Research – Affective Tourism

Research Projects

Tourism in Conflict Places: A Study of the Emotional Dynamics of Dark Tourism in the Palestinian West Bank. Principal Investigator €250,000

Dr Dorina-Maria Buda Principal Investigator on this interdivisional & interdisciplinary VENI subsidized as part of the Innovational Research Incentives Scheme of NWO/the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research for outstanding scientific researchers.

Dark tourism (travel in places of atrocity, conflict, death and disaster) is a complex phenomenon with important cultural, socio-political and economic implications at local, regional and international levels. Building on prior research conducted in Jordan and short stays in neighbouring West Bank in 2010, I propose to investigate dark tourism in areas of active or simmering socio-political conflict, specifically in the Palestinian West Bank.
Research questions to be explored revolve around the ways in which tourism in conflict places exists in spite of the ongoing conflict; the role of affective and emotional tourism experiences in shaping identity of conflict places; and the dynamics of affects and emotions, that is the ways they are negotiated and transferred between tourists and local tourism stakeholders.
The aim of this proposal is, therefore, threefold: (1) to advance a theory of critical dark tourism by combining cultural theory of affect and emotion with psychoanalytic theory; (2) to examine, through tourism ethnography, the ways affects and emotions are experienced in such ways so as to shape place identity in conflict-affected areas; and (3) to propose the theoretical psychoanalytic concepts of (counter-)transference and projection when interpreting the ways emotions and affects are negotiated by tourists and local tourism stakeholders in conflict places.
I propose to be based in Bethlehem for eight months during two major tourism seasons, where I will conduct ethnographic work, collect field information through interviews with tourists and local tourism stakeholders, and through participant observation.
Findings from this project will contribute to the development of novel cross-disciplinary methodologies, and of a critical theoretical approach to study dark tourism in conflict places. This is highly needed not only to strengthen the research sub-field of dark tourism, but also to improve planning and development of tourism in conflict-affected areas in more socio-politically and culturally sustainable ways.
Rosalind Franklin Fellowship awarded for talented international researchers at University of Groningen. Principal Investigator € 400,000 + € 185,000 – 1 PhD student

Affective and Emotional Geographies of Tourism in Times and Places of Turmoil

My goal is to establish a critical research agenda with a focus on affective and emotional engagements in times and places of turmoil framed within tourism contexts. The intention is to explore and understand spatial and societal transformations through mobilities of tourism in places and times of socio-political turmoil. Critical, affective and visceral examinations of tourism mobilities are needed to further understanding of societies and inform the development of social policies.
Objectives:

to introduce and increase critical attention to spatial theories of affects, emotions, and senses in tourism studies.
to increase engagement with qualitative methods.
to tackle a diverse range of case studies from ‘the Middle East’ to western and eastern Europe.
to call for and contribute to development of social policy based on the promotion of inclusive societies that value peace and wellbeing, accept diversity and differences.