Manufacturing paradise on Catalina Island: Othering an Island and its residents

Abstract

Since the 1880s Catalina Island has been developed as a tourist haven that has required a considerable influx of seasonal and longer-term residents to support its business operations. Research on the social dynamics of this tourism economy reveals that residents experience their needs being handled as an afterthought in island infrastructural development. Residents perceive Catalina Island Company as prioritising tourists above employees and residents, and development choices confirm these priorities. The discourse of Catalina Island Company managers' perceived exclusion of residents has manifested in an othering subjectivity' of all players in their relations to each other and tourism. They now exist as isolated groups rather than a cohesive community. Private ownership and management of this island's physical infrastructure make analysing perceptions particularly interesting, as residents express a sense of ownership over the island and its future though they lack legal titles to land. This article analyses the social tension of tourism development on Catalina Island among residents, the Catalina Island Company, and tourists through themes of aquapelagic virtualism, ownership, and the 'othering' subject position.