The perpetual chase of banality: Performing long-term new urban tourism in Rotterdam

As an emergent way of doing tourism that is rapidly changing urban spaces, the phenomenon of new urban tourism has not been clearly demarcated before in academia. Whereas previous research has set the base for new urban tourists’ characteristics and behaviour, this study aims to further define the notion of new urban tourism and way in which places are constructed by its tourists through their performances. The main research question provides the structure for this thesis and is as follows: ‘How is place image mutually constructed through long-term new urban tourists’ performances and tourism structures created by professionals in the field?‘. Through use of a qualitative case study of Rotterdam involving twelve semi-structured interviews with new urban tourists and three with professionals familiar with the city’s tourism policies, supplemented by content analysis of three policy documents, thematic analysis of the data resulted in four main themes. Firstly, Rotterdam’s policies show how frontrunners and long-term new urban tourists share common ground yet slightly deviate from new urban tourism. The second theme shows how this long-term tourist group fits in with the new urban tourist typology. Yet, they are more likely to construct place image built on constructive authenticity and are heavily influenced by liminality. Thirdly, the activities through which long-term new urban tourists construct authenticity show how they continuously search to live like a local and explore, perform reflexive behaviour and show first signs of a reaction to new urban tourism through pomposity, but mostly highly value immersing and connecting with a place and its people. This connection starts with encounters, comparable to Urry and Larsen’s (2011) Tourist Gaze 3.0, but then further solidifies through understanding a place, establishing emotional- and most prominently personal connection, calling for a possible Tourist Gaze 4.0. Fourthly, it is portrayed whereas shortterm visitors form a place image based on front stage behaviour, long-term new urban tourists engage in immersion with the back stages, which allow for creation of a lasting sense of authenticity. While place branding in its traditional, direct form – being the use of a marketing slogan – is still engaged with by institutions, new urban tourists indicate to prefer branding through an indirect and interpersonal approach like word-of-mouth branding. This supports the main argument that while there can be mutual awareness in the construction of place image, a new urban tourism experience and place image is mostly constructed through new urban tourists’ own activities and construction of authenticity, which is strengthened and added to in the case of long-term tourism