Commoditized encounter between visitors and star animals in tourist destinations:A case study of Sichuan giant panda bases
Recently,studying the interaction between human and animals has become an important way for human geographers to explore the relationship between society and nature.By adopting qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews,participatory observation,and text analysis,this paper analyzes encounters of visitors and star animals in Sichuan giant panda bases.It reveals animal agencies and multi-species tourism experiences based on the concept of nonhuman charisma.This research found various encounters between visitors and wild animals,and these diversities are specifically designed,which has variegated effects.Specifically,(1)in the"foreground"of the physical space of the tourist destination,the panda's ecological and aesthetic charisma can arouse natural goodwill among tourists,which is manipulated by the tourist destination to maintain popularity to panda tourism;(2)the virtual space constructed by tourist destinations provides biological characteristics and life course of panda that cannot be directly observed,thus complementing and enriching the encounters between visitors and panda;(3)the"backstage"of the physical space of the tourist destination combines tourism with public welfare in volunteer activities,allows tourists to enter the living space of the pandas and thus shapes deeper and more intimate encounters based on panda's charm of the flesh.In general,the charisma of pandas not only shapes tourists'multi-species tourism experience,but also constructs tourists'place identity with Sichuan.The research explores the relationship network constructed by human animal interaction and the power operation mechanism mapped from a spatial perspective,which provides a new attempt to explore the relationship between humans and animals in tourism and reflects the construction of community of all life on earth from a geographical lens.
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