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| THE BEHAVIOR OF WORKING TOURISTS ON MOBILITY ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY OF DALI HISTORICAL TOWN |
| XU Hong-gang, TANG Xiang-jie |
| School of Tourism Management, SunYat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China |
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Abstract With the acceleration of globalization and postmodernism, working tourist has become new mobility pattern in China. It challenges the traditional researches which pointed out that tourists are consumptionoriented and do not work. These working tourists have to work to enable their travel while touring. This paper empirically explores this issue based on observation and in-depth interviews with 32 working tourists in Dali, Yunnan, China. Qualitative coding results reveal that working tourists differ from each other in terms of their work and touristic motivations as well as the nature of the work whether it is paid or unpaid. Thus a typology of three different types of working tourists is proposed accordingly:(1) Student working holidays. They work for accommodation and food and consider work as a part of tourism experience. (2) Unpaid working backpackers. They treat travel as a way of life. Working for food and accommodation can reduce their cost in Dali. (3) Lifestyle tourist employees. They travel to Dali and fall in love with it. To enable their prolonged stay in Dali, they have to earn income through working in the tourism businesses. For them, Dali is a place for leisure and slow life instead of experiencing new and work is to enable this leisure activity. The paper also examines their behaviors during their staying in Dali from the perspective of mobility. The behaviors are explored from three aspects of social interaction, travel behaviors and work/life status. Major findings suggest that the situations in which work-related and tourist-oriented activities are combined blur the boundaries among tourism, work and leisure.
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Received: 24 June 2014
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2015, Vol. 30 
