Last week, we found ourselves at my son's place in Brooklyn while he was away on a business trip in San Francisco, and my daughter was in Las Vegas with friends.
She shared her thoughts on Vegas: "We were in Vegas today. There are some beautiful areas, but it’s really touristy—at least the part where we’re staying. They really nickel-and-dime you! There’s an extra fee for everything, even to use the chairs by the hotel pool. We didn’t even end up using the pool.”
She continued, “It’s my first time in Vegas, so it’s all very novel and fun! There are all kinds of people here! I saw a girl with a funny tattoo,” referring to a Chinese curse word, 他妈的 (tā mā de)—similar to an English profanity—on the neck of an American girl. I guess bad words travel faster than good ones.
During our visit, we revisited the 9/11 Museum, the WTC Center, the UN Headquarters, and the Met. Everywhere we went, we encountered crowds of tourists, especially on the bustling Brooklyn Bridge. While touring Manhattan, I often wondered what it is about New York that draws so many visitors, particularly in comparison to other parts of the world—places like Europe and China, which offer history and natural beauty that far surpass what’s found in New York.
This question brings to mind The Tourist Gaze 3.0 by John Urry and Jonas Larsen (2011). One key takeaway from the book is that our travel expectations and experiences aren’t naturally occurring; they’re shaped by external forces. The journey itself is driven more by our collective imagination than by reality, and the places we consider worth visiting gain their fame through this collective imagination. As modern consumers are told, New York City is a must-see destination, with iconic sites like the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, the Met, the UN, the WTC, the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, and the Empire State Building drawing crowds.
Tourists, in this sense, are modern consumers, and visiting these famous landmarks becomes a form of symbolic consumerism.
People travel mainly to take vacations, which are often viewed as the opposite of work. Tourism serves this purpose by providing an escape from the monotony of a nine-to-five life.
What travelers expect to see is anything but their ordinary lives and familiar surroundings. For example, the urban middle class might wish to experience life as a farmer in the countryside, while those in the lower class might dream of living like a millionaire for a day.
In conclusion, travel serves as a crucial escape from the daily grind, offering individuals a chance to immerse themselves in new experiences. While the quest for adventure and novelty highlights our desire to break free from routine, it also underscores the deep connection between tourism and imagination. With modern transportation, we can experience in a few days what explorers like Marco Polo took decades to discover.