Arca Publishing

Jeffrey, Heather

Vorobjovas-Pinta, Oskaras

Sposato, Martin

 
 
Title: It Takes Two to Tango: Straight-Friendly Buenos Aires 
Author: Heather L. Jeffrey1, Oskaras Vorobjovas-Pinta2, Martin Sposato3 
Affiliation: University of Bedfordshire1; University of Tasmania2; University of Hertfordshire, 
Hatfield3 
Contact: heather.jeffrey@beds.ac.uk 
Session Type: Presentation 
 
Abstract: 
Studies on LGBT tourism remain marginal within the tourism literature. Of the extant 
literature, several predominant themes are evident that primarily center on economic opportunity, 
or the ‘pink dollar’, and LGBT tourist motivation. The study of LGBT tourism has primarily 
been focused upon Western contexts, and little is known about Other countries and peoples, an 
omission this paper aims to address. The exploration of LGBT tourism in Buenos Aires, 
Argentina, provides simultaneous insights into the challenging of heteronormative space and 
practice, and the acceptance of homosexuality. The emergence of LGBT tourism activity is 
indeed contingent on societal and political turns that break the stagnant hegemonic 
preconceptions of the implied heteronormative ‘normality’. In-depth semi-structured interviews 
with industry stakeholders, participant observation, and promotional maps (referred to as ‘Gay 
Maps’) show several key specificities contributing to the success of Buenos Aires (BA) as an 
LGBT tourist destination. 
The study has found that gay places and spaces are not confined to one area in the city, 
and whilst there has been an attempt at constructing a confined gay space, this has largely proven 
to be unsuccessful. In contrast to other cities around the globe, gay spaces and places in BA are 
diffused within the city. Participants stress a lack of necessity for ‘one’ gay space, and the ‘Gay 
Maps’ evidence the diffusion of gay space, which potentially suggests a shift towards integration 
and acceptance of homosexuality within the wider BA community. Yet, the categorisation of 
places in the ‘Gay Maps’ tends to suggest otherwise. In particular, the use of a ‘straight-friendly’ 
categorisation shows defiance towards heteronormative space and the use of ‘gay-friendly’ 
categorisations, which support heterosexuality as norm and homosexuality as Other. 
The queering of traditionally heterosexual activities also supports the notion of a confined 
resistance to heteronormativity. This is perhaps most evident in the practice of ‘Queer Tango’. 
‘Queer Tango’ not only challenges heteronormativity, but also critically reviews the performance 
of traditional gender roles and the male lead. The ‘Queer Tango’ space is characterised by fun, 
laughter, and openness; it is a decidedly ‘straight-friendly’ space. The promotion of Argentina as 
an LGBT destination also involves both normalisation and defiance; the LGBT offering is the 
same as the heterosexual offering—beach, urban, and nature tourism. Yet, the use of gay 
photographers, models, and creators of tourism promotion is an attempt to break from 
heteronormative patterns of representation. 
While Argentina, and Buenos Aires specifically, evidence patterns of normalisation and 
defiance, alongside growing popularity as an LGBT destination, there are still caveats to be 
found within the offering. LGBT tourism follows similar patterns evidenced elsewhere of a 
growing homo-patriarchy with few (perhaps even no) lesbians or women involved in decision 
making. However, the country is still playing a leading role in gay-friendly policy making across 
Latin America, and within this, LGBT tourism and its Argentine proponents are the primary 
influencers. 
  


English

It Takes Two to Tango: Straight-Friendly Buenos Aires

Batle, Julio

 
Title: Disbelief and Welstchmerz: Tourism Implications 
Author: Julio Batle 
Affiliation: University of the Balearic Islands 
Contact: julio.batle@uib.es 
Session Type: Presentation 
 
Abstract: 
The last decade’s economic crisis is revealing manifold fissures in the 
economic/social/value/sense-making system, and this inevitably has an effect on people’s psyche, 
on their beliefs and desires, and even on their perception of needs. Many effects of the present 
situation are symptoms of a broader type of crisis. The economic crisis may have acted as a 
catalyst for increasing (social, political, spiritual) awareness, and it could be paradoxically a 
landmark and a far-reaching impetus to renewal and awakening of humanity, to build a sounder 
and more sustainable (social, educational, political, economic) system. Disbelief in any type of 
institution or societal structure is increasingly cited as a central feature of the present time, and 
some pieces of research aim at measuring it, together with other related conditions such as 
weltschmerz. Whereas the extent to which the current economic crisis has produced a personal or 
integral crisis remains to be ascertained, it is clear that concepts such as meaning or 
transcendence—to combat disbelief, meaninglessness, and weltschmerz—have become relevant 
in the discussion on qualitative implications in tourism. Tillich’s analysis of existential anxiety 
and Ausubel’s concept of meaningful learning provide a conceptual framework to identify 
required elements for a particular, desired outcome (coping with the second domain of existential 
pain/weltschmerz and other components of disbelief), whose empirical relevance and practical 
implications, expectations, needs related to transformation, and new values are examined in this 
piece of research on tourism experience of different sport tourists in the Balearic Islands. The 
research first aims, in particular, at measuring the subjective perception of increasing disbelief 
and weltschmerz in a sample of tourists and, secondly, at exploring the consequences of this 
perception in terms of meaning search through different aspects of the tourism experience. 
 
 
  


Disbelief and Welstchmerz: Tourism Implications

Barbieri, Carla

Halim, Farzana

Savage, Ann

 
Title: An Epistemological Approach to the Success of Women in Agritourism 
Author: Carla Barbieri, Farzana Halim, & Ann Savage 
Affiliation: North Carolina State University 
Contact: ccarla_barbieri@ncsu.edu 
Session Type: Presentation 
 
Abstract: 
Agritourism, broadly defined as educational or recreational activities offered on working 
farms (Gil Arroyo et al., 2013), is mainly led by women (McGehee et al., 2007). Women’s 
involvement in the development, management, and innovation of agritourism is expected to grow 
in future years due to women’s greater participation in farming, along with a greater interest in 
local foods and farmers among the public (Kline et al., 2016). Despite such involvement, the 
extant literature indicates that women in agritourism experience many structural (e.g., reduced 
agency support) and cultural (e.g., expected gendered-family roles) challenges hindering their 
entrepreneurial success, especially in terms of income (Barbieri & Mshenga, 2008; Halim, 2016). 
The concomitant increase of women’s involvement in agritourism and their lower 
entrepreneurial achievement calls for identifying specific actions that can increase their chances 
of success. This is especially important as agritourism is shown to have the capacity to produce 
many socio-cultural (e.g., increase of farm youth retention), environmental (e.g., preservation of 
tangible heritage), and economic (e.g., revitalization of rural economies) benefits to the farmer, 
the farm household, and society (Barbieri, 2013; Che et al., 2005). 
However, identifying the challenges women in agritourism face is complex, as they 
emerge from the multiple roles women on farms play (farmer, caregiver, land steward). As such, 
moving forward from the mere identification of challenges to the actions to overcome them 
requires a systemic approach in which a stratified analysis of women’s roles and challenges can 
be unfolded. The Agritourism Systems Approach, which delineates a multi-layered 
epistemological perspective encompassing three units of analysis (farmer, farm household, 
society) intersected by three agricultural dimensions (socio-cultural, environmental, economic), 
appears suitable to understand the types and sources of challenges women in agritourism face 
(Barbieri, in press). 
In this presentation, we will use the Agritourism Systems Approach as an epistemological 
tool to input challenges women in agritourism face into distinct layers (e.g., farmer challenge 
emerged from socio-cultural paradigms). In doing so, the identification of actions (e.g., policy 
development, technical capacity, empowerment efforts) towards strategizing the success of 
women in agritourism will be facilitated. We will use data gathered from women involved in 
agritourism (2015, 2017) and evidence from the literature for the epistemological application of 
the Agritourism Systems Approach. 
 
 
 
  


An Epistemological Approach to the Success of Women in Agritourism

Tucker, Hazel

CTS 7 Keynote Address: Contaminated Tourism. On Pissed Off-Ness, Passion, and Hope

CTS 7: Program at a Glance

CTS 7: Conference Introduction

Young, Tamara

Rethinking Tourism Education: Indigenisation of Curriculum

Small, Jennie

Midlife Women on Holiday: Does Physical Appearance Matter?

Ren, Lianping

 
 
Title: Making Chinese Cuisine Artistic: Fad or Trend?  
Author: Lianping Ren1 & Peilai Wang2 
Affiliation: Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao1; Shanghai Institute of Tourism2 
Contact: everen@ift.edu.mo 
Session Type: Presentation 
 
Abstract: 
The Chinese cuisine has been known for its variety of flavors, cooking methods, 
ingredients, etc., but its aesthetic pursuit is comparatively less manifested. However, recent years 
have seen fast development in this respect. For example, Da Dong Artistic Conception Chinese 
Cuisine, a gastronomy brand in China, boasts artistic presentation of Chinese cuisine. The 
presentation of many dishes in Da Dong resembles Chinese traditional paintings, paired with 
Chinese poems, enhancing its artistic conception, which has gone far beyond utilization of the 
visual effects. While the China dining market is still pursuing standardization, the creation of 
Chinese cuisine with artistic conception at this time point has attracted much attention and 
debate. Therefore, this study tries to understand the rationales behind the creation of Da Dong 
Artistic Conception food from the restaurants’ perspectives, as well as the acceptance and 
perceptions of this type of cuisine in the eyes of the consumers.   


Making Chinese Cuisine Artistic: Fad or Trend?

Picken, Felicity

The Dawning of Land in Tourism: Deep History and Profound Futures

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