TOURISM PSYCHOLOGY 101 #4
Nostalgia tourism: When familiarity surprises travelers
We can experience nostalgia with something that we haven’t experienced.
Imagine going back to your hometown after years of being away. The streets are still familiar, the shops are in the same places, and the same old people are still there. As you walk around, you also start to notice that some things have changed. That old bakery now sells vegan cupcakes, the movie theater is now a trendy music venue, and your favorite park has been turned into a community garden.
Perhaps, you’re experiencing a sense of nostalgia, a powerful emotion that transports you back in time while also allowing you to see familiar things in a new way.
The tourism industry has recognized the power of nostalgia and has found a way to tap into this emotion by offering a unique form of travel: nostalgia tourism. Nostalgia tourism allows travelers to revisit their childhood home, the school they attended, or the place where they first fell in love. It also provides an opportunity for travelers to connect with their cultural heritage. It’s a chance to explore the customs, traditions, and history of their ancestors, deepening their understanding and appreciation of their cultural identity.
Nostalgia tourism is unique in that it allows travelers to experience a sense of surprise and excitement from familiar things and memories. It’s about immersing oneself in the familiar surroundings of the past, while also discovering new and exciting things. By combining the comfort of familiarity with the thrill of new experiences, nostalgia tourism creates a unique travel experience that is both comforting and exhilarating.
This is different from traditional tourism, where novelty and newness are often the main draws (For further reading on understanding tourist motivations with novelty-familiarity continuum). In nostalgia tourism, travelers are seeking out places that are rather highly familiar to them, but places that evoke a bittersweet sense of nostalgia and longing. But, even though these places are not novel or new, they can still offer surprises and excitement when experienced in a new way. It’s the combination of the familiar and the new that makes nostalgia tourism such a powerful and rewarding travel experience.
But what exactly is nostalgia, and why has it become such a popular theme in tourism?
In this post, I will delve into scientific studies that I and other researchers have conducted to elucidate the nature of nostalgia and its role in the tourism scene. You will discover what nostalgia is, how it operates, and gain a deeper understanding of its significance within the context of travel.
TOURISM PSYCHOLOGY 101
In my upcoming collection of posts, I’ll be sharing intriguing insights on the science-backed psychology of tourist behavior and decision-making. These nuggets of wisdom are geared towards assisting a diverse audience, ranging from seasoned globetrotters and local residents to policymakers and businesses, in achieving their objectives and goals in the tourism industry.
I’m confident that whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a novice in the field, these insights will prove to be valuable in improving the tourism landscape for all stakeholders involved!
Nostalgia
Easy definition
Nostalgia is a complex emotion that is experienced by many people at some point in their lives. At its core, nostalgia is a longing for the past — it is a bittersweet longing for a time or place in the past that is associated with feelings of warmth, comfort, and familiarity. Nostalgia can be triggered by a variety of sensory stimuli, such as smells, sounds, or sights that are reminiscent of a past experience. This emotion can be both positive and negative, as it can bring back happy memories, but also a sense of sadness or loss for things that are no longer present.
Nostalgia has been studied extensively by psychologists and is believed to be a normal and healthy response to change and the passing of time. Whether it’s reminiscing about childhood memories or reflecting on a simpler time in life, nostalgia is a universal human experience that can provide comfort and connection to our past.
I recommend reading K. Barrett’s post, “The Power of Nostalgia.” The author beautifully captures the essence of nostalgia and its psychological impact on us through her vivid writing and stunning photographs.
The concept of nostalgia is all about bringing back the past. For example, a tourist might visit a museum dedicated to a particular era or a theme park that recreates a historical time period. By experiencing something from the past, tourists may connect with their own personal history or feel a sense of belonging to a larger cultural heritage.
Personal nostalgia & Historical nostalgia
“We can experience nostalgia with something that we haven’t experienced”
While many literary works have treated nostalgia as a single, unified concept, to truly comprehend it and predict its effects, we must split it into two distinct categories:
- Personal nostalgia
- Historical nostalgia
Drs. Marchegiani and Phau (2010), inspired by Dr. Stern’s (1992) work, have given us a theoretical framework to separate two types of nostalgia, paving the way for future research in management and social science. The critical difference between the two lies in personal experience — personal nostalgia stems from a person’s own direct past experiences (“the way I was”), whereas historical nostalgia arises from indirect experiences, such as socialization, media exposure, or education about past events (“the way it was”). So let’s take a closer look and appreciate the nuances of nostalgia in all its forms.
Drs. Marchegiani, Phau, and Stern argue that what distinguishes historical nostalgia from personal nostalgia is “personal connections,” and they’ve even provided us outlining the sources and cues for each type. Personal nostalgia is closely linked to autobiographical memory, and it remains more vivid in a person’s mind. And since personal nostalgia is all about those personal connections, the cues that trigger it are things like familiarity, the comforts of home, realistic stories (no fairy tales), real-life incidents, ordinary folks (not necessarily heroes), love, nurturing, and identification. So try dusting off those old photo albums and taking a stroll down memory lane, then that’s the feeling of personal nostalgia.
Now, let’s talk about historical nostalgia. Unlike personal nostalgia, it’s not all about us — it’s about the broader collective memory of a society or group. That means it’s less personal and self-referential, so it doesn’t pack quite the same emotional punch as personal nostalgia. Think of it as a kind of idealistic response that arises from indirect experiences and can be explained with the help of a little imagination, fantasy, and even virtual reality. The cues that trigger historical nostalgia include historical events, romanticized pasts, role models, idealized figures, and larger-than-life contexts. So if you find yourself longing for a bygone era that you never personally experienced, you might just be feeling the pangs of historical nostalgia.
Nostalgia tourism
What is nostalgia tourism?
The allure of nostalgia is an ever-present force in the human psyche, beckoning us to revisit cherished memories of a bygone era. Fortunately, the tourism industry has taken note and responded with an emerging trend known as nostalgia tourism. This unique form of travel offers a way to not just visit new places, but to truly transport oneself to a bygone era.
One quintessential example of this phenomenon can be found at Walt Disney World, where many of the park’s vintage rides have been preserved in their original form. Visitors who first experienced the park in its early days can now return and share the same joy with their children, as they relive classic attractions such as Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and It’s a Small World. Such destinations offer a nostalgic getaway, a chance to revisit the touchstones of childhood and reconnect with simpler times.
Beyond theme parks, there are countless other opportunities for nostalgia tourism. A visit to a classic diner, a stroll through a beloved neighborhood, or a stay in a retro hotel can all provide a sense of nostalgia and a return to the comforts of the past. This trend has struck a chord with travelers seeking to escape the present and find solace in the memories of days gone by.
Novelty-Familiarity coexistence model in nostalgia tourism
According to the dual model of tourism motivation, people have two primary travel motivations: novelty and familiarity. Novelty-seeking travelers are drawn to new and exciting experiences, while familiarity-seeking travelers are more interested in the comfort and security of the familiar. These motivations can be thought of as opposite ends of a spectrum, and individuals fall somewhere along that spectrum depending on their personal preferences and life experiences.
However, nostalgia tourism offers a unique blend of familiarity and novelty, which sets it apart from regular forms of travel. Unlike traditional tourist experiences that often require choosing between novelty or familiarity, nostalgia tourism offers a rare combination of both. The sense of connection to the past creates a feeling of comfort and familiarity, while new experiences and discoveries bring a sense of excitement and novelty. This makes nostalgia tourism an exceptional way to travel, providing a travel experience that is both comforting and exhilarating.
How is this possible? It’s a bit different depending on the types of nostalgia — historical and personal nostalgia — as they evoke distinct memory cues. Personal nostalgia is rooted in the person’s own experiences and requires a familiarity with a person, object, or location from the distant past that holds personal significance. On the other hand, historical nostalgia is based on collective memories and is often related to education, media, or oral tradition. Since historical nostalgia is not grounded in personal experience, it exists only through one’s imagination or fantasy. Based on empirical findings, historical and personal nostalgia also evoke different dimensions of novelty. Historical nostalgia creates novelty through “newness,” while personal nostalgia generates “surprise.”
Conclusion
Nostalgia tourism provides a unique way to travel that combines the best of both worlds: the comfort of familiarity and the excitement of novelty.
By connecting travelers to the past through personal or historical memories, nostalgia tourism evokes a sense of longing that inspires a desire to explore the world. This form of travel offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with history, culture, and tradition in a new and meaningful way.
Whether it’s revisiting old memories or discovering new ones, nostalgia tourism offers a transformative travel experience that leaves a lasting impression on travelers!
Author’s note:
Wangoo Lee, the author, is an expert in the field of travel and hospitality experiences, including understanding how tourists perceive risks and experience historical nostalgia while visiting North Korea.
