Methodological Choices in Tourism: A Review of the Application of Symbolic Interactionism in Tourism and Hospitality Studies

Abstract

This article reviews the use of symbolic interactionism (SI) in tourism research. It uses papers published in top 11 ranked tourism and hospitality journals over a twenty-year period, 2000 to 2020. The objective of this paper is to establish the level of usage of SI, and opportunities that the theory avails for further research and understanding of tourism research. Using a combination of document analysis and an open-ended questionnaire sent to authors, this review found that SI is not a popular methodological theory in tourism research, and SI tourism studies adopted methods of data collection that were undiversified, limited largely to different forms of interviews. In addition, methods of analysing data centred on thematic analysis, narrative analysis, emerging themes, hermeneutics, and grounded theory. This paper contributes to tourism research by identifying the varying methods of data collection and analysis that enhances research particularly focusing on meanings, social construction, and the role of social interactions. Tourism researchers using SI need to embrace diverse range of data collection methods and analysis, including the use of sophisticated digital technologies.

Keywords

• symbolic interactionism
• qualitative research
• data analysis
• review
• journal rankings