Postmodernity and Tourism: reflections on the tourist experience in the context of travel agencies

Abstract

The tourism phenomenon constitutes a project of society that appropriates spaces and transforms them according to its own norms and values. Travel motivations and tourist destinations are part of a network of personal and social meanings, and their analysis helps to understand the new social coexistence and the new market possibilities. Studies on consumer behavior in tourism consider motivation as the basic determinant of consumption and the decision-making process as something individual. Therefore, this study intends to reflect on the postmodern tourist, his needs and continuous search for life experiences, establishing a relationship with the marketing strategies in the context of travel agencies. For this purpose, six travel agencies from Natal-RN were interviewed. Research results indicate that, according to travel agencies, the tourism consumer has sought experiences, although they point out that they have not yet developed strategic actions in this direction. To think contemporary tourism is not to discard the economic and market elements that constitute it, but to understand that its essence is in travel as a human practice and in the subjectivity this implies.