hedonistic, ritualized and new experiential dimensions; reflective of unreal or hyper-normal frames. Many of these themes are to be found in the papers presented in this special issue.

Experiential is a key word in many tourism products that people wish to consume. Perhaps the exponential growth of festivals is symptomatic of this need for more liminal experiences by tourists? Certainly some festivals have a very specific aura relating to its integrity, providing a sense of communitas. To fully commune with the festival one must participate in its ambiance and rituals, leading to a feeling of communitas. Although spatially defined, some festivals are clearly temporal and otherworldly, where following the actual event its tangible elements have completely disappeared; a good example of this is the Hay Festival in Wales (Jenkins, 2019). Within days of the Festival’s end there is no material evidence of a tourist presence or what might have been experienced. The product, as with most tourism products, is intangible; all that remains is the memory of the experience, the unbounded liminal space that has been consumed. For example do we remain the same person following attendance at a major music/arts festival such as Glastonbury or Hay?

It seems evident that van Gennep (1909/1960) and Turner’s (1974) original understanding of a liminal experience has changed to encompass commercialisation, as noted earlier with the Disney example. Attendance at Disney has been likened to a liminal experience and has similarities with the ‘rite of passage’ journey for all children and parents, (predominantly from the developed world) who purchase and consume this transformative experience.

Certainly the collected papers in this special issue, illustrate how the boundaries of liminality are changing and evolving to encompass the needs and wants of both global tourists and markets. It appears that the singularity of the tourist product has transformed into a multi-dimensional mix which offers, in some products, a new liminoid experience.

History of special issue

So how did this volume come about? Recent tourism papers presented during the American Association of Geographers (Boston 2017) and Royal Geographic Society with the Institute of British Geographers (Cardiff 2018) illustrate the growing body of literature on the theme of liminality and tourism. The theme of the Boston conference was an exploration of dark(er) liminal spaces in tourism. Dark(er) tourist attractions may range from the lighter end (e.g., fright tourism for entertainment) to the darker side (e.g., sites of genocide). Further some sites may have ‘darker’ reputation due to one’s perception of fear and safety. So people can be expected to have different motivations or reasons to visit (educational, pilgrimage, entertainment). Studies reference the transition in liminal space from one’s ordinary life into a spatial and temporal one found at the destination, from either the tourist’s viewpoint and/or the site’s management. Several ideas from Boston are found in the new papers here.

A year later, Cardiff hosted the broader session of liminality and tourism. And unlike the Boston meeting, this broader approach includes other topics of tourism. The work of van Gennep and Turner continue to serve as the stepping stones toward our understanding of liminal, and yet we are able to explore space on the fringe as illustrated by Iceland and Nepal. Dark tourism continues to support liminality as we gaze into our difficult heritage. We are also fortunate to have submissions from that conference in this volume.

This special issue of Tourism Geographies builds on this research and presents an overview of how liminality is experienced by the tourist and is based on invited papers that address liminality in tourism landscapes. It is our intent that the papers will provide a more holistic insight into the tourist experience.

Organizing the papers in this special issue is as problematic as the concept of liminality. In general we attempted to provide a broad collection of papers dealing temporal and/or spatial considerations in tourism landscapes around the world. The discovered new and revised terms of tourism are introduced in this collection and illustrate the depth and breadth of the studies. In some cases the research questions are based on quantitative or qualitative survey instruments, and others explore the role of social media or travel review websites to assess the liminal experience. In all cases, human’s interaction in a tourism environment involves a temporal and spatial component.

Themes from the special issue

If we are to categorize our papers, four main ideas are found. Pilgrimages are a classic theme in tourism and we start with this theme. From that the papers blend into topics of the dark tourism arena, where tourists may be seeking to understand a darker element of our world. Peripheral areas offer some liminal landscape experienced in adventure tourism. And we conclude with papers emphasizing virtual geographies of tourists.

A traditional approach to liminality is highlighted by a paper on a religious festival; here the observations imply visitors are brought together for a shared liminal experience based upon becoming part o...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• 1 Spatial and temporal tourism considerations in liminal landscapes
• 2 The liminality in popular festivals: identity, belonging and hedonism as values of tourist satisfaction
• 3 Transformative landscapes: liminality and visitors’ emotional experiences at German memorial sites
• 4 Dark tourism and moral disengagement in liminal spaces
• 5 Liminality and difficult heritage in tourism
• 6 Communitas in fright tourism
• 7 South African township residents describe the liminal potentialities of tourism
• 8 Between space and place in mountaineering: navigating risk, death, and power
• 9 Change within the change: pregnancy, liminality and adventure tourism in Mexico
• 10 Liminality at-sea: cruises to nowhere and their metaworlds
• 11 Liminality in nature-based tourism experiences as mediated through social media
• 12 Liminality Wanted. Liminal landscapes and literary spaces: The Way of St. James
• Index