Motorcyclist – Tourist’s Corporeal and Spiritual Experiences

Abstract

This article suggests that the space produced through the embodied practices of corporeal and spiritual movement of motorcycle tourists is a staged experience forming the gaze of the tourist-motorcyclist. Using the responses of 243 motorcyclists – tourists from four European countries, we found out that motor-cycle tourism mobility is a performed art with its own styles of relating to landscapes, sites and people. The results exhibited the moderate relationship between the lifestyle of motorcyclists and their desire for personal prestige and motives to escape from unpleasant everyday reality. Our study unpacked dwelling and experience intersect of the motorcycle tourists in the performance of tourism and framed how particular places are sensed and perceived at the same time as they facilitate corporeal and spiritual movement. This study will be helpful for tourism planners, tourism managers and owners of the small tourism enterprises in when creating new tourism products for modern tourist nomads. Furthermore, these findings will add to the body of knowledge about the role of tourist gaze and glance during the tourist travel.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s2p358