Is Jordan 'spoilt'?

Because flights have become cheaper over the years, tourism has become available for the majority of the working class. This led to an increase in tourism and eventually, mass tourism. The surge of mass tourism has led to a commercialisation of many tourist destinations that where undiscovered before (T. Edensor, 2009). For some tourists, these areas are now ‘spoilt’ and they have been searching for 'unspoilt areas', which can be named the quest for authenticity (Dean MacCannell). Does Jordan share some characteristics with the ‘spoilt’ areas?

Authenticity is defined as a real presentation of local culture which is not performed.

Staged authenticity, however, can be defined as engineered tourist experiences. Daniel Boorstin explains mass tourism as the experience of the ‘pseudoevent’, ‘an event that gives the illusion that it is ‘real’ but is actually a staged production put on for the benefit of tourists. When the good and services are turned into something purchasable, it can be defined as commodification. Mass tourism is also identified by the creation of cheaper facilities around the touristic sights. More specifically, this can be chains such as McDonalds (T. Edensor, 2009).

All of these characteristics of ‘spoilt’ areas are present in Jordan. Staged authenticity is mostly present in Petra. Many locals are walking around dressed as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean (although they meant to look like locals from the first centuries BC and AD) selling camel rides, to give the tourists an authentic experience. However, the camel rides that are sold by the Jack Sparrow’s are examples of commodification. In addition, souvenir shops that act like the souvenirs are originally crafted, although they are made in facturies, are also commodified. The creation of cheaper facilities is little, fortunately.

Although staged authenticity is present in Jordan, I only experienced it in Petra, which is the most touristic sight. The rest of the country is, in my opinion, still authentic and not spoilt!

References:

Edensor, T. (2009) Tourism, Elsevier.

Williams, S. (1998). Tourism geography. Psychology Press.

One word: Politics.

As mentioned in another blog (different education, different gaze) we had been invited at the US AID, an organisation that among other things helps renovating the historical sites in Jordan and tries to improve the image of Jordan as a tourist destination. During this presentation he has shown before and after pictures of the sights. Indeed, the sights look definitely more professional. But is it a good thing that a country like the US has complete control over the historical sites in Jordan, hence the pride of the country and their most important marketing products? I think not.

                                                                                                            

Another question that remains is why the US is spending so much money in Jordan. One word: POLITICS.

Because how is Jordan marketing its country? What does it (politically) have to offer?

Resources? No. It does not have oil, only sand. What then?

Safety. Stability. An oasis in the middle of turmoil. A safe heaven with, especially for the US, a high POLITICAL value.

Because Jordan does not have resources, it needs help in the form of alliances. That is the reason for the help of the US, which explains why Jordan lets the US decide on their pride. They need it.

Hence, politics. Even though it has such a large impact on both the tourists visiting as the other countries invading the country, while waving with their money, the interconnections between politics and tourism (and economics) are still insufficiently explored (Hall, 1993). Political tourism is discussed in some dimensions, such as political marketing of destinations (Beirman, 2003), but this is mostly described in light of terrorism attacks.  

As mentioned, the political situation also influences the tourists visiting and is therefore playing a role in the marketing of Jordan as a tourist destination. More on this subject was in the blog ’Terrifying turmoil?’! 

References:

Beirman, D. (2003). Restoring tourism destinations in crisis: A strategic marketing approach.

Hall, C. M. (1994). Tourism and politics: policy, power and place. John Wiley & Sons.

At the US AID

Terrifying Turmoil?

Were you also a bit nervous to come to Jordan? I believe this is the start of most of the conversations I have had in Jordan. Besides that, I am quite certain that almost every tour guide, director, or other presenter has mentioned that Jordan is such a stable country and that you should definitely visit! Although all the locals claim that it's safe, most students did show some anxiety at the beginning.

Within Honours some did not choose our module out of fear, our trip could have been cancelled if the situation changed, and I decided to wait four hours at the airport in fear of travelling alone. Conclusively, the turmoil has influenced the decision of visiting Jordan. Is it only negative for tourism or also a reason to visit?

According to Brin (2006), some politically-oriented tourists travel to areas in conflict specially because of the turmoil present. Hence, political instability, and therefore danger, can also be stimulating tourism. This form of tourism is named dark tourism. Danger-zone tourism is a subdivision of dark tourism, and refers to tourism where violent conflicts are happening frequently. The dark tourist can be defined as a tourist that consumes exhibits of death and disasters (Lisle, 2007). There are four types of dark tourists, namely politically-oriented tourists, conflict tourists, danger-zoners and war tourists (Buda, 2015).

In Israel, with the Israel-Palestina conflict, most types of dark tourists are present. However in Jordan, as it is a safe country without conflicts in the middle of turmoil, dark tourism will not be a prevalent reason to visit. Nevertheless, dark tourism might attribute to tourism in the way of day tours from Israel. However, in the opinion of the tour guides, Jordan does not profit from this (Buda, 2015).

Conclusively, political conflicts might lead to an increase in tourism in the form of dark tourism. However, unfortunately the negative effects of the turmoil in the area surrounding Jordan on tourism is bigger than the positive effects.

References: 

Brin, E. (2006). Politically-oriented tourism in Jerusalem. Tourist Studies, 6(3), 215–243

Buda, D. M. (2015). Affective Tourism: Dark routes in conflict. Routledge.

Buda, D. M., d’Hauteserre, A. M., & Johnston, L. (2014). Feeling and tourism studies. Annals of Tourism Research, 46, 102-114.

Lisle, D. (2007). Defending voyeurism: Dark tourism and the problem of global security. In P. Burns & M. Novelli (Eds.), Tourism and politics: Global frameworks and local realities (pp. 333–346). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. 

Sensational Senses

The gaze by John Urry can be seen as a view within a socially constructed platform. Hence, that theory focuses on your vision, your sight. But do only the eyes matter? No! Because what would be the fun of 'muscular tourism' then, which includes mountanbiking, rafting or other activities where you have to use your entire body and hear, smell and feel your environment?

According to Lindstrom and Kotler (2005), our experience of the world is experienced through multiple senses. This theory has recently been supported and extended in different disciplines, including tourism. Hence, although the gaze by John Urry is still supported, many scholars now point out that this view neglects other senses (than sight) that influence the tourist experience. Consequently, new theories emerged. The more-than-representational theory contains the idea that body, nature and other elements such as tourism are interconnected and that all aspects of the body attribute to the tourist experience. The bodily experiences mostly are tactile, auditory and gustatory, hence feeling, hearing, and tasting. (T. Edensor, 2009). The new theories have gained awareness and are now even implemented in the marketing of tourism (Isacsson, A., Alakoski, L., & Bäck, A. (2009).

In Jordan I have tried to pay attention to my other senses. The one site where the senses excluding sight are extremely relevant for the tourist experience is… The Dead Sea!! The salty water felt smoothly on your skin and the taste of it in your mouth was disgusting. The water in your eyes was actually painful. But mostly it was so strange that you just could not sink, which actually interfered with your cognitive understanding. The dead sea was a sea full of weird senses! Only the vision would definitely not explain the experience. Hence, all the senses together form the opinion about an experience.

This knowledge also criticises the tourists that only take pictures and forget about the other senses. So if this sounds familiar, keep in mind that the other senses are definitely not less important!

References:

Urry, J. (2002). The tourist gaze. Sage.

Edensor, T. (2009). Tourism. Elsevier

Dann, G. M., & Jacobsen, J. K. S. (2002). Leading the tourist by the nose. The tourist as a metaphor of the social world, 209-235.

Isacsson, A., Alakoski, L., & Bäck, A. (2009). Using multiple senses in tourism marketing: The helsinki expert, eckero line and linnanmaki amusement park cases.
Kotler, P., & Lindstrom, M. (2005). Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands Through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound. New York.

Different education, different gaze!

All students within our group have a different background, ranging from Economics (which is me) to Classical antiquity. Following that, I notice that my view of Jordan differs from students with a different background and I remember other details than others. This effect is explained by John Urry with the gaze. This theory refers to the fact that people gaze upon an object in a socially and culturally constructed way. People view that object regarding their relation and a frame of gender, social class, educational background etcetera. The gaze differs per region or culture, and is strongly influenced by the use of internet and social media. In this case the gaze even differs per faculty, hence imagine how tourist from another region would differ in gaze with me. (Urry, 2002)

Jordan is probably most known for its archeological sites, such as Petra and Jerash. Because these sites (and many other) have such a central role, we receive a lot of information about the history of Jordan. Unfortunately I sometimes find it difficult to keep paying attention, even though I do find it fascinating.

However, one morning we were invited at the USAID, which is an American organisation that helps out to renovate the archaeological sites, stimulates education and promotes Jordan as a touristic destination. I couldn't stop listening.

With my economic background I find it interesting to see how they try to promote the country via different channels: as a destination famous for its archaeological sites (authenticity), as a destination for dark tourism, which is a kind of tourism where people visit war zones or other countries in danger, or muscular tourism, where they promoted adventurous activities available in Jordan. In light of the gaze, those different types of tourists (in search of authenticity, dark tourists, or adventure tourists), all gaze towards Jordan in a different way.

Conclusively, everyone gazes upon the country in a different way. This can be because of education, region, interests or many other. However, gazing does not explain everything. Why? Keep reading!

References:
Urry, J. (2002). The tourist gaze. Sage.

What am I expecting?

I have now explained the aim of this blog and all you can expect. But what am I expecting myself?

Is there some anxiety present because of the turmoil in the middle-east? I expect that this is the case. I myself am not anxious to travel to dangerous areas, such as Guatemala, one of the countries with the highest criminal records where I have also been. Nevertheless, the last few months I have checked the travel warning of the Dutch government regularly, out of fear I believe. Besides that, I decided to hang around at the airport for four hours to be able to travel together to the hotel instead of alone, as a woman in Jordan, a country in the Middle-East. This is only what I have experienced in Holland, imagine what it will be like there.

Considering one of my other objectives, namely the question whether I will experience this trip differently because of the knowledge about tourism that I have received, I am expecting that I will. Because I can now recognize some of the aspects of tourism, I can link the theories with the occurences in Jordan. For example, when I smell the food and I hear the cars honking I will think about the gaze by John Urry or other theories that explain that you experience the destination with all the senses, such as the more-than representation theory or embodinebt. Moreover, when I talk to tourist who mostly enjoy the restaurants, cafés, shops etcetera, I think about urban tourism. These are only a few examples of thoughts that cross my mind while travelling that didn't before.

What kind of tourist will I be? I believe I am situated between mass tourists and backpackers, which means that I do share some characteristics with the typical tourist, but do not fit in the definition entirely. The mass tourist is most likely present only in Petra.

references:

Urry, J. (2002). The tourist gaze. Sage.

Edensor, T. (2009). Tourism. Elsevier

Blogging beforehand

Picture yourself a tourist: What kind of image is in your mind? It could be a guy in a pair of hiking trousers with matching shoes and a backpack, or a Dutch couple lying on the beach in Spain, next to their neighbours from Holland eating fries from Dutch snack bar ''Friet van Piet''. What kind of tourist are you thinking of?

Next question: What kind of tourist am I? This is what I will try to answer by use of this blog.

For the Honours we have followed a module about tourism which ends with a summer school to guess where.. Jordan! This blog will contain both theoretical parts about tourism, as well as my experiences in Jordan. To add something special to this blog and prevent me from repetition, it will cover three main objectives. The first one I have already mentioned: What kind of tourist am I? Theories have divided tourists in typologies; the recreational, the diversionary, the experiential, the experimental and the existential tourist (Cohen, 1979). I will explain the theories in the next blog.

Second, I will compare my travel experience in Jordan with other countries, since I now have the knowledge behind tourism and Jordan itself. Is it different to travel while being aware of tourism?

Third and last, I will focus on the turmoil in the Middle-East. Does the crisis in almost all the neighbouring countries have an influence on the level of tourism to Jordan and the emotion of travellers? Has there been hesitation to visit Jordan? And finally, are the tourists experiencing fear?

This first blog entry has mostly been an introduction of what is still coming. Of course I will add fascinating stories in the other blogs that are actually situated in Jordan so don't stop reading and enjoy! :)

References:
McCabe, S. (2005). ‘Who is a tourist?’A critical review. Tourist studies, 5(1), 85-106.

Edensor, T. (2009). Tourism. Elsevier

Cohen, E. (1979). A phenomenology of tourist experiences. Sociology, 13(2), 179-201.