Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

The Tourist
Some sociologists have begun to develop a theoretical frame of reference for view-
ing tourism within the broader context of basic structural and cultural themes of
modern society (MacCannell, 1973, 1976; Cohen, 1979a, 1979b; Apostolopoulos,
Leivadi, and Yiannakis, 1996). By attempting to come to grips with what it means
to be a tourist, MacCannell, for example, has conceptualized tourism as the mod-
ern equivalent of the religious pilgrimage or a quest for 
authentic experience
(1973) or the 
second gaze
(2001). In his view this modern quest for authentic expe-
rience parallels a more primitive concern for finding the sacred. Modern society is
for MacCannell shallow, inauthentic, and alienating. Therefore, authenticity is
thought to be elsewhere and beyond the immediate and mundane experience of
most people—it is something that has to be sought after. From this perspective
people in modern society are induced by their alienated circumstances to become
a tourist, a seeker of the authentic. The second gaze simply emphasizes the desire
on the part of the tourist to get beyond touristic representations.
MacCannell couples this conceptualization of the modern condition with the
notion that sightseeing or tourism is the activity of seeking out authentic attrac-
tions but finding instead what may be described as staged authenticity. Realizing
this, the tourist often continues the quest by seeking out the 
backstage
or to put it
another way, trying to find out what the real back regions are like, or, how the
natives really live. In this quest the tourists may be presented with a contrived or
staged backstage, thus making the search for authenticity even more futile.
Nevertheless, this search for the authentic is what motivates the tourist to continue
to visit touristic locations and, in large measure, what makes their behavior under-
standable once they are in the touristic location.
New Orleans provides staged authenticity (horse-drawn carriages, voodoo
museums, and Cajun everything, with Mardi Gras parades often staged for large
conventions) with standard commercial attractions such as the Aquarium of the
Americas, Harrah’s Casino, and Jazzland and unique authentic attractions such as
the French Markets, the architecture of the French Quarter, St. Louis Cathedral,
Jackson Square, and the nearby St. Louis Cemeteries. The New Orleans tourist
experience is perhaps not complete without encountering some of the characters
that populate the French Quarter area.
The Predator
Victimization of tourists seems to reflect a calculated decision-making process
on the part of the predator (Harper, 2000b). Based on interviews conducted with
The Tourist and His Criminal: Patterns in Street Robbery 
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erstwhile offenders, the tourist robbery pattern is a reflection of a body of knowl-
edge possessed by the robber, that is, how to target and rob tourists, cues to look
for in selecting a potential victim, developing a relationship with the victim, in
some instances, placing himself and the potential victim in a location favorable to
committing the robbery, and finally, committing the robbery and making good his
escape. The robber also seems to be well versed in the ways of the tourist, the
sights they want to see, their desire to party, and, in some instances, their desire for
illicit action such as sex and drugs.
Robbery is an offense chosen easily by the offender when faced with the need
for fast cash. Jacobs and Wright (1999) have noted that offenders find themselves
in a cycle of expensive habits (gambling, drugs, and heavy drinking) that requires
a steady flow of cash. In the context of street culture, robbery is understandable
because it produces cash that is immediately translated into illicit action. Being
involved in this type of action produces a self-identity of “coolness,” “hipness,”
and “badness” (Katz, 1988). Therefore, being a street robber goes beyond the
actual act of committing a robbery to include the creation of a distinctive lifestyle.