Tourist Theory Intro

 

In Dean MacCannell’s “The Ethics of Sightseeing”, he poses the question, “What does it mean when an entire civilization is told that it can go everywhere, see everything, experience everything, do everything, and know everything when clearly it cannot?”  This is considered the idea of Tourist Theory; the disconnect between the reality and the expectations of travel and what the tourist experiences. In a more broad sense, tourist theory has three main reasons for travel.

 

The first is to learn.  In chapter eight of Twain’s, The Innocents Abroad, he states, “We wanted something thoroughly and uncompromisingly foreign- foreign from top to bottom- foreign from centre to circumference- foreign inside and outside and all around- nothing any where about it to dilute its foreignness- nothing to remind us of any other people or any other land under the sun. And lo! In Tangier we have found it. Here is not the slightest thing that ever we have seen in pictures—and we always mistrusted pictures before. We can not anymore. The pictures used to seem exaggerations—they seemed too weird and fanciful for reality. But behold, they were not wild enough- they were not fanciful enough- they were not half the story. Tangier is a foreign land if there ever was one, and the true spirit of it can never be found in any book save the Arabian nights. Here are no white men visible, yet swarms of humanity are al about us. Here is a packed and jammed city inclosed in a massive stone wall which is more than a thousand years old,” (49). This quote is describing Twain’s encounter in Tangier. This demonstrates the idea of travelling to learn because Twain and the other travelers knew nothing of Tangier beforehand. Due to their lack of knowledge, having no expectations, and wanting to submerge themselves in all things “foreign,” Twain and the other travelers are able to absorb the most information and be shocked and awed the most by Tangier and its “foreignness.” 

 

The second reason for wanting to travel is to be entertained.  In chapter one of Twain’s novel, he writes, “What was there lacking about the programme, to make it perfectly irresistible? Nothing, not any finite mind could discover. Paris, England, Scotland, Switzerland, Italy—Garibaldi! The Grecian archipelago! Vesuvius! Constantinople! Smyrna! The Holy Land!  Egypt and ‘our friends the Bermudians!’ People in Europe desiring to join the Excursion—contagious sickness to be avoided- boating at the expense of the ship—physician on board—the circuit of the globe to be made if the passengers unanimously desired it—the company to be rigidly selected by a pitiless ‘Commitment on Applications’—the vessel to be as rigidly selected by as pitiless a ‘Committee on Selecting Steamer.’ Human nature could not withstand these bewildering temptations,” (8-9). These temptations are what draw interest in travel. The chance to see all of these places, explore these new sights, and do something out of the ordinary habits of daily life is attractive to a traveler.  Seeing new sites, going to destinations most would dream of going, and here is Twain’s chance to do so.

 

The third motive for wanting to travel is to be comforted. While travelling the world and spending time in new destinations is exciting, everyone wants a piece of home to be with them when they’re feeling alienated and alone. In chapter four of Twain’s novel he states, “The passengers soon learned to accommodate themselves to their new circumstances and life in the ship became nearly as systematically monotonous as the routine of a barrack. I do not mean that it was dull, for it was not entirely so by any means—but there was a good deal of sameness about it. As is always the fashion at sea, the passengers shortly began to pick up sailor terms—a sign that they were beginning to feel at home,” (19).  Here, Twain and the other passengers are falling into an idiosyncratic routine on board and begin to feel at home, which evokes the idea of being comfortable in a new and unknown place. Every traveler feels the need to have some piece of home with them at all times, whether it be a specific food, a friend, or a television show. The idea of home can never be too far away.