Tourism and The Visual

This chapter explores the relationship between the visual and tourism as it has emerged through history. Beginning with the ocularcentric tendencies of the Grand Tour, the chapter works through the emergence of photography to the opportunities afforded to the visual in the virtual environments of the 21st century. Tourism and the visual are inherently interlinked. However, in reflecting upon the position of the visual as the dominant sense within tourism, the chapter moves beyond the visual as primarily concentrated upon within destination marketing and the exoticisation of the other for touristic consumption. In doing so, it critiques the relationship between tourism and the visual as a series of embodied performances and practices, reflects upon the effects of technology and user-generated media in changing the mediascapes and offers a series of methodological insights. In doing so, it confronts significant shifts in producer/consumer relationships and the emergent power dynamics in the construction and consumption of place through the visuals encountered throughout our tourist experiences