Framing the Mogao Caves in the Encounters between Tourists and Site Interpreters

Public access to archaeological sites in the era of mass tourism presents challenges to the principles and practices of site management. ¹ Tourists’ increasing access may change what Erving Goffman calls the “interaction order” ² (Goffman 1974, 1983) of face-to-face interaction on the sites, especially in locations where definitions and management of the sites have predominantly been maintained by archaeologists, heritage professionals, or other non-tourist actors with relevant expertise or legitimacy. To address the issues of management and interpretation of archaeological sites in the context of heritage tourism, this article analyzes how the interaction order of the sites is framed and reframed during encounters between tourists and site interpreters.