The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development

It is well-known that tourists are not primarily attracted by products or services, but they choose and recall destinations based on experiences. A critical though neglected aspect of tourist experiences are atmospheres, which can be conceived as the diffuse and difficult to grasp holistic entities...

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Main Author: Volgger, Michael
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88285
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author Volgger, Michael
author_facet Volgger, Michael
author_sort Volgger, Michael
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description It is well-known that tourists are not primarily attracted by products or services, but they choose and recall destinations based on experiences. A critical though neglected aspect of tourist experiences are atmospheres, which can be conceived as the diffuse and difficult to grasp holistic entities that consist of a combination of spaces and feelings. Based on an interdisciplinary exploration of traditions of atmospheric theorising, this paper aims to delineate and motivate an “atmospheric gaze” as a guiding principle in destination development. With its recognition of genius loci, that is the quasi-objective spirit of a place, the atmospheric gaze is sensitive to the affective characteristics of places and understands them as unique assets in tourism development as well as regional development. This paper argues that the focus on emotional, symbolic, and interactive aspects of places, which is inherent to the atmospheric gaze, can help to achieve a more long-term orientated and balanced destination development.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-882852022-05-06T07:57:27Z The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development Volgger, Michael 1506 - Tourism 3508 - Tourism It is well-known that tourists are not primarily attracted by products or services, but they choose and recall destinations based on experiences. A critical though neglected aspect of tourist experiences are atmospheres, which can be conceived as the diffuse and difficult to grasp holistic entities that consist of a combination of spaces and feelings. Based on an interdisciplinary exploration of traditions of atmospheric theorising, this paper aims to delineate and motivate an “atmospheric gaze” as a guiding principle in destination development. With its recognition of genius loci, that is the quasi-objective spirit of a place, the atmospheric gaze is sensitive to the affective characteristics of places and understands them as unique assets in tourism development as well as regional development. This paper argues that the focus on emotional, symbolic, and interactive aspects of places, which is inherent to the atmospheric gaze, can help to achieve a more long-term orientated and balanced destination development. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88285 10.19002/10.19002.3.11 unknown
spellingShingle 1506 - Tourism
3508 - Tourism
Volgger, Michael
The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
title The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
title_full The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
title_fullStr The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
title_full_unstemmed The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
title_short The atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
title_sort atmospheric gaze as a guiding principle in destination development
topic 1506 - Tourism
3508 - Tourism
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/88285