Alienation and anxiety in tourism motivation

Vidon, Elizabeth S.; Rickly, Jillian M.

Abstract

Although underexplored in tourism studies, recent work suggests theories of alienation, as the dialectic of authenticity, have much to contribute to our understanding of tourism motivation. This paper uses three major theoretical tropes (Marxism, existentialism, and Lacanian psychoanalysis) to examine the role of alienation in the motivations of hiking and rock climbing tourists. In particular, these tourists describe only temporary and retrospective relief from anxiety, articulating authenticity as an elusive experience that lies at the horizon, in the next adventure, or in the past as a memory. Alienation is an ever-present component of the human condition, and as such, anxiety is omnipresent in our lives, contributing significantly to touristic desires for escape, rejuvenation, and existential experiences.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 2, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Feb 20, 2018
• Deposit Date: Mar 14, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 21, 2019
• Journal: Annals of Tourism Research
• Print ISSN: 0160-7383
• Electronic ISSN: 0160-7383
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 69
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.02.001
• Keywords: Alienation; Anxiety; Authenticity; Hiking; Motivation; Rock climbing; Nature
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/912647
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738318300070?via%3Dihub