ABSTRACT
In the first half of the book we investigated tourism as a just cause. In this half of the book we consider the possibility of tourism as transgression. As we have suggested, the notion of tourism as a noble pursuit was in part a response to the extent to which tourists did not consider the consequences of their behaviour on host communities, spaces and environments. Tourism as an aspect of leisure is, as Urry suggests,1 the opposite to work. Pleasure and not ethical or responsible behaviour is the goal that many tourists pursue. We have discussed in the first part of the book the degree to which that purpose of tourism has now been reconstructed. Here, however, we wish to pursue the extent to which tourism is about
transgression. In a sense, we ask the question whether transgression rather than any noble or just cause is the essence of tourism. ‘Escape’, ‘do what you want to do’, ‘explore and indulge’ are all terms that one connects with tourism marketing. These words seem to fit with a view of tourism that constructs it in terms of its excitement rather than its ethical behaviour. In understanding how legal discourse constructs tourism it appears to be of central importance to ourselves to explore the manner in which transgression defines the tourist and tourism. In an age of uncertainty we are led to believe that we confront acts of
transgression more frequently in the context of travel and tourism. Yet
terrorism, as perhaps one of the most extreme forms of transgression, is hardly a new phenomenon in this context. What we have to consider is whether it is the fear of transgression that has increased, rather than the incidence. A related aspect of this discussion is the extent to which transgression – and therefore fear also – is a more central aspect of the tourist experience than we are prepared to accept. Legal discourse of course provides us with the notion of ‘risk’ and the extent to which modern society seems unprepared to accept risk might have more to do with the fears we construct around tourism than the reality of transgression. This may be the uncomfortable reality then – that transgression is the essence of tourism more than any notion of justice or ethical behaviour may be.
