Paper short abstract:

Recent research among North-West European long-term visitors to Spain indicates that there is not a single adaptation for tourists and other visitors.This raises challenges in how to represent activities that in some circumstances are represented fairly straightforward as tourism, but in other settings verge on topics such as migration, transnational identities and multicultural relations.

Paper long abstract:

Abstract: It is becoming clear in recent research among North-West European long-term visitors to Spain that there is not a single adaptation or mode of existence for tourists and other visitors. The case in point is Norwegian visitors who in preliminary interviews voiced concern about their image in the media and in other representations. The visitors wanted to express their varied activities and involvements during their stay in Spain. This raises a number of dilemmas and challenges in how to represent activities that in some circumstances are represented fairly straightforward as tourism, but in other settings verge on topics such as migration, transnational identities and multicultural relations. Theories of discourse, symbolic construction and social practice will be employed to discuss the implications of a more composite view on long-term visitors and tourism in Spain. (This abstract is preliminary and will be rewritten for the final paper).