ABSTRACT
This chapter describes an early life, awards and theory of Dean MacCannell whose texts were widely cited in tourism and hospitality research and less is known about the sociological background of his work, Structuralism. MacCannell is strongly convinced that capital, tourism, and imperialism are inextricably intertwined. The success of religion to regulate the life of aborigines has no place in western societies. In recent studies, his foci of analysis were radically changed to the problem of ethics in late capitalism. Although these new approaches are in accordance with his early texts, the problem of “dehumanization” is placed under the lens of scrutiny. The sense of freedom given to tourists leads to think they are privileged citizens or take part of a selected group. Philosophically speaking, the nature of tourism is ideologically prefigured to reframe dreams and experiences in a coherent matrix, according to formulas drew in other places, and by other persons (travel agents or tourist policy makers).
