Reimagining the Juan Fernández Islands: Cruise Tourism and the Commodification of Nature

Abstract

This article examines the arrival of cruise ship tourism to the Juan Fernández Islands (Chile) in the first half of the 20th century, considering how this particular form of tourism reconfigured the economic and cultural image of the islands. Bringing together domestic and international advertising and voyage accounts, we assess how the Juan Fernández Islands were incorporated into both Chilean and foreign tourist discourses as an idealised paradise. We highlight how cruise ship tourism marketing rebranded these islands as a ‘romantic’ and exotic destination, reinforcing colonial ideas of isolation and remoteness. In so doing, we underline how cruise tourism facilitated new forms of engagement with the island environment that were distinct from the islanders’ aquapelagic relationality at the interface of water and land. We also showcase how the tourist industry exacerbated the exploitation and commodification of the islands’ natural environment, developing a cultural identity for Juan Fernández that also saw the renegotiation of their place in Chilean national identity, thus contributing to the history of small islands and their modern cultural representations.