Island of Peace or Island of War: Tourist Guiding

The role of tour guides in conveying information, offering explanations, and developing narratives has become a contemporary research theme. The guide is introduced as a translator of the culture, who has the crucial task of selecting, glossing, and interpreting sights. The study will examine how the Island of Peace—a border site between former adversaries, Israel and Jordan, is introduced to Israeli tourists by Israeli guides and what messages the guides deliver to their captive audience. Based on participant observation of the guided tours in the site the article will show that the guides’ narratives and messages in many cases do not portray the site as a site of peace (as its name suggests), but mostly as a site with a past of tension and conflict.

► The ‘Island of Peace’ has the potential to function as a peace-promoting place. ► Surprisingly, most of the guided narratives relate to geopolitical conflicts. ► There is a lack of a heritage discourse management in the Island of Peace. ► The place of the tour guides as a cultural mediator is critical for a peace site. ► The role of the site policy makers is critical for implementing a peace agenda.