Literary tourism
Encyclopedia
Literary tourism is a type of cultural tourism
that deals with places and events from fictional texts as well as the lives of their authors. This could include following the route a fictional character charts in a novel, visiting particular settings from a story or tracking down the haunts of a novelist.
Literary tourists are specifically interested in how places have influenced writing and at the same time how writing has created place. In order to become a literary tourist you only need a novel and an inquisitive mind-set; however, there are literary guides, literary maps, and literary tours to help you on your way.
While most literary tourism is focused on famous works, more modern works that are written to specifically promote tourism are called tourism fiction
. Modern tourism fiction can include travel guides within the story showing readers how to visit the real places in the fictional tales. With recent technological advances in publishing, digital tourism fiction books can even allow literary tourists to follow direct links to tourism websites related to the story. This can be done on new e-reading devices like the Kindle, iPad, iPhone, smart phones, tablets, and regular desktop and laptop computers. These links within the story allow readers to instantly learn about the real places without doing their own web searches.
The same technology of tourism fiction could be applied to classic literature in digital editions. For example, the Kindle edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby might include a live link to the real F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum in Montgomery, where the couple once lived with their daughter. These applications to classic literature have not been used in digital editions yet.
In addition to visiting author and book sites, literary tourists often engage in bookstore tourism
, browsing local bookshops for titles specifically related to the sites as well as other regional books and authors.
-funded project in KwaZulu-Natal
, South Africa
that is working on a Literary Map connecting authors whose lives or work is tied in some significant way to specific places in KwaZulu-Natal. Each author entry contains a short biography, a selected bibliography and an excerpt from the author's work that relates to the place identified in the map.
Cultural tourism
Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life...
that deals with places and events from fictional texts as well as the lives of their authors. This could include following the route a fictional character charts in a novel, visiting particular settings from a story or tracking down the haunts of a novelist.
Literary tourists are specifically interested in how places have influenced writing and at the same time how writing has created place. In order to become a literary tourist you only need a novel and an inquisitive mind-set; however, there are literary guides, literary maps, and literary tours to help you on your way.
While most literary tourism is focused on famous works, more modern works that are written to specifically promote tourism are called tourism fiction
Tourism fiction
Tourism fiction is a genre of fiction that is written to generate tourism to specific areas and places. This is done by setting the fiction in real attractions and including short travel guides within the story showing readers how to visit the real places. Tourism fiction can often be confused with...
. Modern tourism fiction can include travel guides within the story showing readers how to visit the real places in the fictional tales. With recent technological advances in publishing, digital tourism fiction books can even allow literary tourists to follow direct links to tourism websites related to the story. This can be done on new e-reading devices like the Kindle, iPad, iPhone, smart phones, tablets, and regular desktop and laptop computers. These links within the story allow readers to instantly learn about the real places without doing their own web searches.
The same technology of tourism fiction could be applied to classic literature in digital editions. For example, the Kindle edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby might include a live link to the real F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum in Montgomery, where the couple once lived with their daughter. These applications to classic literature have not been used in digital editions yet.
In addition to visiting author and book sites, literary tourists often engage in bookstore tourism
Bookstore tourism
Bookstore tourism is a type of cultural tourism that promotes independent bookstores as a group travel destination. It started as a grassroots effort to support locally owned and operated bookshops, many of which have struggled to compete with large bookstore chains and online retailers.The...
, browsing local bookshops for titles specifically related to the sites as well as other regional books and authors.
KwaZulu-Natal
Literary tourism is a National Research FoundationNational Foundation for Educational Research
The National Foundation for Educational Research was founded in 1946 as a centre for educational research and development in England and Wales. NFER's head office is located at 'The Mere' in Slough, Berkshire, England...
-funded project in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
that is working on a Literary Map connecting authors whose lives or work is tied in some significant way to specific places in KwaZulu-Natal. Each author entry contains a short biography, a selected bibliography and an excerpt from the author's work that relates to the place identified in the map.