Souvenir practices of domestic tourists.

Abstract

Although souvenirs have received considerable academic attention, their role and significance for domestic tourists are less researched. This paper focuses on the souvenir-purchasing practices of domestic tourists, and the post-holiday role of their souvenirs. Interviews were undertaken with 49 tourists in Romania at the point of souvenir purchase, and 12 follow-up interviews were conducted to explore the role of their souvenirs after the holiday. Purchasing souvenirs appears to be a habit of travel and in some ways the souvenir practices of domestic tourists mirror those of international tourists. Souvenirs are purchased as mementos of place and as gifts for others. They can play an important role after the holiday in stimulating memories. However, there were also distinctive characteristics of domestic souvenirs. There was a preference for items that were inexpensive, small, and familiar, and for objects which had post-holiday usability within the home. Furthermore, both the purchase and subsequent display of souvenirs in the home were used as expressions of religious and/or national identity, so that domestic souvenirs are implicated in practices of everyday nationalism. In this way, domestic souvenirs are both objects for personal use and a way of making a statement to others.