Paper short abstract:

The trajectory of tourism and its representations in Ilha Grande (Brazil) have taken me to insert the term “tourismization” of places, understanding tourism as a guiding axis of the relationships instituted in places, constituting a system of values which marks the manner of local living.

Paper long abstract:

Upon analysis of the trajectory of tourism and its representations in Ilha Grande (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), I verified that Ilha went through what Knafou called the subversive power of tourism. Thus the term "tourismization" of places try to understand tourism as a social-cultural phenomenon in which it is considered a guiding axis of the relationships instituted in places, constituting a system of values which marks the manner of local living. From an anthropological point of view, while the idea of "tourisfication" takes physical space as an element of intervention and appropriation for tourism, "tourismization" has the symbolic space - of relationships, of representations, of significance, identitary and historical - as an appropriate element for tourism. The "tourismization" is a historical process of construction of phenomenon associated to a process of interiorization of the different facets of tourism by groups and by persons, which has influence on relationships and ways of living of a determined place. The term "tourismization" is formulated inspired by Norbert Elias with reference to the civilizing process. In this way, the "tourismization" of Ilha Grande is related to a process which transforms the daily behavior of persons at work or at leisure, dictates new rules, new etiquettes to be followed; molds behavior with reference to the new local configurations which are established. However, it should be recognized that this process can be considered as a local manifestation of "tourismization" at the global level, an example of the "indigenization" referred to by Sahlins.