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address to which it has been sent, and which could
serve as a clue of the flow of communication about
people and destinations from tourists to their
relatives, friends, neighbours or colleagues.
Studies of postcards have focused primarily on
the analysis of representations in a body of
postcards with a common, mostly ethnic topic.
However, there are no studies of the institutional
context within which postcards are produced and
distributed, and especially, purchased. Regarding
their purchase, some important questions would be
who buys which postcards and for what purpose ±
for mailing, as a souvenir or as a collector's item ±
and if mailed, which kinds of postcards and
accompanying messages are sent to different sorts
of addressees.
References
Albers P. and James, W. �1983) `Tourism and the
changing image of the Great Lake Indians',
Annals of Tourism Research 10�1): 128±48.
ÐÐ �1986) `Travel photography: a methodological
approach', Annals of Tourism Research 15: 134±58.
Baldwin, B. �1988) `On the verso: postcard
messages as a key to popular prejudices', Journal
of Popular Culture 22�3): 15±18.
Further reading
Cohen, E. �1995) `The representation of Arabs and
Jews on postcards in Israel', History of Photography
19�3): 210±20.
post-industrial
ERIK COHEN, ISRAEL
The origins of mass tourism are found in the
1920s and 1930s with collective outings to the
seaside by factory workers. However, the radical
expansion of tourism into the world's pleasure
peripheries �see pleasure periphery) is normally
associated with a post-industrial age defined by the
rise in importance of the service sector and the shift
in emphasis from production to consumption.
TOM SELWYN, UK
postmodernism
postmodernism 457
The term `postmodern' was first used in the 1970s
to describe a new kind of architecture which
recycled styles from the past and combined them in
sometimes incongruous ways as surface decoration.
The term was quickly assimilated into a variety of
fields, including tourism studies, as a name for
current cultural and political phenomena. The
characteristics of postmodernity are nostalgia, a
`lack of depth' in its art, architecture and social
relations, a valorisation of surface appearances, a
failure to distinguish between originals and fakes,
and an assertion that there is no difference between
truth and non-truth �that in postmodern aesthetic,
domestic and civic life, there are only `truth
effects'). Proponents of postmodern cultural theory
have argued that its politics, art and commodity
production have become fully integrated into a
single system. This integration effectively blocks
social change or reorganisation that might be based
on a critique of the status quo. Thus postmodernity
marks the death of the critical or free human
subject and the end of history.
The global growth of tourism is strongly
associated with the spread of postmodern culture.
Tourists take paths that have been marked out for
them in advance. They are characterised by the
superficiality of their understanding of the peoples
and places they visit. Those who play host to
tourists are more interested in making money than
in preserving the specificity and integrity of local
cultures. The aggregate of attractions on a regional
or global base resembles a postmodern pastiche of
incongruously connected objects and events. The
most recently constructed large-scale commercial
attractions in Las Vegas and the proposed new
addition to Disneyland are copies of other destinations.
`The Paris Experience' and `New York, New
York' hotel casinos in Las Vegas promise tourists a
simulation of the kind of experience they might
have if they visited Paris or New York. `The Luxor',
built in the shape of a pyramid, promises a
simulated Egyptian experience, complete with a
boat ride down the `Nile' in its lobby. `Redwood
Forest' and `Wild River' rides are planned for the
`California Fantasy' coming to Disneyland. The
popularity of these attractions may confirm the
postmodern thesis that there is no difference