Eric Cohen and his theoretical research in the sociology of tourism

Makhova Kseniia Borisovna Postgraduate student; Department of History and Theory of Sociology; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1 mkb-science@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The sociology of tourism is a fairly young field of sociology. Just a few decades ago, it went from a marginal field of knowledge to an important component of sociological science. One of the founders, whose research played a key role in the formation of this discipline, is the Israeli sociologist Eric Cohen. His work has become an integral part of the scientific discourse on tourism and has set a vector for further research.

The main part

Since the 1970s, the Israeli sociologist has focused on the study of motivation and behavior of tourists. In one of the most famous publications of this period, the article "Towards a sociology of international tourism" (1972), the scientist proposed a typology of tourists based on the degree of independence from the tourist infrastructure and the degree of immersion in local culture. E. Cohen identified four types of tourists: organized mass tourist, individual mass tourist, researcher and drifter ^[2].

An organized mass tourist is the least adventurous type of traveler who stays within his "ecological bubble" most of the time during the trip. An example of such a tourist is a participant in an excursion, which is conducted in an air-conditioned bus passing quickly through hot landscapes. This tourist considers a package tour as a common commodity on the mass market. His route is pre-determined, all stops are carefully prepared and accompanied by a guide. Such a tourist practically does not make independent decisions and remains within a comfortable environment similar to his native country. Everything is as familiar as possible, and new – in minimal sizes.

An individual mass tourist is similar to an organized mass tourist, but with some caveats. In his case, the tour is not fully planned in advance, there is some control over his own time and route, and there is also no binding to the group. Nevertheless, the main organizational issues are still solved through a travel agency. Tourist excursions of this type do not particularly go beyond those routes that are available to an organized mass tourist. It continues to remain within its "ecological bubble" and only rarely goes beyond its borders, and even then – into well-studied areas. The familiar still dominates, but to a lesser extent than the previous type of tourist. There is a little more novelty, although often this novelty is of a routine nature.

A researcher is a type of tourist who independently organizes his trip, trying to do without the usual routes as much as possible. At the same time, he is still looking for comfortable housing and reliable means of transportation. This tourist tries to communicate with the locals and speak their language. He leaves his "ecological bubble" much more often than previous types, but he also retains the opportunity to return to his usual environment if the conditions of the trip become too difficult. Although novelty plays a key role, the researcher does not fully immerse himself in the culture of the host country and retains some basic habits and amenities of everyday life.

A drifter is a type of tourist who goes the farthest from the usual routes and the usual way of life. He avoids any ties to the travel industry and considers the usual travel experience to be fake. This tourist prefers to travel independently, living with local residents and often agreeing to a one-time job to provide for himself. He strives to live the way the locals live, sharing housing, food and habits with them, preserving only the most basic aspects of his former lifestyle. Drifters do not have a fixed route or schedule, as well as clearly defined travel goals. They are almost completely immersed in the culture of the host country, where novelty reaches its maximum and the familiar disappears almost completely.

The Israeli sociologist identified the first two types of tourists as institutionalized tourist roles; they are served in a standard mode by the tourism industry — a complex of travel agencies, hotel chains and other organizations related to the tourism business. The scientist called the last two types non-institutionalized tourist roles, since they are more open in nature, only partially related to the tourism industry.

Later, Cohen continued to study travel preferences, and in his work "A phenomenology of tourist experiences" (1979) outlined five ways to get a tourist experience: recreational, entertaining, empirical, experimental, existential ^[3]. Recreational tourism assumes that travelers crave rest and relaxation. For them, a trip is a way to forget about everyday worries and regain their strength. As a rule, these tourists stay in places that provide comfort and convenience, avoid stress and difficulties. Adherents of entertainment tourism are in search of fun. They strive for new experiences and entertainment, without serious or deep feelings. Such tourists can be found in organized tourist activities such as excursions, shows and theme parks. Experiential tourism involves the search for new and authentic experiences. These tourists tend to dive deeper into local culture and customs, but still maintain some distance from the local population. They can participate in cultural events, taste local cuisine, and study the history and traditions of the local population. An experimental way to get a tourist experience involves full immersion in the culture and life of local residents. Such tourists often seek an alternative lifestyle and can stay in places that are as far away from the tourist infrastructure as possible, strive to live like local residents, and often through this they learn their identity. Existential tourism involves full immersion in a new culture, tourists see it as a way to change their lives or find a new self. They can live for a long time among the locals, accept their customs and way of life as their own. Such tourists are looking for deep, transformational experiences.

Closely related to the proposed typology of tourists is the concept of the roles of a tourist guide, proposed by E. Cohen and outlined in his work "The tourist guide: The origins, structure and dynamics of a role» (1985) ^[5]. The role of a modern tourist guide has been formed from two of its functions: firstly, a guide, that is, someone who leads or shows the way to a traveler in an unfamiliar country, and secondly, a mentor, that is, someone who directs human behavior. Accordingly, in the role of a guide, these are the functions of a leader and an intermediary.

Each of these functions has internally and externally directed components. Thus, the leadership function includes instrumental and social elements, the mediation function includes interactive and communicative components. The external components include instrumental and interactive, while the internal ones include social and communicative components. The instrumental component of the guide's role is related to his responsibility for the unhindered conduct of the tour as a permanent social event and includes components such as direction, access and control. The social component implies responsibility for the cohesion and morale of the tour group and contains the following elements: stress management, integration, morale and animation. The interactive component of the guide's role is related to his function as an intermediary between his group and the local population, attractions and institutions, as well as tourist sites. It consists of two main elements: presentation and organization. The communicative component is the main component of the guide's role, which includes choice, information, interpretation and fiction, they vary depending on how much the guide occupies the position of "cultural mediator" between the tourist and the attraction.

Speaking about the dynamics of the role of a tourist guide, Cohen emphasizes that there is a transition from the role of a genuine guide, engaged mainly in instrumental activities, to the role of a professional guide, who focuses primarily on communicative activities. This process is accompanied in the most developed tourist systems by further differentiating the role of a guide and separating two new tourist professions from it: a tour guide who is mainly engaged in interactive activities, and an animator who is engaged in social activities. The role of a genuine guide, which developed from the previous role of a guide, is typical for tours consisting of non-institutionalized types of tourists ("explorers" or "tramps") who need to be shown the way to an unknown and sometimes dangerous place. The role of a professional guide is typical for tours consisting of institutionalized types of tourists, especially organized mass tourists, ordinary tours in the central sectors of well-developed tourist systems and consists in reproducing attractions.

In addition to publishing his own original ideas, Eric Cohen also worked on structuring and systematizing the knowledge accumulated in the sociology of tourism. So, in 1984, an Israeli sociologist identified four main areas of research developed within the framework of this discipline: 1) the tourist – his motivations, attitudes, reactions and roles; 2) the attitudes and perceptions of tourists and local residents; 3) the structure of the tourist system; 4) the socio-economic and socio-cultural impact of tourism ^[4].

The first group of studies is devoted to the study of demographic and socio-economic characteristics of tourists; frequency, purpose, duration and type of trips; as well as the nature of tourist destinations and types of activities. The second group is the relationship between locals and tourists. However, few studies have focused specifically on the nature and dynamics of the relationship between tourists and locals, which have three main aspects: human interaction, perception and attitudes. The third group is devoted to the fact that modern tourism is a complex and global ecological, economic and political system. A large proportion of the fourth group of studies focuses on the host community or society as a whole, the impact on the country of origin of tourists is ignored.

In the same work, the scientist notes eight approaches to the study of tourism: commercialized hospitality; democratized travel; a modern type of leisure; a modern kind of traditional pilgrimage; expression of the main cultural themes; acculturative process; type of ethnic relations; a form of neocolonialism.

Later, in 1988, E. Cohen analyzed three research traditions that had developed within the framework of qualitative sociology of tourism based on the works of three well-known theorists: the American historian D. J. Burstin, the American sociologist D. McCann and the British anthropologist V. Turner ^[5].

Boorstin's main argument is that modern Americans do not perceive "reality", but thrive on "pseudo-events". In his opinion, the modern mass tourist is just a passive observer who seeks to enjoy the extravagantly strange, being in the safety of the familiar ^[1].

McCann opened up new perspectives in the field of tourism, namely because he separated modern views on tourism from the sociological study of tourist phenomena and made the former the subject of the latter. This separation made it possible to distinguish between the socio-structural characteristics of tourism and the personal motivation of individual tourists ^{[7; 8]}.

Turner himself did not make any direct contribution to the study of tourism. However, his work on pilgrims and his "procedural" approach to anthropology, and especially his ideas about liminality, anti-structure and, ultimately, about the "reversal of the world", have served as an important starting point for some researchers. from later works in the field of sociology of tourism ^{[9; 10]}.

A few decades later, in 2019, Eric Cohen returned to understanding the sociology of tourism as a field of knowledge and identified seven relevant topics of modern research: emotions, sensory experience, material values, gender, ethics, authentication and philosophical justification of tourism theories. The first five topics relate to empirical phenomena that have attracted increasing attention in recent tourism research, while authentication is a special dynamic process that corresponds to the procedural, diachronic perspective of modern tourism theories. The attempt to clarify the philosophical basis of tourism theories reflects some deeper consequences of the growing tendency to consider tourism as an integral part of modern culture, rather than as something extraneous to it ^[6].

E. Cohen also points out the existence of three general trends that have emerged in this industry in recent years: the application of specific new theories from other fields to tourism, the study of new facets of the tourist phenomenon and an in-depth study of the status of tourism as an intellectual or cultural project.

Conclusion

The main focus of the works of Israeli sociologist Eric Cohen is on the role of the tourist as a subject of social interactions, his motivation and behavior, as well as the consequences of mass tourism for host communities.

E. Cohen's typologies can be used in marketing to more accurately target different segments of tourists, each of which has a certain tourist behavior. These developments allow us to develop strategies that correspond to the preferences and behavior of each type of consumer of tourist services.

Cohen's theoretical research represents the foundation on which not only modern research in this field is based, but also the sociology of tourism as a separate branch of sociological knowledge, since this scientist can be considered one of the founders of the sociology of tourism.