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y observations it should not be considered or evaluated on the basis of
being “true” or “false” in any simple way. To this we may add that the
meaning and use of theory may not be the same in all areas of science.
Although tourism studies are generally regarded as a social science, one
will in social science, as well as in tourism studies, find several approaches
to theory.
At the most general level a theory is an indispensable conceptual
toolbox for understanding and explaining something. In more formal terms
one will find in any theory two sets of statements. The first set expresses
what kind of phenomena the theory is dealing with and the second set
stipulates how matters are related to each other. Hence, in tourism theory
there are statements about what tourism and tourists are, and statements
that articulate how they are related to other things, that is, what factors
influence or “causes” them and thus how they may be understood and
explained.
In the first set of statements one will find definitions that articulate
and specify what the essential characteristics of tourism and tourists are,
which means that they are simultaneously differentiated from other related
phenomena. Definitions are not only important but necessary in order to
distinguish something to study. If we consider how tourism actually has
been defined we will notice first of all its close affinity with travel. Indeed,
there has even often been a tendency to use travel more or less as a
synonym for tourism. For example, in the Dictionary of Travel and
Tourism Terminology one can read that:
The term tourism refers to the phenomena and relationships arising from
the travel and stay of people away from their normal home environments
for a variety of purposes (Beaver 2005, p. 380).
Many introductory accounts of tourism, such as those found in
tourism studies textbooks, are often centred on definitions and there is no
need for us to repeat them in detail here. What is highly important to
recognise is that definitions in science are certainly not given once and for
all; they are always made in particular theoretical circumstances for
specific reasons. Most concepts that are used in science have a range of
possible meanings and that “the definition of ‘tourism’ has not yet
stabilized” (Beaver 2005, p. 316) should thus come as no surprise.
How we choose to define has consequence for how we conduct our
research. If we accept a definition of tourism that necessitates travel, then
spending the vacation in ones normal home environment, doing
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