The purpose of this study was to explore tourists’ perception of a
coastal landscape, Playacar, Mexico that has suffered severe beach erosion
and is undergoing a variety of beach restoration measures. The
findings indicate that although tourism officials imbued the coastal
landscape (spatial practices and representations of space) with power
and meaning, tourists were not passive consumers of the promoted
messages. In other words, although producers of this narrativized space
or gaze aimed to control a preferred decoding or spatial interpretation,
one that abided by pristine coastal frames, there was nonetheless
no guarantee that consumers would espouse similar narrative frames
(Meethan, 2006). In essence, the meanings inscribed to tourism spatialities
are dynamic precisely because spatial users do not simply carry
prescribed sets of meanings or merely inhabit space; rather they interact
with it to endow it with meaning.
This is does not mean that the role enacted by tourism marketers is
rendered obsolete but rather that the relationship between representations
of space and spaces of representation or that between production
and consumption is of importance to the understanding and planningof landscapes. In the current study, tourists constructed their own
spaces of representation through three frames, namely negative, positive
and reconciliatory discursive frames. Those who drew on positive discursive
frames in their interpretation of the landscape were blissfully
oblivious of the aesthetic element and rather focused on the recreational
value of the restoration tools (e.g., sun bathing or diving off
the sand bags). Tourists who adopted negative discursive frames were
displeased with the incongruous nature of the promoted essentialist
imagery juxtaposed against the reality of the shoreline. This was further
supported when they experienced or witnessed accidents.
The third group of tourists, much like the second group, viewed the
beach restoration efforts as aesthetically displeasing. However, they differed
from the second group based on their acquisition of information
about the beach from a variety of sources which arguably enabled them
to move beyond the notion of beautification to rationalize environmental
impact. These three emergent frames are examples of social spatialisation
both at the level of the imaginary and the material in shaping
perceptions of space. Tourists drew on spatial practices and representations
of space to inform their perceptions of the landscape and enable
them to discursively (re)create their own symbolic meanings of the
landscape. This article contributes to current knowledge by identifying,
characterizing, and analyzing tourists’ perceptions of eroded coastal
landscapes. It illustrates that as officials deal with the dynamic natural
environment they also have to take into account the social use of space.
To accept this point requires that in the advent of climate change,
Lefebvre’s (1991) triadic model of social space is complemented by a
discussion of the accelerated dynamics of the environment. Global climatic
changes will require tourism officials to examine the environmental
consequences of their practices and to abandon representational
strategies that assume a dualism between humans and nature. In fact,
this human-nature dualism, which is often uncritically endorsed by tourists
and tourism, inhibits the comprehension of our increasing role in
the dynamic nature of tourism landscapes. The current study merely explored
a small portion of larger challenges that climate change presents
to tourism. Subsequent investigations are necessary to augment knowledge
on the human-nature relationship as applies to touristic endeavors
as well as daily practices. Lastly, such scholarly undertakings could contribute
to the global dialogue on climate change.