Tourism Incognita: On the Edge of Destination Places

Nanjing University, Nanjing, China 12 November 2012

Prof. Alan A. Lew Dept. of Geography, Planning

& Recreation Northern Arizona University

AlanLew.com

Objects we ardently pursue bring little

happiness when gained; most of our

pleasures come from unexpected sources. Herbert Spencer, 19th c. British philosopher

Dubai, U.A.E. & The Musandam, Oman

Burj Khalifa

Palm Islands

& The World

construction

Burj Al Arab &

Jumera Beach

Hotels

Shopping in Dubai

Musandam Peninsula, Oman

Bukha Castle in Bukha, Oman

“dhow” – fishing boat in Khasab, Oman

I'm looking for the unexpected.

I'm looking for things I've never seen before.

Robert Mapplethorpe, Photographer

Terra Incognita North America - 1566

• Latin “Land Unknown” • Cartography: Regions not yet mapped or documented

– 16th – 19th centuries – European Age of Exploration – Earlier cartographers used “HIC SVNT LEONES” (Here Be Lions)

Terra Incognita as Geographic Imagination

The Tourist’s Terra Incognita • Terra Cognita: place and spaces that are known to

tourists, or at least to the mass tourism industry – most often listed in tourist guide books

• Terra Intimidus: known places that are avoided by most tourists – reputation for danger, risk, or discomfort - intimidating

places

• Terra Incognita: unknown to tourists – “inept sites” = unknown places that have tourism potential – “inert sites” = tourists have no special need to know about – = most of the world

Lew & McKercher (2006)

Safety and Risk

• The Unknown = Lack of Certainty = Fear – Uncertainty = lack of / imperfect place knowledge – Reasons for tourist “guides”

• Cultural Theory of Risk (Douglas 1992) – Perceptions of Danger & Reduction of Risk = Basis of Culture

• Social norms prevent social and natural disruptions • Some cultures & people more risk averse than others

• Tourism Environments – Almost Always Structured for Safety – Creating models of Efficiency, Predictability & Control

• Theme parks, cruise ships, hotels; shopping malls

Tourist Motivation • Are Efficiency, Predictability & Control the primary

experiential goals of leisure time?

– If yes, then just stay home and watching television

• Variations in Risk Tolerance among tourists

– Safe, Familiar & Guided v. Risk, Novelty & Exploration

– Plog’s (1974) Psychocentric - Allocentric Model

A Tourism Incognita Framework

Home Destination Periphery

Tourism Cognita Home & Destination

Known / Safe

Tourism Incognita Periphery & Beyond

Unknown / Risk

Cognitive Experiences in Tourism

“TOURISM COGNITA”

• Iconic / Mass Tourism

• Planned / Predictable

• Safe / Familiar / Easy

• Passive / Educational

• Staged / Contrived

• Front Region

• Role Conformity

• “Psychocentric”

• “Evoked” Sites

“TOURISM INCOGNITA”

• Individual / Unique

• Unplanned / Serendipity

• Risk / Exotic / Challenge

• Adventure / Exciting

• Authentic

• Back Region

• Role Transformation

• “Allocentric”

• “Inert & Inept“ Sites

I thought that one thing was

going to happen, but

something else entirely

happened.

Kathryn Shulz, Journalist and Author

Angkor Wat & The Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Ta Prom & Pre Rup

Nearly all the best things that came

to me in life have been unexpected,

unplanned by me. Carl Sandburg, 20th c.

American author and poet

Marketing Tourism Incognita

• What would the marketing of tourism incognita look like?

• How can tourists be encouraged to explore terra intimidus and terra incognita?

• How does tourism incognita exist in our contemporary tourism economy?

• Finding Tourism Incognita

– Known, Unknown & Avoided Geographic Places

• Easy to identify and map

– “Alternative Tourisms”

• Most likely to playing in tourism incognita

Playing with Tourism Incognita

• 1 - Adventure Tourism – Outdoor environments, physical challenges

– Thrill experiences: White water rafting, Scuba diving, Trekking

– Active tourism (sport activity) & Extreme tourism (very high risk)

• 2 - Volunteer Tourism – NGO/non-profits: Faith-based groups, Environmental advocates,

Scientific and museum societies

– Possibly alleviates the guilt of mass tourism

– Serious Tourism - Most tourists are not interested

• Both: – Immersive Experiences

– Promise of Entering Back / Hidden Regions

– Highly Structured Experiences

Other Alternative to Mass Tourism

• Slum Tourism

• Ecotourism

• Disaster Tourism

• Religious Tourism & Pilgrimages

• Aboriginal and other Ethnic Tourisms

• Industrial Tourism

• Village Homestays

• Working Farm or Ranch Stays

• Working Mine Tours

• Extreme Tourism

• Mostly Benign Regions of Tourism Incognita

• Transcending the Superficial and Commercial

• Authentic, meaningful & back region experiences

• Reality Spaces & Serious Tourism

• Ethical Issues: Wealth, Power, Class relationships

Unplanned & Unguided Tourism

• Unguided Tourism – “wanderlust” - “drifter” – “Traveler” – "A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on

arriving" - Lao-Tzu

• Degrees of Unguiding – Tourists slip in and out of guided & unguided states

• Unguided Travel Games / Untours – Simultaneously structured & open, guided & random – To transcend the structure

• Mission:Explore website - “to experience the world in new ways by doing vitally important random and warped challenges”.

Self-Guided Tourisms

• Free and Easy Tour Packages

– Transportation & Accommodations

– Tourist fills in other activities

• Self-Guided Travel

– By-pass Travel Agents

– Self-guided Walking and Driving Tours

• Greater risk and responsibility for outcomes

– if it is exceptionally good, then it could be an experience of a lifetime.

Structure or Agency or Both?

• All Examples Above – Structured in the tourism economy – Extending tourism economy into tourism incognita – Guided in some way (person or paper) – Mostly insured against harm to tourists = safety

bubble

• But also: – Self-reflective - Seeking Opportunities for authentic

encounters with terra intimidus and terra incognita – Aware of becoming too commercialized and mass

tourism oriented

If you do not expect the unexpected you will not

find it, for it is not to be reached by search or

trail. Heraclitus, Greek philosopher, 500 BCE

Manado & The Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

Crested Black

Macaque

Babirusa

Tarsiers

The Lembeh Strait

Coral

Triangle

Muck

Diving

in the

Lembeh

Strait

Small is Beautiful

Squat

(or Hairy)

Lobster

“Sea Slugs” Nudibranch

Pygmy Seahorse Pregnant ~ 1 to 2 cm tall

Creativity comes from looking for the

unexpected and stepping outside your own

experience. Masaru Ibuka, co-founder, Sony Corporation

1. Curiosity / Novelty Seeking – Drives Learning, Innovation & Creativity

• Emotional Extremes – Risk of Disappointment - Opportunity for Euphoria

– Tourism would not exist if people were not curious about other places

• Potential for euphoria, insights or discoveries

2. Serendipity – Unplanned Opportunities – job, career, friendship, & more…

Tourism Incognita – Holds the greatest curiosity for the tourist – Drive for discovery shared by explorers, travelers & tourists

Conclusions

A Tourism Incognita Model

TOURISM COGNITA

- Terra Domus (house)

- Terra Viator (traveler)

TOURISM INCOGNITA

- Terra Intimidus

- Terra Incognita

Balancing Safety & Risk

• Tourists & Destinations are Complex – Knowns & Unknowns, Safety & Risk, Desires/Attraction &

Revulsions/Rejection

• Safety is Absolute in Tourism Marketing – Safety builds trust needed to for tourists to spend money

• Few market Unknowns, Uncertainties & Risks • Most prefer sure things with lower rewards over risk

• But … Risk is Essential in Marketing Imagination • Beyond the day-to-day routine

– Adventure tourism & Amusement rides = Safe Thrills – “Exotic” Destinations = Insights into “Tourism Incognita”

You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the

unexpected to happen. Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author and music lyricist

The earth is big enough, people are small enough, and life is unpredictable enough that there will always be new realms of tourism incognita to lure us out of terra domus and beyond terra viator in search of insight, discovery and exhilaration.