Tourists and/as disasters: Rebuilding, remembering, and responsibility in New Orleans

Although some have begun to study the relationships between national disasters and commercial tourism, practices of touring in the aftermath of disasters warrant closer examination. Marita Sturken argues tourists of disaster provide a metaphor for US contemporary culture, epitomizing an attitude tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tourist studies 2009-04, Vol.9 (1), p.23-41
Main Author: Pezzullo, Phaedra C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Disasters
Lobbying
Natural Disasters
New Orleans, Louisiana
Politics
Publicity
Tourism
United States of America
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Summary:Although some have begun to study the relationships between national disasters and commercial tourism, practices of touring in the aftermath of disasters warrant closer examination. Marita Sturken argues tourists of disaster provide a metaphor for US contemporary culture, epitomizing an attitude that is superficial, distanced, and uncritical. To identify the hopeful possibilities that we can recuperate from literal practices of touring disaster, I turn to the US city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005 to explore the uses of tours as: first responses, lobbying tools, field reports, organizing tactics, and publicity. To contextualize these acts, I engage public discourses of ‘‘Katrina fatigue’’ and the politics of remembering as it relates to post-Katrina tours. From secondary research and participant observation, I then illustrate how non-commercial and commercial tourist practices after a disaster can offer compelling opportunities for rebuilding, more sustainable memories, and political critique.
ISSN:1468-7976
1741-3206
DOI:10.1177/1468797609360591