There is a considerable difference as to whether people watch a film about the Himalayas on television and become excited by the ‘untouched nature’ of the majestic mountain peaks, or whether they get up and go on a trek to Nepal.
Tourism takes place simultaneously in the realm of the imagination and that of the physical world. In contrast to literature or film, it leads to ‘real’,
tangible worlds, while nevertheless remaining tied to the sphere of fantasies, dreams, wishes ―
and myth. It thereby allows the ritual enactment of mythological ideas. ( ① )
Even in the latter case, they remain, at least partly, in an imaginary world. ( ② )
They experience moments that they have already seen at home in books, brochures and films. ( ③ )
Their notions of untouched nature and friendly, innocent indigenous people will probably be confirmed. ( ④ )
But now this confirmation is anchored in a physical experience. ( ⑤ )
The myth is thus transmitted in a much more powerful way than by television, movies or books. * indigenous: 토착의