The relevance of practice theories for tourism research

Practice theories offer a new perspective on tourism, by not focussing on individual agents or social structures, but on social practices as the starting point for theorising and conducting research. Illustrated by the practice of Arctic expedition cruising, we discuss the basic premises of practice theories and their potential applications to tourism studies, including various ways of conceptualising social practices, the principle idea of a flat ontology, the methodological implications and the relevance for tourism policies. Practice theories could contribute to the agenda of tourism studies in three ways, i.e. by enabling in-depth analysis of performed tourism consumption or production practices, by facilitating analysis of change in tourism over time and by unravelling the embeddedness of tourism practices.