The place of the family in tourism research: Domesticity and thick sociality by the pool

This article is concerned with the place of the family in tourism research. In an attempt at situating tourism theory, three discourses of tourism are examined in order to see what kind of articulations of the familiar they epitomize. This article is also concerned with developing theoretical constructs that are sensitive to the familiar character of tourism. Making space for the family in tourism research requires the reappraisal of domesticity and thick sociality in tourism. The article makes references to research on mass tourism in Menorca to discuss the implications of the re-socialization of tourism theory. The idealized notions of the nuclear family that are formed and performed on coastal resorts are contrasted to the complex realities of family life.

► The invisibility of the family in tourism research is primarily a theoretical problem.
► In emphasizing loneliness and detachment, most theoretical perspectives de-socialize tourism subjects.
► Making space for the family in tourism requires the reappraisal of domesticity and thick sociality in tourism.
► Idealizations of the nuclear family in coastal mass tourism contrast with the complex realities of family life.