RGS 2018 Liminal Landscapes is scheduled

Liminal Landscapes in Tourism
Affiliation	Geography of Leisure and Tourism Research Group
Convenor(s)	Robert S. Bristow (Westfield State University, MA, USA) Ian S. Jenkins (University of Iceland, Iceland)
Chair(s)	Robert S. Bristow (Westfield State University, MA, USA)
Timetable	Wednesday 29 August 2018, Session 4 (16:50 - 18:30)
Session abstract	Liminality has recently gained the attention of tourism scholars (Preston-Whyte, 2004; Pritchard, & Morgan, 2006; Andrews & Roberts, 2012; Brooker & Joppe, 2014). The transitional time and space for the tourist experience is an important one to understand since it has a great impact on the overall encounter. Yet the shear nature of liminality is generally so abstract that only recently has research attempted to explore the relationship in tourism. Liminality is anthropologically associated with Rites of Passage (van Gennep, 1960). Turner (1974) refined liminality as the edge of everyday life. Similar to a tourist experience, the chance to break away from the norms of daily life is an important aspect of tourism. Liminality is a logical transition for tourists since they are leaving the comfort of home to travel to some unknown experience. This frequently reflects the period and space in the anticipation and travel to and from phases of the experience (Clawson and Knetsch, 1966; White and White, 2003; and Lew, 2012). The purpose of this session is to explore how liminal landscapes are viewed in travel and tourism.