Rethinking the consumption of places

The phenomenological concept of embodiment has underpinned the ‘performance turn’ in tourism studies which, along with the ‘mobilities paradigm’, has contributed to the disruption of the occularcentric and static nature of Urry’s original (1990, 1995) thesis on place consumption. In this paper we further the rethinking of the consumption of places by proposing that embodied consumption and construction of places at the point of visitation involves not just corporeal and multisensory aspects, but also cognitive and affective processes. We also argue that consumption and construction of places are simultaneous processes in which both tourists and locals play an active role. This theoretical exploration is supported by relevant findings from an ethnographic study of tourists’ and locals’ experiences at the Acropolis.

► The paper furthers existing understandings of the consumption of places.
► Places are socially and culturally constructed and subjectively experienced.
► During visitation places are consumed and constructed through embodied experiences.
► Embodied consumption and construction of places occurs simultaneously.
► Embodied experiences include cognitive and affective processes.