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Erdal Arslan İnci Oya Coşkun Identity Construction and Tourism Consumption A Grounded Theory Approach Identity Construction and Tourism Consumption · ˙ Erdal Arslan Inci Oya Cos¸kun Identity Construction and Tourism Consumption A Grounded Theory Approach Erdal Arslan ˙Inci Oya Cos¸kun Eskis¸ehir, Türkiye Faculty of Tourism Anadolu University Tepebas¸ı, Eskis¸ehir, Türkiye ISBN 978-981-19-6401-5 ISBN 978-981-19-6402-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6402-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 This work is subject to copyright. 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The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Contents 1 Introduction: Identity and Consumption Interactions .............. 1 References ..................................................... 4 2 Tourism Consumption .......................................... 7 2.1 A Brief History of Tourism Consumption ...................... 10 2.1.1 Pre-Modern Era ...................................... 12 2.1.2 Modern Era ......................................... 17 2.1.3 Post-Modern Era ..................................... 24 2.2 Tourism Consumption Process ............................... 28 2.3 Conceptual Interactions in Identity and Tourism Consumption .... 30 2.4 Applying the Grounded Theory Approach ...................... 38 References ..................................................... 52 3 Undressing the Interactions Between Identity Construction and Tourism Consumption: The Study ........................... 63 3.1 Presentation of Identity: Who Am I? .......................... 64 3.2 Presentation of Tourist Identity: Who Am I “As a Tourist”? ....... 69 3.3 Identity Construction and the Stages of Tourism Consumption Process ................................................... 75 3.3.1 Pre-Travel Tourism Consumption ....................... 75 3.3.2 During-Travel Tourism Consumption ................... 85 3.3.3 Post-Travel Tourism Consumption ...................... 117 References ..................................................... 133 4 Conclusions .................................................... 137 References ..................................................... 156 Appendix: The Interview Form ..................................... 159 Bibliography ...................................................... 161 Index ............................................................. 163 v Chapter 1 Introduction: Identity and Consumption Interactions The changes in the social, cultural, and economic environment have led to changes in the way of life throughout history. People used to consume solely to meet their vital needs. However, consumption has transformed in time and begun to be used by people to develop an understanding of themselves. This transformation emphasizes the interactions between consumption and identity, and it may be suggested that all types of consumption throughout history are related to the formation of individual or social identity. For instance, there are symbolic differences between the traditional and modest consumption habits of the 18th-century elites and the nine- teenth century’s extravagant and fashion-oriented ways of consumption. Similarly, consumption-based upper and middle-class discrimination in the early twentieth century can be interpreted as forming identity through consumption or saliently proving the interaction between these concepts. In the first and pioneering studies regarding consumption, the identity formation aspect of consumption has been addressed. The most famous one among these studies is Maslow’s (1943)‘A Theory of Human Motivation,’ in which he explained the hierarchy of basic needs. Maslow suggests that people consume for various purposes, such as value and image creation, reputation and status, and social communication. Veblen (2007 [1899]) indicated that people consume conspicuously and prodigally to differentiate themselves from others and show their social status and wealth. He also stated that consumption is a social communication tool among people from different income levels and classes. Beyond their benefits and advantages, people buy products and services because of their symbolic meanings. He revealed consumption’s role in emphasizing class identity by conspicuous consumption. The effort to build a status through consumption appertains to middle and lower classes just as much as to individuals with high income. While the individuals in high-income groups consume as an indication of their status, the individuals in the middle- and lower-income groups try to position themselves among the upper class and try to get their bear- ings in the eyes of others (Husic & Cicic, 2009: 242). In furtherance with Maslow and Veblen, Bourdieu (1984) suggested that people use consumption as a means for classification/categorization to create social hierarchies and meet their needs. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 1 E. Arslan and ˙I. O. Cos¸kun, Identity Construction and Tourism Consumption, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6402-2_1 2 1 Introduction:IdentityandConsumptionInteractions Baudrillard (2015: 67) argued that consumption is a code-based interpretation, a process of communication, and a means for social classification and differentiation regulated by status-based values within a specific hierarchy. He presented the relationship between consumption and identity by suggesting that people purchase goods and services to differentiate themselves from others. Thus, it may well be argued that consumption has a language that allows people to communicate the message to others; it has a symbolic aspect. People position themselves within a particular group or class in the eyes of others. Besides being a fundamental activity for people to maintain their lives, consumption plays significant roles in many aspects, such as creativity, self-improvement, and self-realization with its evolving purpose and image. As a part of modern consumption since the 1950s, tourism consumption has been affected by the above changes and gained a symbolic value in the ways people express themselves. Tourism consumption was for compulsory purposes such as trade, health, et cetera. in the pre-modern and early modern era. However, it has become an indis- pensable part of our lives with various motivations such as curiosity, entertainment, pleasure, business, religion, education, vanity, prestige, image, self-realization, being similar to others, or differentiating from others. People’s participation in any tourism activity that bears clues regarding wealth, intellectuality, fields of interest, or identity of individuals emphasizes the identity-related aspect of tourism consumption. Identity is constructed on many elements, such as language, religion, social values, ethnicity, myths, historical memoirs, destinations (Huff, 2008), education, income status, mindset, and many more. Because some of these elements are among tourism attractions, the relationship between tourism and identity becomes evident. This relationship manifests within tourism’s social nature through the individual’s interaction with other destinations, people, societies, cultures, et cetera. Within the historical context, just as in the history of consumption, a series of tourism consumption activities also indicate identity formation. For instance, tourists participating in pilgrimage journeys had begun to be called pilgrims in the Middle Ages. This, in a sense, suggests the role of tourism consumption in the formation of identity through conservatism and secularism. In the mid-1800s, Thomas Cook took tourism consumption to a whole new level and made it accessible to individuals from different income levels; in contrast with the private/individual scenic tours organized by Thomas Bennet for the elites, tourism consumption began to be used for the formation of different identities again. As evident from these examples, the types of tourism consumption have shifted from an individual to a social level. This shift formed a basis for new and authentic types of tourism consumption and presented as a phenomenon that alludes to identity through differences. The debate between the individual and the other constitutes the core of identity formation. The interaction and communication between the individuals and the others are mandatory in the presentation and consumption of tourism products and services. When analyzed within the sociological perspective, individuals can construct their identities through their experiences or communications, emphasizing identity at the core of the desire for tourism consumption. Since identity is expressed through uniformity or dissimilarity in a social environment and has a symbolic meaning, it 1 Introduction:IdentityandConsumptionInteractions 3 shows that individuals build the identities to which they aspire. Since the individuals position themselves and others in social, cultural, or economic terms depending on their relationships with others, how others perceive and interpret behaviors becomes crucial. Individuals send messages to others through codes that contain meanings that reveal their identities or the identities that they aspire to through their experiences via tourism consumption activities. At this point, Giddens’s (1991) suggestion stating that individuals choose not only how to behave but also whom they want to be, indicates that the individuals can build their identities according to their preferences. It may well be argued that by providing an opportunity for a physical and mental getaway, tourism is a field of consumption that helps individuals to nurture and liberate their identities in a way that they choose by moving away from social pressures. In their research, Ko and Park (2000) indicated that the destination is not the only thing the tourists experience or consume in reality; they also experience and consume the symbolic meanings that the products and services represent; therefore, the symbolic image should be at the focus of tourism marketing strategies. These statements refer to the importance of identity construction through tourism consumption. Thus, in the tourism consumption process, tourists see consumption as a way to change and maintain this change through visiting and experiencing a destination and communicating and interacting with others. The increasing importance of experience in today’s society (Urry, 1988) and its symbolic meaning turn tourism consumption into a source of multiple identities that builds social differentiation and distinguishes the individual from the other. Thus, identity construction through tourism consumption may be included within the motives that make people choose a tourism destination for various purposes. Individuals’ dressing style, communications with others, food & beverage preferences, houses, cars, spare-time activities, or vacation preferences may be a sign of their ethos or the way they construe other people; an indicator of their individuality; or a clue to their identities. Identity helps us understand the attitudes and behaviors throughout the tourism consumption process by considering human beings’ multi- plex, complex, and implicit nature. People share images of destinations they visit, souvenirs they buy, the sceneries, and places, and they include themselves in these images; they even share their tickets and convey their experiences to others through messages, signs, codes, and symbols. It may well be argued that these actions are related to the identity they idealize and how they position themselves in the eyes of others. Since almost all objects have a meaning or gesture ascribed by the individuals, tourism activities can offer a unique consumption experience along with daily routines, and they have an area of social interaction suitable for identity construction through tourism consumption. In today’s consumerist society, the general consumption methods of individuals have begun to focus on codes that include their meanings, messages they convey, their image, and signs, rather than the functional characteristics of goods and services. The fact that the consumers know the meanings of these codes encourages them to consume accordingly. In a sense, it may well be argued that a social language has formed regarding the meaning of consumption. Thus, consumption defines objects 4 1 Introduction:IdentityandConsumptionInteractions through their meanings rather than their values or benefits (Baudrillard, 1998). Indi- viduals use these forms of consumption to differentiate themselves from other individuals or groups or to dedifferentiate themselves from groups of specific characteristics. The same applies to tourism consumption, allowing individuals to move away from their daily routines, experience new things, regenerate, get around their respon- sibilities, discover themselves (Edensor, 2001), and construct their identities. The fact that the tourists’ vacation behaviors are different from their daily routine (Casey, 2009; King, 2011; Montolio & Planells-Struse, 2016; Omondi, 2003) may be asso- ciated with the manifestation of their idealized identity intentions in various ways, such as preferred tourism consumption method, type, and extent. With this understanding, it may well be argued that the answers that the tourists give to questions, such as how they define themselves, who they communicate and interact with, the sources of information they use in the decision-making process for their vacations, their vacation spot preferences, with whom and how they share their experiences, et cetera, bear codes and meanings that refer to identity construction. When the vacation experiences of the individuals are analyzed from a holistic viewpoint, the identity that is constructed before, during, and after the experience should be examined. Individuals construct their identities by their current physical and social conditions and norms (Falk, Heimlich, & Bronnenkant, 2008). Social encounters, considered the main task for identity construction (Gecas, 1982), are realized through the individual and the other, as the product and the producer of the identity construction process. All biological and physical categories, such as different cultures, age, gender, prestige, ethnicity, occupation, wealth, and religion, which are analyzed within the economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital cluster, may be used as sources for the process of identity construction. The process of identity construction may be better understood by maintaining the research with a socially-constructivist approach and symbolic interactionism viewpoints. 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