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Appropriations and reflections on tourism: (Doctoral thesis)

Γιωλτζόγλου, Πωλίνα-Παρθένα/ Gioltzoglou, Polina-Parthena

In the context of this anthropological research, the processes that shape and influence the way in which the contemporary experience of tourism is constituted within the politics of everyday life (De Certeau: [1980] 1984) are examined at the micro/macro level. The aim of this thesis is to investigate aspects of the tourism phenomenon in the Prespes National Park, as expressed by the fluid and constantly negotiated perceptions and everyday practices of the local inhabitants. Since its declaration to date, the legislative and regulatory framework governing the National Park has defined and delimited human activity and at the same time indicated what deserves protection within its perimeter. The focus of the research is first of all the analysis of the discourses, both dominant and not, for managing the tourism experience within a protected area. The ways in which these discourses consume, reconstruct, appropriate and signify narratives about (i) the image of self and community, (ii) the relationship between humans and nature, and (iii) individual and collective visions of economic prosperity in the area are sought. At the same time, an attempt is made to interpret their ongoing negotiation by the inhabitants themselves through the prism of time, space and indigeneity. This research is placed within the broader framework of social anthropology, but borrows from both environmental anthropology and its related fields, such as that of material culture. Both the research and the methodology and writing of this thesis are self-referential/autobiographical, to a large extent. They speak to personal experiences, such as my work in tourism and long-term stays in places - tourist destinations. The conceptual and theoretical framework, from which the research draws, starts from theories that critique classical interpretations of consumption, commodification and the market economy and that in a way question the transition to 'modernity', such as Polanyi's (2007) concept of 'fictitious commodities' and Ingold’s (2016) analysis on 'human perceptions of the environment'. Using ethnographic research as a key methodological tool, with participant observation, the aim of this thesis is to offer an analytical framework through which the experience of tourism in Prespes National Park is approached in relation to the dominant narratives of tourism in Greece and the new 'tourism' identities that are emerging. At the same time, it is intertwined with issues of sustainable development, regional inequalities, ecology and protection of areas of high cultural and ecological interest.