Rethinking embodiment in tourism research

Abstract

This paper revisits the embodiment turn in tourism research, challenging dominant assumptions such as the universality of normative bodies and the neutrality of tourism spaces. Using a problematization approach, it critiques existing paradigms and integrates perspectives from embodied cognition, intersectionality, and socio-cultural theories. The paper proposes a conceptual framework comprising four dimensions—experiential, performative, ideological, and disciplinary—emphasizing the dynamic interplay between embodied agency and tourism spaces. By advancing a more comprehensive and inclusive definition of embodiment, the study highlights the relational, intersectional, and contextual dimensions that shape tourism experiences. In addressing existing conceptual limitations, this work contributes to a more critical understanding of embodiment in tourism. It offers directions for future research to foster more equitable and inclusive tourism systems.