Actor Network Theory Analysis of Roc Climbing Tourism in Siurana
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MASTER THESIS Actor network theory analysis of sport climbing tourism The case of Siurana, Catalunya Student: Jase Wilson Exam #: 19148985 Supervisor: Professor Tanja Mihalič PhD. Generalitat de Catalunya Mentor: Cati Costals Submitted to: Faculty of Economics University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Submitted on: August 4th, 2017 This page has been left internationally blank. AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT The undersigned _____________________, a student at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, (hereafter: FELU), declare that I am the author of the bachelor thesis / master’s thesis /doctoral dissertation entitled________ ____________________________________________, written under supervision of _______________________________________________ and co-supervision of _________________________________________. 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Ljubljana, _______________________ Author’s signature: ________________________ (Month in words / Day / Year, e.g. June 1st, 2014 Contents AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT ...................................................................................................... iii Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Rationale ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 1 Structure ....................................................................................................................................... 2 1 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Rock Climbing ................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Actor Network Theory & Tourism .................................................................................. 14 2 Latourian ANT ....................................................................................................................... 22 2.1 Part 1—The Five Uncertainties ....................................................................................... 23 2.1.1 Group Formation ...................................................................................................... 23 2.1.2 Action is Overtaken .................................................................................................. 24 2.1.3 Objects Have Agency ............................................................................................... 24 2.1.4 Matters of Fact vs. Matters of Concern .................................................................... 25 2.1.5 Writing Down Risky Accounts ................................................................................ 26 2.2 Part 2—The Three Moves ............................................................................................... 26 2.2.1 Localizing the Global ............................................................................................... 26 2.2.2 Redistributing the Local & Connecting the Sites (Moves 2 & 3) ............................ 27 3 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 28 3.1 Paradigm .......................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 Gathering Material ........................................................................................................... 28 3.3 Analysis of Material—Latourian ANT ............................................................................ 30 3.4 Limitations ....................................................................................................................... 32 4 Presentation of Case—Siurana & Rock Climbing ................................................................. 33 4.1 Introduction to Rock Climbing ........................................................................................ 33 4.2 Introduction to Siurana .................................................................................................... 35 5 Presentation of Findings ......................................................................................................... 36 5.1 Questionnaire Data .......................................................................................................... 36 5.2 8a.nu Data ........................................................................................................................ 38 5.3 Guidebook Data ............................................................................................................... 39 5.4 Climbing Media ............................................................................................................... 43 5.5 Los Equipadores (The Developers) ................................................................................. 50 6 ANT Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 60 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 65 Limitations ..................................................................................................................................... 66 References ........................................................................................................................................ a Appendices ....................................................................................................................................... h Interview with Tony Arbones—March 17th, 2017 at Camping Siurana ...................................... h Interview with Oscar Gimenez ...................................................................................................... l Rockfax Grade Comparison Chart ............................................................................................... o 8a.nu Data—Climbers Region of Origin ...................................................................................... o i Introduction Rationale The sport of rock climbing is growing rapidly all around the world. The Outdoor Industry Association’s Outdoor Participation Report for 2013 suggested that over six-and-a-half million people had participated in rock climbing in that year in the United States alone (Outdoor Industry Association, 2013). The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC, 2016)—who is the leading authority and organizer of international climbing competitions—estimates that over 25 million people are climbing regularly around the globe (IFSC, 2016). Rock climbing will be featured as a trail sport at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, which will undoubtedly expose the sport to a wider audience than ever before. As the sport of climbing is becoming increasingly popular, the author wonders, what impact this may have on rock climbing tourism destinations. Already, there are issues related to rock climbing tourism in the larger and more famous destinations. Siurana, in the autonomous province of Catalunya, Spain, is one such destination. Climbing tourism, and climbing tourism destinations such as Siurana, tend to fall outside of the realm of important issues to be researched, discussed, or managed by academics, or public/private sector. This paper will attempt to show that climbing destinations that research into the management of such destinations is extremely important for the future development of not just the sport, but also the communities centred around climbing. Climbing, in a rural development context, is an extremely important economic activity, and while it will never muster the level investment as beach tourism in Barcelona, this certainly does