The art of wasting time: sociability, friendship, community and holidays

Abstract

Slow tourism is motivated by the desire for personal and communal well-being. It emerged as an antidote to the fast-paced imperatives of global capitalism that urge the entrepreneurial self to speed up and work harder to achieve and demonstrate desired social status. The entrepreneurial self can be understood in the contexts of neoliberalism and the class and gender-based histories of time-thrift and rational recreation; the entrepreneurial self uses leisure time purposively in the pursuit of status, avoids idle pursuits, and has restricted capacity to experience leisurely social relationships. In this paper it is argued that leisurely social relations can be reclaimed by letting go, even temporarily, of time-thrift and the compulsion to use leisure time purposively. Data drawn from in-depth interviews with repeat visitors at two Australian caravan parks revealed that for the period of their holiday the tourists relax, refuse to be driven by schedules, socialise with other tourists, and feel no compulsion to use time purposively. The key reasons the tourists return to the parks each year were for the friendships and the sense of community they experience as part of the holiday. Slow tourism by its very nature rejects time-thrift, however, as the movement is harnessed by global capitalism, slow tourism risks becoming a source of conspicuous consumption. The findings of this study suggest that friendship and community thrive more readily in conditions where the need to achieve and demonstrate social status is discarded along with time-thrift.

A systematic literature review of risk and gender research in tourism

“…Assessing the narratives of risk in these two instances, this paper was excluded from the review on the basis of not investigating travel risk. Another example is a slow tourism study by Foley (2015) where risk was mentioned in the abstract: "slow tourism risks becoming a source of conspicuous consumption". In this case, "risk" was used as a verb that is similar to the meaning of "endanger" rather than being investigated as an independent topic on its own.…”

Mobilne Kućice – Izazovi I Šanse U Razvoju Kamping Resorta U Hrvatskoj

“…− nedefinirana površina koju je potrebno minimalno osigurati za postavljanje mobilne kućice tzv. rahlosti kućica je kontraverza − kvaliteta opreme nije definirana prema kategoriji kamping resorta − nije limitirana veličina kućice prema kategoriji kampa/resorta i općenito − pokazatelji održivosti nisu definirani ili minimalno propisana (materijal i oprema) − ključna konkurentska prednost boravka u kamping resortu u odnosu na ostale vrste smještaja je povezanost (Connectivity) -mogućnost aktivnog učešća u zajedničkim aktivnostima (Foley, 2015) . Zajednica u kojoj razmjenjujemo doživljaje donosi društveni i osobni "well-being" i doprinosi društvenom kapitalu onih koji u njemu sudjeluju (Stuard, 2014).…”

Tourism and the pursuit of subjective wellbeing: A temporal perspective

“…Rather, they shift their focus from profit making to subjective wellbeing by spending much time and money in leisurely activities. In other words, within the context of speedy modernity, these individuals intentionally develop “a leisure ethic that values idleness, free time, sociability and unproductive activity” (Foley, 2017, p. 18). For instance, Zhang (2018, p. 54) found that more and more people in Chinese cities seek counselling service for the purpose of “a stronger sense of individual autonomy and well‐being.” Additionally, travel is another popular strategy of wellbeing improvement.…”