The success of tourism encounters can be aided by devising cross-cultural strategies so that conscious feelings (emotions) and subtle impressions (affects) of locals are communicated effectively to tourists. This article investigates how post-disaster tourism, its narratives, practices, and landmarks, can be used to ‘attune’ the feelings of these culturally different groups. After the Triple Disaster of 2011 in the Tohoku region of Japan, the recovering communities have used tours as a way to support the local economy, confront their loss and overcome trauma. As global attention moves to new disasters, communities feel the need to attract more visitors as well as create new jobs for the locals. However, this has proven difficult: differences in expressing emotional responses caused tensions and dissatisfaction amongst locals and internationals, as locals feel misunderstood and tourists do not see their expectations met. This hinders the tourist encounter, which is seen by some of the communities as crucial, as they feel that ‘being able to tell their stories’ and ‘being remembered’ is a central tenet of the recovery process. In the case of Japan, we argue, affect can constitute a more appropriate means to negotiate meaning and memory between Japanese and internationals.Affective elements are often overlooked by academics, as they are considered volatile and unstructured, such as the atmospheres of places –a vague vibe that one can feel but rarely explain. There is no research that utilizes geographical and interdisciplinary theories of affect to gain an indepthunderstanding in the ways to communicate heritage and memory cross-culturally in disastersites, as well as rigorous and appropriate approaches to more inventive and creative methods. Affect can benefit both locals and visitors, as it bridges understandings of the delicate and complex issues pertaining to disaster memory and heritage, and may lead to more socio-culturally and politically sustainable approaches to planning, development and management of tourism. Moreover, these results can be shared with the communities and relevant institutions, promote new policies, as well as being potentially applied in different settings.
Martini, A., Vainio, A. (2021). CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION THROUGH AFFECT: THE POTENTIAL FOR POST-DISASTER TOURISM IN JAPAN. TOURISM, CULTURE & COMMUNICATION, 22, 1-33 [10.3727/109830421X16296375579570].
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION THROUGH AFFECT: THE POTENTIAL FOR POST-DISASTER TOURISM IN JAPAN
Martini, Annaclaudia
Primo
Conceptualization
;
2021
Abstract
The success of tourism encounters can be aided by devising cross-cultural strategies so that conscious feelings (emotions) and subtle impressions (affects) of locals are communicated effectively to tourists. This article investigates how post-disaster tourism, its narratives, practices, and landmarks, can be used to ‘attune’ the feelings of these culturally different groups. After the Triple Disaster of 2011 in the Tohoku region of Japan, the recovering communities have used tours as a way to support the local economy, confront their loss and overcome trauma. As global attention moves to new disasters, communities feel the need to attract more visitors as well as create new jobs for the locals. However, this has proven difficult: differences in expressing emotional responses caused tensions and dissatisfaction amongst locals and internationals, as locals feel misunderstood and tourists do not see their expectations met. This hinders the tourist encounter, which is seen by some of the communities as crucial, as they feel that ‘being able to tell their stories’ and ‘being remembered’ is a central tenet of the recovery process. In the case of Japan, we argue, affect can constitute a more appropriate means to negotiate meaning and memory between Japanese and internationals.Affective elements are often overlooked by academics, as they are considered volatile and unstructured, such as the atmospheres of places –a vague vibe that one can feel but rarely explain. There is no research that utilizes geographical and interdisciplinary theories of affect to gain an indepthunderstanding in the ways to communicate heritage and memory cross-culturally in disastersites, as well as rigorous and appropriate approaches to more inventive and creative methods. Affect can benefit both locals and visitors, as it bridges understandings of the delicate and complex issues pertaining to disaster memory and heritage, and may lead to more socio-culturally and politically sustainable approaches to planning, development and management of tourism. Moreover, these results can be shared with the communities and relevant institutions, promote new policies, as well as being potentially applied in different settings.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
