Project Description
There is still a big gap in the literature when it comes to tourism and the meaning of borders. In this qualitative study, the meaning of the Dutch-German border for Dutch tourists has been explored. This is done according to a theoretical framework in which the meaning of the border is divided into a bureaucratic meaning and a socio-cultural meaning. The bureaucratic meaning consists of the aspects: territoriality, safety, and economy. The socio-cultural meaning consists of the concepts ‘us’ and the ‘other’, identity, and language. From this study, it can be concluded that the Dutch-German border has a bureaucratic meaning on the aspects of territoriality and safety. The socio-cultural meaning of the Dutch-German border is very present for the Dutch tourists. In addition, the Dutch tourists indicated that the meaning of the Dutch-German border has changed over time. The theoretical framework of this study is unique, and it has never been applied to the Dutch-German border.
Author: M. Groenestege (2017)
