Being and becoming local : migrants’ personal social networks and their influence on inclusive visiting friends and relatives tourism experiences
Licata, Sara LU
and Osanami Törngren, Sayaka
(2024)
In Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
- Abstract
This paper addresses inclusive tourism in multicultural societies by exploring the domestic tourism experiences of first-generation Italian and Chinese immigrants in Sweden within the context of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism practices and activities. Our results highlight the complex interplay of personal social networks and the hosts’ positionality on VFR experiences and tourism dynamics. We stress the importance of the embeddedness of personal social networks in the host country itself, as well as the immigrant host being local, both of which are crucial to tourist mobility and inclusive tourism experiences. How local the host feels, and how local their network is, changes tourism practices, especially when the local... (More)
This paper addresses inclusive tourism in multicultural societies by exploring the domestic tourism experiences of first-generation Italian and Chinese immigrants in Sweden within the context of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism practices and activities. Our results highlight the complex interplay of personal social networks and the hosts’ positionality on VFR experiences and tourism dynamics. We stress the importance of the embeddedness of personal social networks in the host country itself, as well as the immigrant host being local, both of which are crucial to tourist mobility and inclusive tourism experiences. How local the host feels, and how local their network is, changes tourism practices, especially when the local network includes native members. Moreover, we observe how forced immobility during the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased exploration of local places. These observations point to the importance of tourism actors engaging with the wider society and non-tourism industries to co-create inclusivity and provide information and possibilities to engage with different places. The latter can then be used and enjoyed not only in immigrants’ daily lives but also through VFR to create further intercultural exchanges.
(Less)
- author
- Licata, Sara
LU
and Osanami Törngren, Sayaka
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- epub
- subject
- keywords
- immigrant host, inclusive tourism, local, personal social networks, VFR tourism
- in
- Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85210971387
- ISSN
- 1502-2250
- DOI
- 10.1080/15022250.2024.2437175
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 486c9dee-4674-4050-a3b7-69a733ca9393
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-31 15:03:12
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 15:13:41
@article{486c9dee-4674-4050-a3b7-69a733ca9393,
abstract = {{<p>This paper addresses inclusive tourism in multicultural societies by exploring the domestic tourism experiences of first-generation Italian and Chinese immigrants in Sweden within the context of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism practices and activities. Our results highlight the complex interplay of personal social networks and the hosts’ positionality on VFR experiences and tourism dynamics. We stress the importance of the embeddedness of personal social networks in the host country itself, as well as the immigrant host being local, both of which are crucial to tourist mobility and inclusive tourism experiences. How local the host feels, and how local their network is, changes tourism practices, especially when the local network includes native members. Moreover, we observe how forced immobility during the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased exploration of local places. These observations point to the importance of tourism actors engaging with the wider society and non-tourism industries to co-create inclusivity and provide information and possibilities to engage with different places. The latter can then be used and enjoyed not only in immigrants’ daily lives but also through VFR to create further intercultural exchanges.</p>}},
author = {{Licata, Sara and Osanami Törngren, Sayaka}},
issn = {{1502-2250}},
keywords = {{immigrant host; inclusive tourism; local; personal social networks; VFR tourism}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism}},
title = {{Being and becoming local : migrants’ personal social networks and their influence on inclusive visiting friends and relatives tourism experiences}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2024.2437175}},
doi = {{10.1080/15022250.2024.2437175}},
year = {{2024}},
}