Traveling in Morocco from Front to Back Spaces as a Way to Deflect the Tourist Gaze
Patrick Saveau, Franklin University Switzerland
What happens when a travel leader decides to distance himself and the group of students he is leading from front regions to embrace back regions, namely spaces that are not promoted by the tourist industry? In other words, what happens when a travel leader tries to deflect the “tourist gaze” (Urry)? Is it a search for an ever evanescent notion of authenticity? In addition, what can this investigation of “deviance” from the normalized tourist tours reveal about the students’ ability to embrace different social practices and question their own? These are the main questions this essay aims at answering.
KEY WORDS: Tourist Gaze, Front and Back Regions, Authenticity, Simulacra, Gnawa Sufi Brotherhood Performance, Experiential Learning, Culture of Safetyism