Nomadic Tourism and Fleeting Place Encounters: Exploring Different Aspects of Sightseeing

This study scrutinizes the brief visual sensations of places and landscapes experienced by nomadic sightseeing tourists. It is argued that the comprehension of itinerant sightseeing excursions is influenced by the hegemonic time standards set by "travellers" and travel writers from foreign countries. To illuminate certain aspects of ephemeral experiences of places in mobile sightseeing tourism, the article refers loosely to the notions of natural attitude, contra-structure, and adventure. It is asserted that the transient encounter bestows access to adventure-like experiences of places and landscapes, as tourists are always in danger of being caught up in other roles, or of becoming embroiled in new everyday life routines, and may thus cease to notice the numerous facets of the places they visit. A noteworthy limitation of transient and ocular travel experiences is that certain aspects of foreign places cannot be understood or experienced in the course of a brief tourist visit alone. It is suggested that the time restrictions inherent in regular holiday tours usually result in a transient experience of places and landscapes as the only alternative for those desiring to gain first-hand and predominantly visual impressions of distant territories.