GEO-32306 Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Experiences and Environments

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

GEO-10806 Introduction Leisure, Tourism and Environment; GEO-30306 Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Concepts and Approaches.

Continuation courses:

GEO-31306 Leisure, Tourism and Globalization; GEO-31806 Leisure, Tourism and Environment: Sustainable Development.

Contents:

The general purpose of the course is to provide a broad-based overview of leisure and tourism experiences within a spatial, natural and social environment. The search for worthwhile experiences is a main driving force of tourism and leisure behaviour. Therefore, to understand leisure and tourism, an understanding of leisure and tourism experiences is crucial. For example, tourism attractions and popular tourism regions are often shaped by experiential themes, for instance cultural heritage, thrills and adventure, and-sun-sea, particular leisure activities, romanticism, natural heritage, meeting people, et cetera. Leisure and tourism experiences are thus closely related to different physical and social environments.
Leisure and tourism experiences are studied by scholars using different approaches. Approaches differ with respect to the disciplinary background, for instance sociology, psychology, anthropology, phenomenology, semiotics, geography, et cetera. Also, different approaches stress different aspects and effects of leisure and tourism experiences, such as preferences, narratives, destination choices, economical effects, effects on culture, consequences for planning, design and control, consequences for inequality between social groups and cultures, et cetera. Moreover, different approaches stress different factors influencing leisure and tourism in their studies, for example influences of mass media, of personal memories, of family and education, of innate predispositions and preferences, of long-term shifts in culturally mediated images and values, et cetera.
Thus, leisure and tourism experiences, as well as phenomena closely related to those experiences, are studied from a multitude of scientific perspectives, and many different concepts and theories have been developed to study leisure and tourism experiences. The course reflects the multitude of perspectives, concepts and theories. Each week, a different lecturer will teach, expounding on leisure and tourism experience from her/his point of view. Possibly, there is the danger of getting lost in all these different perspectives. To provide the students with a good overall understanding, each perspective, and its relation with other perspectives, will be discussed at the end of the week. As a tool and framework for these evaluations, a basic model for leisure and tourism experiences will be used.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain the importance of experiences for understanding leisure and tourism;
- understand the relation between experiences and environment from an interdisciplinary perspective;
- distinguish theories on leisure and tourism experiences;
- examine social and personal influences on experiences;
- identify methodological problems related to empirical studies of experiences;
- reflect on the ways in which theories and concepts on experiences are applied in management, marketing and research practices;
- create a conceptual framework and build up scientific arguments by writing an essay on experiences in leisure and tourism.

Activities:

- lectures;
- writing an essay.

Examination:

- written exam (70%);
- assignment (30%).
An average mark of 5.5 or higher for all components constitutes a pass.

Literature:

Course outline available, literature to be announced.