Sociology of Tourism

SOCIOLOGY OF TOURISM In chapter 2.7 Bianca Freire-Medeiros reminds us again that tourism is a science that consists of and is influenced by other fields of science, so that we know tourism as a multidisciplinary science. Tourism is formed by several sciences such as geography, anthropology, ecology, biology, sociology and various other scientific fields. Tourism is called a complex science because it includes dynamic social phenomena Tourist travel was initially only available to rich people, because they had a lot of free time and money. In the 19th century, tourist travel lost its aristocratic prestige which was based on the mobility of bourgeois people. Because in this century workers began to have holidays, and the work life of workers began to be regulated by law in various countries. Sociologists see a change in a hierarchy. The change is that tourism can be enjoyed by everyone, not just reserved for the bourgeoisie. This of course influences the proliferation in the number of trips and diversification of destinations, apart from that it also influences people's social life, in terms of economics, environment, politics and other aspects. In the 1970s, while international development agencies bet on tourism as a solution to the economic problems of peripheral countries, sociologists (and especially anthropologists) critically examined the impact of tourism on host societies, noting its adverse effects: economic dependency, corroded values , modified cultural practices and environmental degradation (see Turner and Ash, 1975; Smith, 1989). So at this time it is said that tourism is synonymous with exploitation. an emblem of the forces destroying consumer society and a threat to the balance of host society. MacCannell (1989) argues that, more than simple entertainment and superficial contact, tourists seek authentic experiences. MacCannell proposes the tourist as an interpretive key to the contemporary world because travel is a collective effort to unify and understand an increasingly contradictory and fragmented world. Modern society is undergoing a process of structural differentiation in which the categories that once provided order – social class, profession and ethnicity – are becoming increasingly complex and volatile. MacCannell argues that we can no longer recognize ourselves in simple dualities such as employee and employer. This explosion of difference, inherent in the contemporary world, leads us on a journey to visit certain idealized places as loci of authentic elements belonging to another culture or a mythical past, the 'enactment' of which includes the participation of the natives themselves, who benefit. from employment opportunities and income generated by tourism. Beyond the sense of playfulness that most often animates tourism, the act of traveling helps contemporary subjects construct totalities based on different experiences because, as tourists, they are given the opportunity to formulate their own trajectories and those of their society as 'an ordered order'. In MacCanell's opinion, he considers that local communities are part of the centralization of tourism, which can be referred to as the center of tourism itself. However, this is denied by Jonh Urry who considers that the real focus of tourism is the tourist as the center, which he bases on the requirements of tourists which are characterized by the valorization of entertainment, pleasure and imitation. From this opinion, it is found that tourist attractions develop and grow depending on the presence of tourists. This can be seen from the findings in chapter 2.7 that historical places in the western world are made into museological spaces so that they are intended for tourists to arouse curiosity. This discussion of the sociology of tourism relates that social relations in tourist attractions are closely related in economic and environmental terms which have certain consequences on the development of tourist attractions. This can also affect tourism modalities, tourists and tourist experiences. According to Nash, sociological science will handle tourism from 3 reductionist perspectives, namely: 1. As a form of acculturation and development 2. As a transition from individuals who travel 3. As a type of suprastructure Therefore, the existence of sociology in tourism aims to understand the various social structures that can give rise to the possibility of tourism flows which have socio-economic and cultural impacts. Thus, the need for sociological knowledge in tourism development is increasingly needed because tourism will increasingly be experienced by various types of people who will become tourists. Not only that, sociology is also linked to the concept of sustainability so that tourism development must also be linked to the social responsibility that arises from both the managing community and tourists. So that the concept of sustainability regulates the social aspects of visitors and those visited.