Abstract

In recent years there has been an explosion of exhibitions that examine the phenomenon of tourism in the Spanish context. Among them are both local projects with an interest in the histories of particular destinations and more ambitious projects with wider sociological and cultural interests. This paper focuses on two recent exhibitions: the first shows photographic records of the history of tourism in Menorca and was produced by the island´s Archive of Image and Sound. The second, “Tourism Spaces of Fiction”, sets out to analyse the relationship between design and desire, industry and consumption, and was produced by the Design HUB Barcelona. I explored two main concerns in the paper. The first is the reconstruction of a narrative about tourism. The exhibitions in question are playing a critical role in changing the way people think about and engage with tourism. They are powerful media tools with the ability to both mobilise political discourses and change cultural attitudes. Arguably they are also replacing academia in its role as producers of knowledge about the cultural significance of tourism for contemporary societies, not least in Spain. My second concern is with the extensive use of language and practices of tourism in contemporary culture. The paper explores the possibilities such mediation of tourism affords as well as the implications for tourism of such media attention. By incorporating the images and objects of tourism in the cultural circuit of destinations, these exhibitions are making the phenomenon of tourism an object of tourism consumption in itself