There is a long history of research into why and how individuals participate in and experience tourism, exploring the demand and motivation for tourism and the roles that tourists adopt—that is, how people perform tourism. At the same time, questions surrounding the significance and meaning of tourism as a contemporary social institution have long attracted academic scrutiny. However, as the form and character of the tourist experience has continued to evolve, reflecting both developments in the supply of tourism and cultural transformations in the world in which it occurs, and as new disciplinary perspectives on the subject have been adopted, the research has become ever more extensive and eclectic.

Now, Tourist Experience, a new collection of major works from Routledge, meets a growing need for a comprehensive reference work that embraces both established themes and issues with emergent debates and research. The gathered materials have been carefully selected from a broad range of academic journals, edited collections, and other sources, and are organized around three broad themes: the significance/meaning of tourism in contemporary society; tourist motivation and demand; and tourist roles. With a comprehensive introduction, newly written by the editor, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Tourist Experience is an essential reference work and vital research resource for scholars, researchers, and students in tourism and related disciplines.