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Observing conducted tours: The ethnographic context in tourist research

International Tourism Research Institute, Management Centre, University of Luton, Putteridge Bury, Hitchin Road, Luton, Beds, LU2 8LE, UK Tel: +44 (0)1582 489 097; Fax: +44 (0)1582 482 689; tony.seaton{at}luton.ac.uk

This paper explores observational contexts in ethnographic methodologies, deploying participant and unobtrusive observation in research designed to monitor the existential world of the tourist, including perceptions and satisfactions, during the course of the tourism event.

The paper differentiates between two contrasting contexts of ethnographic observation the open field and the closed field and sets out to inventory some of the distinctive problems and opportunities associated with each. The paper draws attention to the importance of the conducted touring party as a social grouping that may be envisaged, both historically and in contemporary terms, as the primary unit of tourism, and reaffirms the potential of unobtrusive and participant observational methods for studying it. The analysis and discussion have practical relevance for both theoretical and applied tourism researchers.

Key Words: tourism research • participant observation • unobtrusive observation • coach parties

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