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International Sociology
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Gazing or Performing?

Reflections on Urry's Tourist Gaze in the Context of Contemporary Experience in the Antipodes

Harvey C. Perkins

Lincoln University perkins{at}lincoln.ac.nz

David C. Thorns

University of Canterbury d.thorns{at}soci.canterbury.ac.nz

This article develops a critique of aspects of Urry's `tourist gaze' through an analysis of contemporary tourism in New Zealand. We argue that the metaphorical basis of the gaze seems to lie in the experience of tourism in Europe among particular classes of tourists. In that situation, tourists spend a considerable amount of time looking at historical landscapes and related interpretative sites/sights. By contrast, both international and domestic tourists in European settler societies such as New Zealand participate in active forms of touristic recreation; thus gazing is only one component of the tourist experience. This leads us to suggest that a better metaphorical approach to tourism is to talk about the tourist performance, which incorporates ideas of active bodily involvement, physical activity and gazing.

Key Words: adventure tourism • domestic tourism • New Zealand • tourist gaze • tourist performance

International Sociology, Vol. 16, No. 2, 185-204 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/0268580901016002004
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