Engaging with popular media through tourism: A brief introduction

Featuring research cases in Australia, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, from cosmopolitan New York to the American wilderness, this Special Issue reviews the ways in which popular media can be engaged through tourism across the globe. In this introduction, we set the scene for the six papers that follow, which collectively demonstrate the diversity of touristic, cultural and societal engagement with different forms of popular media through travel and tourism. The qualitative research papers present rich theoretical analysis and diverse and deliberate methodological approaches to critically examine a range of theoretical themes and constructs, including more amorphous concepts such as mediatised mobility, nationalism, gendered narratives and inter- and intra-personal authenticity, to more practical demonstrations of destination choice, contents tourism, placemaking and fandom. Each paper features a different popular media, including music, film, television series, animation, advertising and social media, and contributing authors critique the manifold uses of these mediums in tourism as well as their theoretical, managerial and operational implications. Also presented in this introduction is a brief explanation of the mentoring process in which some of the contributors participated to develop their scholarly practice and reflections with the support of a ‘critical reader’.