Title: Dimensions of mobilities, tourism and transition of cultural hegemony: a qualitative inquiry from Sri Lanka

Authors: Ruwan Ranasinghe; Cheng Li

Addresses: School of Tourism, Sichuan University, Wangjiang Road Chengdu, 610064, China; Department of Management Sciences, Faculty of Management, Uva Wellassa University, Badulla, Sri Lanka ' School of Tourism, Sichuan University, Wangjiang Road Chengdu, 610064, China

Abstract: Mobilities, encapsulating range of escalations in time and space by forming, transforming and retransforming social structures, cannot be understood in isolation. Cultural hegemony has been examined in post-colonial contexts while mobilities have been investigated conceptually, making empirical inquiries a noticeable absence. Though 'what mobilities are' have fairly been studied, why and how it occurs in tourism and cultural transformation need further examination. This theoretically motivated question led the present study of mobilities, tourism and cultural modifications. Emic and etic approaches are employed entrusting on qualitative methodology. Participants view that the dimensions of mobilities cause the modification of cultural values and spatial restructuring through mobility nodes influence on image reformation. Mobility nodes encourage movement of people resulting to drastic alterations in their mundane and consequently in value systems. Mobility drives revolving around capital, geopolitics and envisioned manipulations of cultural processes cause transition of cultural hegemony from former colonial powers to emerging Asian supremacies.

Keywords: cultural hegemony; local values; Sri Lanka; mobilities; tourism; qualitative enquiry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2017.088023

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2017 Vol.6 No.1, pp.21 - 40

Received: 10 Oct 2016
Accepted: 18 Mar 2017
Published online: 16 Nov 2017 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article