PIERRE BOURDİEU AND TOURİST GAZE IN TOURISM RESEARCH
Conference paper > Summary Text · 2024
Authors: Mehmet Alper NİSARİ, Emir Özeren
11th INTERNATIONAL MAY 19 INNOVATIVE SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES CONGRESS, Türkiye, Samsun, International, Verbal, Summary Text, 2024-2024, pp 138-139
Summary
<p>The relationship between the tourist gaze and Bourdieu's social theory is a complex interplay between the visual consumption practices of tourists and the social structures that influence these practices. Bourdieu's theory of social fields, habitus, and capital can be applied to understand how touristsengage with destinations and how their behaviors are shaped by broader social forces. The concept of the tourist gaze, as conceptualized by Urry, is a learned way of visually consuming destinations. This gaze is influenced by social and technological patterns and can be seen as a form of visualconsumption that reflects broader social structures. Bourdieu's theory of habitus, which refers to the ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions thatindividuals acquire through socialization, can help explain how tourists perceive and interact with different destinations. Tourists bring their habitus, shaped by their social backgrounds and experiences, to their travel experiences, influencing how they engage with the places they visit. Moreover, Bourdieu's notion of capital, including economic, social, and cultural capital, can shed light on the power dynamics inherent in tourism practices. Thetourist gaze can be seen as a form of cultural capital, where tourists accumulate symbolic value through their consumption of different destinations. This accumulation of cultural capital through tourism experiences can contribute to the construction of social distinctions and hierarchies amongtourists. Additionally, Bourdieu's theory of social fields can be applied to analyze the dynamics within the tourism industry and how different actorscompete for symbolic power and legitimacy. The development of tourism destinations, the promotion of certain types of tourism (such as ecotourism), and the emergence of boutique travel agencies can all be understood through the lens of Bourdieu's relational analysis of power withinorganizational practices. In conclusion, the relationship between the tourist gaze and Bourdieu's social theory highlights the intricate connectionsbetween individual behaviors, social structures, and power dynamics in the context of tourism. By applying Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capital, and social fields, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of how tourism practices are shaped by broader social forces and how they, in turn, contribute to the construction of social distinctions and power relations within the tourism industry.</p>