Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Tourism Geographies

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

School

School of Business and Law

RAS ID

78275

Funders

JSPS Kakenhi Grant (19K20565)

Comments

Thelen, T., Kim, S., Kai, T., & Park, E. (2025). Sacred or sacrificed placemaking: A contested fan pilgrimage site for rural tourism development. Tourism Geographies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2025.2462234

Abstract

The concept of placemaking describes the transformation and development of a site directed by the local authorities. This longitudinal study examines the emergence of a fan pilgrimage site in rural Japan and the subsequent placemaking process to establish it as a popular culture tourism site. The study uncovers friction among stakeholders and backlash against the top-down placemaking approach from both residents and fans, whose attitudes are more critical and impactful than those of non-fan tourists towards making the place. The study contributes to a nuanced understanding of placemaking dynamics and complexity by drawing on a non-Western context and its particularities, highlighting that a longitudinal investigation provides in-depth insights into stakeholder conflicts and potentials.

DOI

10.1080/14616688.2025.2462234

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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