ABSTRACT
Research that focuses on emotions as part of the tourist experience is gaining momentum in studies that focus on the tourism phenomenon. However, the discussions of emotions as lived histories – involving the gendered, ethnic, politicized body – are still providing interesting new views of the interactions that occur as a result of particular forms of international leisure travel. This chapter aims to engage with some of the current debates surrounding the nature of emotions and affects, gender and emotions, language and representation, performativity of emotions, the inter-subjectivity of emotions and other themes. It will, as well, attempt to introduce new theoretical terrain in the realm of emotions and tourism research by combining the well-established concept of the tourist imaginary with theories of emotion. In order to illustrate the theoretical concepts of emotions, the chapter makes use of interviews with high-altitude mountaineering tourists who aimed to climb Mount Everest in the Spring of 2019. Throughout, emotions and affects are presented as both subjective and inter-subjectively shaped instances of ‘feeling states’ brought about as a result of encounters that tourists have with Mount Everest (though alternative examples are given). Finally, the argument is made that an individual’s emotions are primarily lived as narrativized stories that inject a sense of meaning and interpretation into experience. To close, an agenda is set for future possible avenues in emotions research in tourism.
