By Amber Johnson
June 1, 2023
(Bryant Park, NYC, 2023)
Dreaming of that beloved café, strolling along the pavement past towering urban infrastructure. Pedestrians strewn across the path from every corner of the world, you catch snippets of half a dozen languages as your feet slowly follow that which beckons–toward that imminent moment when you have an iced latte in your hand at a nearby park and are languidly savoring the surrounding scenery. That’s what I picture, when I envision myself visiting a new destination, basically anywhere in the world. But in this particular instance, I’m imagining myself in New York City (NYC), New York, USA for the first time.
(Welcome to the Big City, NYC, 2023)
(Finding my fave Philly coffee spot elsewhere, NYC, 2023)
(Brownville, NE, 2022)
(Murcia, Spain, 2022)
We all have different ways that we perceive a particular place or destination. Destination image can be defined as “the subjective perception a person has of a particular destination either according to knowledge or imagination” (1). Certain destinations, such as NYC, can be considered nationally and globally popular and may already be perceivable to those considering a visit. According to Phillips & Jang (2010), the constructed depictions of a destination like NYC for those who have previously visited and who have never visited may differ, but many of the images in tourists’ minds related to positive and negative attributes of the city are confirmed upon visitation regardless (2). This supports that ideas of NYC exist for both types of tourists prior to visiting. But where/how do they develop ideas of the city if they have never been? And how fixed in place is the destination image if a tourist is re-visiting, bringing with them not only physical baggage but past travel experiences all abstractly packaged up in a neat box with a bow? When it comes to certain destinations–Brownville, Nebraska, USA or Murcia, Spain–if you haven’t lived in those regions you probably don’t have the best idea of what is there. You might picture them as small, rural, laden with extreme weather perhaps, but you don’t really know because you’ve either not heard of them and/or have never seen these destinations depicted anywhere. NYC? That’s a different story. Similarly, Paris or London would stir up images in your mind. Why? Most likely, it’s because you’ve seen them depicted in movies, television, and books, or shared through social media via friends and acquaintances.
(Rockefeller Center, NYC, 2023)
Rockefeller Center, New York, NY. Picture Kevin McCallister speaking to the well known Christmas tree, lamenting that he lost his family, again. You probably know the spot, and maybe even feel transported back to your youth. Or, perhaps, you hear the faint sound of over-sized piano keys, a fortune teller’s voice echoes, and you twirl around like a kid in a toy store–as a 30 year-old! FAO Schwarz toy company. A giant monster or hero, atop the Empire State Building, be it King Kong, Godzilla, or Superman. A romantic or comical connection–meeting at the top of the aforementioned building for a date/lover/a reunion with a gift ‘for that special someone’--think An Affair to Remember, Sleepless in Seattle, or Elf. The latest filmed scenes on my mind come from A Rainy Day in New York, Only Murders in the Building, the infamous Gossip Girl, and especially Dash & Lily.
(Neighborhood Strolling, NYC, 2023)
(Cityscapes, NYC, 2023)
The power of film and destination image, crystallized from an early age when it came to New York City, may have been the reason I found myself ambling along the avenue toward Grand Central Station, soaking up views around Rockefeller, and taking a break out in front of the Morgan as if I had already lived it. Having somehow found myself in the city for the first time at age 27 despite being an avid traveler, I couldn’t shake such images while enjoying my wanderings, solo and with friends. It’s something, this power that film compels within us. Nostalgia, romance, adventure, & more. Having never stepped foot in the city, aside from frequent layovers at the assortment of airports, I already had vast imaginings of what this destination could and should hold. Film tourism is just one form of niche tourism, one that can draw in specific tourist segments interested in a given activity or environment; think about adventure, gastronomic, LGBTQIA+, eco-tourism, rural tourism, and more (3).
( GoT Walk of Shame, anyone?
Girona Cathedral in Girona, Catalunya, Spain 2022)
(Plaza de España in Sevilla, Spain, 2022)
Film tourism, while not the purpose of my trip, became an ‘incidental,’ as Macionis & Beverley explored, querying whether we travel for film locations in our tourism, or we absorb it merely as we go along but dearly cherish it (4). I have always noted spots throughout my travels connected to films or television shows I’ve enjoyed, and books as well. Whether it’s a Game of Thrones spot on an island in Croatia, up the steps in a Catalan city toward the namesake cathedral, or the Sevilla Plaza de España turned Star Wars Naboo capital, film tourism has found me throughout my travels.
(Basking in Naboo vibes in Sevilla, Spain, 2022)
While film tourism is one motivation, or bonus, to traveling, there are many reasons that one can decide to travel. Motivations for traveling could be related to relaxation, stimulation, nostalgia, or novelty if one is a more psychocentric tourist (preferring less risk, more packaged trips or familiar destinations) and fulfillment, self-actualization, cultural experience, or natured-based motivations for those leaning toward being a more allocentric (adventurous, seeking what is off the beaten path) tourist (5; 6). While this is a spectrum, it can also connect to why some tourists find it more appealing to visit destinations which are culturally similar to their own, or culturally different. While every destination can have its push and pull factors, it may not connect with every tourist’s personal motivations. Yoo et al. (2018) examined the intrinsic and extrinsic (internal or external) factors relating to tourists’ psychology and chosen destinations, addressing: motivations, the destination setting, the distance from place of origin, and the tourist’s socio-demographics and previous travel experiences (5). These differences could affect the chosen tourism destination, as well as what one might do there.
(Diverse Tourist Motivations in NYC, 2023)
(Views in Malta, 2022)
(Adventures in Tourism in Morocco, 2022)
I already shared that, for me, strolling through the city toward a favorite café topped my list for my initial touristic activities. But that doesn’t fully define my tourist motivations. Places I’ve sought to visit and loved for their potential differences to my own origin country’s culture include those cities and towns in Malaysia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Spain, Malta, Slovenia, Denmark, Estonia, Morocco, and more. Some of these destinations held more in common culturally to either the U.S. or fellow European, Asian, or African states, but each brought adventures in both the so-called designations of exotic and familiar. In many cases, the places where we travel hold within them opportunities to fulfill both our allocentric and psychocentric needs or desires.
(Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta, Malta, 2022)
(Another GoT spot in Mdina, Malta, 2022)
I’m instantly transported to a time when myself and a good friend were sitting calmly on the mixed Southern European Mediterranean/North African culturally hued streets of Valletta. While wandering the grand avenues and surveying vast vistas within the capital of the country of Malta, we stumbled upon a small shop run by a kind, older Japanese woman crafting the absolute perfect mochi and onigiri. Settled on a low bench outside the cute window, we sat for thirty to forty minutes, surveying the tourists and locals alike as they went about their day. All the while, this shop owner and chef extraordinaire crafted away, steadily cooking the rice, allocating the freshly caught fish, molding the given dish, and then serving it to us with a smile. Within that space, we were caught up in many states of being–peaceful while absorbing the gifts of relatively slow travel, satisfied through abating our cravings for a tasty meal, surprised and nostalgic to find a high quality variety of dishes that we’d expect to experience in Asian countries but not European ones, comfortable because this destination held enough of the attributes of a Southern European destination to feel like our then current home of Sevilla, Spain. And yet our travels also brought us to destinations that we perceived as more adventurous in relation to past travel experiences. In Morocco, our travel motivations were more in line with novelty, adventure, and exploring the unknown. We navigated a culture more distinctly Muslim in religious affiliation, as opposed to Christian or secular. We found our French language skills in higher demand than English. We experienced novel foods, sights, dress, holidays, and had various customs to adapt to. And yet, it was easy to acknowledge that had we lived or traveled in many other regionally proximate countries–Tunisia or Egypt or Jordan or Oman–we might have found numerous elements quite familiar. These past travel experiences of ours, as well as the motivations, affect much of where we decide to go, and what we want to do when there.
(Influential travels in Casablanca, Morocco, 2022)
(My NYC bucket list, NYC, 2023)
(My NYC bucket list, NYC, 2023)
In NYC, I instantly realized when planning for the trip that there were a myriad of potential things to eat, see, attend, and do. And there was no way I could do them all! Limitations were evident and necessary. Despite being in a culturally familiar setting within my home country, this city destination offered much more variety and novelty than most places. And yet, my purposes for travel mixed experiencing that which was novel and familiar. My timeline didn’t help–I had 2.5 days to enjoy this city of 8.5 million. What I ended up prioritizing, aside from the festivities for my friend’s birthday, were these: Food (bagel, pizza, coffee); Places (Central Park, neighborhood strolls, Statue of Liberty (SoL) if possible), Plans (Go with the flow). It turned out that the last concept on the list (not really planning an itinerary) became the main priority. Did I meet all of my goals? Not exactly. I ate a delicious NY bagel with an iced lavender latte in Bushwick, I visited La Colombe and La Cabra, two of my favorite coffee shops originating from Philly and Denmark where I first fell in love with them; I didn’t end up eating anything resembling a slice of pizza. I celebrated my friend’s big day with our group strolling through Central Park, I managed to destroy my feet and finally replace my beloved Chacos in the process of adventuring across more boroughs than expected and the WRONG bridge, and I saw the SoL from a distance, appearing to be about the length of my thumbnail. I had adventures and group activities, solo wanderings and long commutes. I found myself visiting spots I’d never have imagined–the HQ of an exercise empire and a new urban infrastructure project over the water with delectable views, delis (Hi, When Harry Met Sally) and bars and restaurants, and neighborhood spots that found me.
(Diverse Tourist Motivations in NYC, 2023)
(Diverse Tourist Motivations in NYC, 2023)
It turns out that in many destinations, once you’re there, whatever it was that brought you may not be the only thing you discover and savor. And these new experiences contribute to shaping your perceived destination image for that place, influencing whether or how you will return to it in the future. And that’s the exciting part of being a tourist, and the biggest challenge for those managing the destination and those striving to mindfully move through it. The thought I had when leaving NYC was this: “Why, you’d need an extended length of time to actually experience this city. To experience it in a way that allowed you to see and experience everything you wanted to, and to pursue unexpected adventures.” Slow travel was ultimately the answer, and one I unexpectedly intend to follow through with. A destination that I initially visited for fast tourism, a friend reunion, film, and foodie tourism will now be a place I call home for the next year as I pursue a position as an educator. In the words & sentiments of one of my favorite poets, my passion for travel often produces abundant fruit and unexpected but hopeful outcomes. I look forward to learning & sharing more with you all about sustainable tourism and learning through storytelling in my new destination, the beloved Big Apple.
(Cut-short Wanderings in NYC, 2023)
"Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country." ~Anaïs Nin
Have you ever been to NYC? I wonder what you pictured before and after visiting. What’s a tourism destination that you visited for a specific type of tourism? I’m curious whether it’s something you look for in every destination or in this one alone.
Happy travels & here’s to learning more about the world and its countless destinations to discover!
~Amber
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References:
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-2927-9.ch014
Phillips, W. J., & Jang, S. (2010). Destination image differences between visitors and non‐visitors: a case of New York city. International Journal of Tourism Research, 12(5), 642-645.
Film Tourism https://doi.org/10.3727/154427209789604598 Macionis, N., & Sparks, B. (2009). Film-induced tourism: An incidental experience. Tourism Review International, 13(2), 93-101.
Tourist Motivations https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-04-2017-0085 Yoo, C. K., Yoon, D., & Park, E. (2018). Tourist motivation: an integral approach to destination choices. Tourism review, 73(2), 169-185.
Hashimoto, T. (2016). Allocentric and psychocentric. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01384-8_5
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