Beyond difficult pasts: Towards a fuller understanding of memory-making in tourism

Abstract

Despite being a crucial field for the public production and circulation of memories, tourism remains underexamined in memory research. This is reflected in the small number of publications dedicated to tourism and their thematic narrowing to difficult heritage sites. This article makes the case for an expansion of research in three areas: sites, modes and scales of remembering. First, the article argues for an examination of less researched heritage sites alongside considering non-site-based forms of memory production. Second, we contend that memory-making in tourism can contribute to a ‘positive turn’ in memory studies by foregrounding memories of joy and entertainment. Finally, we argue for a multiscalar perspective that draws attention to personal memories and memory’s interscalar movements in tourism. Taken together, these shifts allow us to gain a fuller and more differentiated perspective on memory-making in tourism, informed by current debates in memory studies and insights from heritage and tourism studies.