Tourism (re)configured: Geographical thinking in tourism studies

This review article delves into the ways in which geographical thought can enhance tourism studies, particularly at a time when tourism is expanding its impact and transforming into diverse spatial and social configurations. The article contends that there is a reciprocal relationship between geography and tourism, and highlights the heuristics offered by the notions of geographical imaginaries and place performances once they become intertwined. The article presents tourism as a key player in place-making, shaping spatial dynamics through tourist imaginations and practices. Inspired by accounts on art as a form to ‘knowing otherwise’ and the curatorial turn in tourism, the article proceeds as a curated virtual exhibition including four artworks to illustrate the paradoxes of places as ‘tourist stages’, the ecological footprint of tourism, the gendered dimension in tourism, and the return of such a simple act as walking as a topic for tourism. The artworks ‘exhibited’ to advance the review offer direct insights on the experience, enactment, and perception of tourism. The article ultimately suggests that geographical knowledge, when interdisciplinarily engaged across its diverse branches can deepen the understanding of tourism’s complex impact on space and place, and future research should continue to extend beyond academic and disciplinary boundaries to address emerging global challenges.