Tourism and armchair tourism. A reflection on the nature of tourism

Abstract

Pilgrimage is probably the most obvious example of the dual nature of a journey: a movement that happens outside and inside the person at the same time. From this notion, the objective of this paper is to propose a theoretical study that explores the similarities between the experience of a tourist (here, a pilgrim) who travels through space and someone who follows the path from home (armchair pilgrim). Having made this consideration, it is questioned whether it is possible to state what is central to the notion of travel and to challenge the idea that it is basically a movement through space. For this, the album Finisterra de Mägo by Oz (2000) is used as a case study, in which a pilgrimage is narrated following the Camino de Santiago (Spain). Methodologically, we will follow the the analysis format proposed by Cuesta and Gómez (2013), which relates the lyrics of the songs to the narrative thinking of Bruner (1988). Comparing the result of this analysis with the results of studies of experience of real walkers, we will see that it is indeed possible to obtain a comparable interior experience without leaving home.