The production of locality on peer-to-peer platforms

Abstract

A recurrent subject in modern travel discourses is formed by anti-tourism: a desire of travellers to reach beyond the allegedly superficial experiences that the tourism industry fosters. This paper explores the anti-touristic attitude in the context of online peer-to-peer platforms: collaborative services enabling barter in labour, skills, knowledge and goods between consumers and service providers–or, in this case, between “outsiders” and “insiders” of touristic space. A method involving computational keyword analysis and qualitative content analysis is adopted in order to analyse the platforms’ multisemiotic content. It is argued that the insider, as a commodified identity type and a signifier for authenticity, is produced by the platforms’ advertisements. These insiders provide a stylisation of everyday personal experiences, in which locality becomes a type of “authentic” experience prompted by minute personal activities. The authenticity discourses that insiders adopt are paradoxically related to the stereotypical forms of imagination that are found on the platforms, as well as the computational arrangement of measurement and comparison. The study thus shows how attitudes of anti-tourism are internalized and capitalized on by the tourism industry within peer-to-peer ecologies.