The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland
This article attempts to understand the value and meaning of a hazardous natural environment for tourists. It focuses on the attraction of volcanic sites in the eyes of sensation-seeking hikers. The research is based on a participatory observation study and in-depth interviews with 11 hikers on the...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468797619832306 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468797619832306 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/1468797619832306 |
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crsagepubl:10.1177/1468797619832306 2024-06-23T07:53:57+00:00 The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland Heimisdóttir, Þórhildur Sæþórsdóttir, Anna Dóra Gísladóttir, Guðrún 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468797619832306 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468797619832306 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/1468797619832306 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license Tourist Studies volume 19, issue 2, page 258-275 ISSN 1468-7976 1741-3206 journal-article 2019 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619832306 2024-06-04T06:28:24Z This article attempts to understand the value and meaning of a hazardous natural environment for tourists. It focuses on the attraction of volcanic sites in the eyes of sensation-seeking hikers. The research is based on a participatory observation study and in-depth interviews with 11 hikers on the Laugavegur hiking trail, in the Highlands of Iceland. The research questions addressed in this article are, do hikers experience a threat from the natural environment, and does a hazardous environment contribute to a feeling of the sublime? In support of the theories put forth in the article about sensation seekers, risk perception, its heuristic traps and sublime feeling, the article argues that tourists perceive risks in the hazardous environment in a positive way, as something spectacular, unique and sublime. Thus, their positive risk perception of existing potential environmental hazards encourages tourists to ignore signs of risks and hazards and subsequently puts them in unnecessary danger. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland SAGE Publications Tourist Studies 19 2 258 275 |
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SAGE Publications |
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crsagepubl |
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English |
description |
This article attempts to understand the value and meaning of a hazardous natural environment for tourists. It focuses on the attraction of volcanic sites in the eyes of sensation-seeking hikers. The research is based on a participatory observation study and in-depth interviews with 11 hikers on the Laugavegur hiking trail, in the Highlands of Iceland. The research questions addressed in this article are, do hikers experience a threat from the natural environment, and does a hazardous environment contribute to a feeling of the sublime? In support of the theories put forth in the article about sensation seekers, risk perception, its heuristic traps and sublime feeling, the article argues that tourists perceive risks in the hazardous environment in a positive way, as something spectacular, unique and sublime. Thus, their positive risk perception of existing potential environmental hazards encourages tourists to ignore signs of risks and hazards and subsequently puts them in unnecessary danger. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Heimisdóttir, Þórhildur Sæþórsdóttir, Anna Dóra Gísladóttir, Guðrún |
spellingShingle |
Heimisdóttir, Þórhildur Sæþórsdóttir, Anna Dóra Gísladóttir, Guðrún The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland |
author_facet |
Heimisdóttir, Þórhildur Sæþórsdóttir, Anna Dóra Gísladóttir, Guðrún |
author_sort |
Heimisdóttir, Þórhildur |
title |
The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland |
title_short |
The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland |
title_full |
The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
The sublime attraction of active volcanoes: An exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in Iceland |
title_sort |
sublime attraction of active volcanoes: an exploration of tourists’ experiences during a long-distance hiking route in iceland |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468797619832306 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468797619832306 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/1468797619832306 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Tourist Studies volume 19, issue 2, page 258-275 ISSN 1468-7976 1741-3206 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619832306 |
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Tourist Studies |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
258 |
op_container_end_page |
275 |
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1802645860576657408 |