6533b82dfe1ef96bd129126e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Death and Culture

subject

description

Taking cues from the surging popularity of thana-tourism, this paper argues that its prevalence echoes the end days of capitalism. The predominant forms of tourism in a society reflect the ethos of that society. What we once called ‘mass tourism' reflected the spirit of classical capitalism; later, ecotourism and various other alternative forms of tourism reflected a critical turn in capitalism, often called the ‘sympathetic capitalism'. These were incremental alternations, however. Thana-tourism is a qualitatively discontinuous form of tourism and its surge should thus correspond with a similarly discontinuous, radical, shift in capitalism. The authors present scholarly perspectives to bring home the view that thana-tourism might indeed be symptomatic of the end of capitalism