旅游吸引物属性之辨

Contesting on the Attribute of Tourist Attractions

旅游吸引物在旅游系统中扮演着基础性作用,但却面临着语义的不明和来自理论内部与旅游实践的双重挑战。文章从边界与内涵出发,借助"旅游吸引物"与"旅游资源"的比较、旅游吸引物与旅游吸引物系统的转变,剖析旅游吸引物之为吸引物的意义生成与社会建构过程,重新思考旅游吸引物之属性及其在当下旅游实践中的作用,探讨其社会建构所反映的旅游与社会的关系问题。文章认为,旅游吸引物兼具自然属性、社会属性和符号属性等多重属性,吸引力特性是其本质属性;旅游吸引物属性及其社会建构有深刻的社会基础。旅游吸引物边界及其属性的理论反思,在旅游席卷全球的当下,兼具学理价值与现实意义;在火热的乡村旅游实践中,对守护乡土景观亦有特殊意涵。

Even though,tourism attractions play a fundamental role in the tourism system,it still confronts with semantic ambiguousness and dual challenges both from internal theoretical studies and external industrial practices.Based on a broad literature review and a comparison of boundary and connotation between western"tourist attractions"and China’s"tourism resources",this paper analyses the transformation of tourist attraction system,explores the meaning and social construction of tourist attractions,trying to reflect the attribute of tourist attractions and its functions in current tourism practice,in order to obtain insights into the social construction of tourist attractions and the relationship between tourism and society it reflects.In terms of object and essential connotation,"tourism resources"and"tourist attractions"are different but synonymous expressions,with the common meaning that it attracts the tourist.Therefore,attractiveness is not only the basic criteria of tourist attraction,but also its innate nature and essential attribute that differs tourist attraction from other concepts.Simultaneously,tourist attractions have natural,societal and symbolic attributes,among which the symbolic attribute is the derivative attribute and the embodiment of societal attribute.It is also an important source(reason)of the sacredification and the basic foundation of the social construction of tourist attractions.Thus,the author suggests adopting the concept of"tourist attraction"instead of"tourism resource"for the return to the natural attribute and attractiveness of tourist attractions,and to highlight and demonstrate the relationship between tourist attractions and tourists,and its inherent social relations.Tourist attractions can be viewed both as"things"and systems.As"things",they emphasize or reflect the natural or objective attribute of tourist attractions ontologically,while the tourist attractions system carries and reflects the societal attribute of tourist attractions,especially the symbolic attribute behind the social construction of tourist attractions,because it reflects the relationship between the nucleus and the tourist,and the social relations embodied.As an important component of societal attribute,symbolic attribute of tourist attraction directly promotes its social construction.The attributes and social construction of tourist attractions have profound social context.The demand for symbolic meaning and value of things and consuming objects in modern society,as well as the expansion of symbolic consumption from the field of material consumption to spiritual and cultural consumption make tourist attractions in line with modern consuming demand and become an important"capital"with new functions.The production and consumption of tourist attractions,incorporated with the discovery and social construction of attractions which meet the needs of modern consumption,can thus be manipulated.Therefore,the production and social construction of tourist attractions characterized with symbolic attribute should be one of the metaphors of modern society.Finally,the theoretical reflection on the boundary and attributes of tourist attraction,has both theoretical value and practical significance at the moment when tourism is sweeping the world.It should also be primary to protect the vernacular landscape in rural tourism.