Tourism as a Medium

Present paper approaches tourism as a medium on two levels. At first, tourism can be understood as an instrument mediating images of certain locations to far away consumers. In this way tourism acts as a classic transfer medium. Tourism marketing has the tendency not to problematize this transfer activity and claims that tourism industry brings true and unbiased images to future consumers. Contrary to that, secondly, critical tourism studies brought several empirical examples where tourism industry created an image rather different from that of the actual location. Applying contemporary media theory, present study approaches tourism as a way of creating, understanding and interpreting reality. Besides media theory this approach strongly roots in the postcolonial understanding of tourism. From this point of view the interest, gaze and consumption of the wealthy tourists not simply causes changes in certain locations, but locations are coming into life in this power relation.