What is meant by Sociology of Tourism?

Sociology of Tourism is a new discipline which had begun in 1970. From the point of view of Sociology in Tourism studies, there are five major points of departure that explore the domain. Eric Cohan describes them as Sociology of:

The stranger: The sociology of the stranger has used insigths gained from studies of minorities, ethnic groups and expatriates to analyse the role of tourists as temporary strangers.

LeisuThe sociology of leisure has introduced many new ways of looking at the tourism phenomena and to study the issues of urbanization, industrialization, consumerism and technology etc.

Hospitality: The sociology of hospitality concentrates on simple and traditional societies. It looks at the issues of conflict and contradiction in the prices of commercialization and social exchange to see where benefits have been forthcoming and where dis benefits have resulted from the hospitality trade.

Travel: The sociology of travel provides insights into the tourists attitudes, behaviour and motivation. The traveller on tour is an area which has encouraged the study, particularly the role, of tour landscapes or itineraries and the image of a destination as well as the role of infrastructure and the travel culture.

Religion: The sociology of religion particularly of pilgrimage has attracted a great deal of interest in determining how the sacred is determined, the search for a centre, the transformation of the self and the role of norms in determining behaviour.