Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
•
status
: travelling a lot, travelling to interesting destinations, and travelling
'in style' (e.g. in a luxury car) can be symbols of a desired socio-economic
class or lifestyle;
•
scenery and other amenities
: may lead someone, for example, to take a
longer route than necessary to a destination.
In contrast to excess travel and though not focused on travel per se,
Csikszentmihalyi, well-known for his work on happiness, has considered the
amount of energy consumed during leisure time, and notes that while much
energy is consumed, there is no relationship with happiness. He therefore
concludes that a 'substantial amount of this energy could be saved without
impairing the quality of life, and perhaps actually improving it'
(Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p271). From this it follows that consumption prac-
tices could be re-envisioned to involve greater individual engagement, but
associated with lower energy and environmental demands. Slow travel is such
a re-envisioning.
Travel identities
Identity has become increasingly central to debates on transport choices
(Becken, 2007; Dickinson et al, 2010b; Gössling and Nilsson, 2009; Skinner
and Rosen, 2007). There is evidence that some people embrace, or reject, the
identity associated with particular modes of transport. As with other forms of
consumption, people feel judged on the basis of their decision (Warde, 2005).
Giddens (1990, pp123-4) describes 'the construction of the self as a
reflexive
project
, an elemental part of the reflexivity of modernity; an individual must
find her or his identity amid the strategies and opportunities provided by
abstract systems'. For instance, for teenagers, public transport is shown to be
associated with a low-status identity, while the car is associated with much
higher status. Urry (2000, p57) describes the car as 'the major item of
indi-
vidualized
consumption which provides status to its owner/user through the
sign-values with which it is associated (speed, home, safety, sexual desire,
career success, freedom, family, masculinity)'. Cyclists are also perceived to
have a distinct identity; however, it might be suggested this is far more com-
plex and ambiguous (Skinner and Rosen, 2007). It is thus clear that identity
might be projected through travel choices.
Through holiday travel, people are not just choosing a mode of transport;
they are also negotiating their personal identity as a tourist. People have their
own 'narrative of self-identity' that is their storyline, although this might vary
in different spheres of life such as at home or on holiday (Verbeek and
Mommaas, 2007, p67). The relationship between tourism mobility and per-
sonal identity processes is as yet insufficiently studied. Work in tourism
has tended to focus on the potential for personal growth and development of
the self (Arnould and Price, 1993). Travel shapes perceptions of self through
the experience of other people, cultures or environments, leading to modified
traveller identities. At the same time, travellers choose particular forms of
travel to affirm who they are (Duffy, 2004; Lassen, 2009). For instance, Ory
