As part of the current series of article, events and initiatives looking into home tourism, I got back in touch with Desmond Wee, the academic (and home tourist) who talked on the subject back in 2009…
I remember you attending Photocamp, how did that go for you?
After having just returned from 8 months fieldwork in Singapore, Photocamp 2009 at the National Media Museum was an important platform for me to share some of my research findings, as well as, obtain general feedback from a non-academic audience about my perspectives about ‘performing tourism’. Since my research was based on a reflexive photography, it was very helpful that other photographers could comment on my work. Most of all, the fact that you are writing to me in 2011 about ‘home tourism’ is indicative of the impact of the forum.
At the time you were based at university in Leeds – and now you’re in Korea; for a home tourist you’re well travelled. How does all that work?
I spent over three years in Leeds as an international student. Was I a tourist? My research was based in Singapore, but my residency was in the UK, so when I ‘returned’ to Singapore, was I a tourist? I have now been in South Korea for almost a year lecturing at a university. Once again, am I a tourist? According to most conventional definitions of tourism, the answers to all of the above are ‘no’. By this token, one cannot be a tourist at home.
The notion of tourism is becoming so fluid simply because the identities attached to what home is can no longer be construed in the traditional manner of ‘home’ vs. ‘away’. We need to do away with normative definitions of tourism and reconsider in this age what home is, that often, being away is being at home and being at home is being away. A way to think of this is to position tourism as part of the everyday. If so, we need to ask, who or what is a tourist.
To the home tourism itself – when you started behaving as a tourist in your home city of Singapore – what were the biggest challenges you faced?
In Singapore, I was performing tourist by touring Singapore and doing tourist activities. In fact, I was doing things organised in part by the Singapore Tourism Board catered specifically for Singaporeans. The banner under which all these activities took place did not explicitly feature tourism, but instead, it was about ‘Rediscovering Singapore’. In this sense, the tours were about identity building and becoming ‘Singaporean’. You can see from this that in behaving like a tourist, I was in fact becoming more Singaporean than I ever was. This was the point of my research, the conflation of how tourism is transformed into the everyday.
I chose to backpack in Singapore because that was usually how I travelled. Perhaps the most difficult element of this was manifested in the unwritten rule of backpacker hostels, that they do not admit Singaporeans (ie. people in possession of a Singaporean passport). It becomes evident that on one hand, there is a national campaign to ‘rediscover Singapore’, but on the other, this cannot be undertaken alongside people who are ‘discovering Singapore’. For some reason, the hostel operators I spoke to kept emphasizing the nature of the problematic Singaporean without considering the implications of discrimination.
… and what were the best rewards?
I found that I had a sense of unlimited freedom. Firstly in the sense that I could shoot whatever I wanted with my camera, without needing ethical considerations like: would this person really mind if I followed him and took an inordinate number of photographs. In general my researcher personality took over, but in certain places, on the top of the open-air double-decker tourist bus for example, there are really no holds barred.
The other kind of autonomy is the dedication of time to the project. You actually get to roam around places you usually only encounter in passing on the way somewhere to do something. I sat in a café with my camera without needing to look at my watch for my next appointment and felt really comfortable just being. This of course sparked the curiosity of the regulars at the café who started up a conversation with me with the opening line, “where are you from?”
You have, obviously, moved on since you talked in Bradford – but what do you think are the best approaches to making yourself like a tourist – or behaving like one.
The first thing you have to do is to re-watch ‘Carry on Abroad’ without a sense of humour. The second thing is to contradict the first and realise that not all tourists fit that caricature. The third thing is to contradict the second by noting that the ‘stupid tourists’ are quite often performed reflexively and ironically. Some people in the academic realm call them ‘post-tourists’. As I have already alluded to the ambiguities of what being a tourist entails, I prefer to think of you, me, whatever we choose to call ourselves doing or performing tourism. My performances always saw me wearing the same, red Hawaiian shirt with camera on hand.
Our real tools deal with ‘time’ rather than ‘space’. The notion of home tourism presupposes that you already have a good sense of local space; you probably have a good inclination where you might find interesting things to see or photograph. But it is really the time you choose to set aside for the project that makes the difference. By making time, the way you perform automatically corresponds: you become more relaxed, your mindset changes and you are more ready to see things in different ways. From what I see on Culture Vulture, this is already happening.
Can you point us at other good examples of home tourism?
The idea of home tourism is only starting to come under academic radar. I think the definition by Tessa Smith is most apt, that she sees it as a ‘challenge to view your home city/county with fresh eyes, as you would if visiting a new city as a tourist’. Indeed it is challenging because it is really not so easy as one might think. Jon, you also mentioned that it is sometimes ‘better to be a tourist where you are’, and to add to that, where we are is not always home or away. For me, I’m perpetually in a liminal space somewhere in between. This is exemplified by the title of my photo series which was exhibited in Singapore, ‘Tourist from here’, which tries to appease the question, ‘where are you from’.
Much has been talked about ‘staycation’ especially in the UK, but this premises the idea of having a holiday at home instead of going abroad. The way I see how home tourism has evolved for you seems a lot more creative and exciting. It involves seeing familiar things in unfamiliar ways, without needing to contribute to tourism expenditure. ‘Latourex’ is a good example to follow; you can read about them in ‘The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel’. There is a chapter in the book called ‘backpacking at home’. ‘Home tourism’ by default, has to be reflexive. You have to first accept that you could potentially be a tourist. And then you start questioning that.
What do you see are the opportunities and limitations of being a local tourist in Leeds?
I think your idea of wandering around Leeds and snapping images of home is something that is not only fun, it is meaningful and bold at the same time. Many would consider this a waste of time. Most dare not do this because it really forces us to look at many of the things we have taken for granted and provokes the nature of how we conceptualise home. Learning how to see with new perspectives can be disruptive and exciting at the same time. If I were still in Leeds, I would meet up with the Couch Surfer group in Leeds*. This way you will meet ‘real’ tourists who can give you tips. Other ideas include organising free tours of Leeds every now and again, for example to international students at the university.
Desmond is now to be found in South Korea, lecturing in sociology – and is more than happy for tourists to drop in on him for a local photo walk! All images related to this article © Desmond Wee – all rights reserved.
*Editor’s note: it seems this group is no longer active. Information otherwise welcomed.
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