What is meaningful about the experience of travelling abroad? Whatfeeds the impulse to explore new horizons? In Being a Tourist,Harrison analyzes her conversations with a large group ofupper-middle-class travellers. Why, she asks, do these people investtheir resources -- financial, emotional, psychological, and physical --in this activity? Harrison suggests that they are fuelled by severaldesires, including a search for intimacy and connection, an expressionof personal aesthetic, an exploration of the understanding of"home," and a sensemaking strategy for a globalized world.She also reflects on the moral and political complexities of thetravels of these people.


Being a Tourist draws on a wide range of social theory,going beyond current debates of authenticity and consumption.Engagingly and thoughtfully written, it will be required reading forthose in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, and, moregenerally, for anyone interested in tourism studies and travelwriting.