Stirring up effervescence: an ethnographic study of youth at a nightlife resort

Abstract

There is growing evidence that young tourists at nightlife resorts have a propensity for risk-taking. Based on ethnographic fieldwork at an international nightlife resort in Bulgaria, this article examines how guides help tourists lower their inhibitions and reach states of collective effervescence. Focus is on young guides and tourists from Denmark. The article argues that the guides use four basic techniques to stir up effervescence: body techniques, speech and sound effects, crowd effects and alcohol.

有越来越多的证据证明, 年轻的游客在夜生活胜地有一个冒险的倾向。在保加利亚的国际夜生活胜地的民族志调查的基础上, 本文探讨了导游如何帮助游客降低他们的压抑并且达到国家集体欢腾。重点是从丹麦来的年轻的导游和游客。文章认为, 导游使用四种基本技巧挑起欢腾: 身体技术, 语音和声音效果, 人群的影响和酒精

Há evidência crescente de que turistas jovens em resorts de vida noturna têm a propensão de adotar riscos. Baseado em pesquisa de campo etnográfica em um resort de vida noturna internacional na Bulgária, este artigo examina como guias ajudam turistas a reduzir suas inibições e alcançar um estado de efervescência coletiva. O foco se dá sobre guias e turistas jovens da Dinamarca. O artigo argumenta que os guias utilizam quatro técnicas básicas para agitar a efervescência: técnicas corporais, discurso e efeitos sonoros, efeitos de multidões e álcool.

Keywords:

• drugs
• alcohol
• youth
• tourism
• leisure
• consumer culture

关键词:

• 药
• 酒精
• 年青人
• 旅游
• 休闲
• 消费者文化

Palavras Chave:

• drogas
• álcool
• juventude
• turismo
• lazer
• cultura de consumo

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my deep gratitude to professor Margaretha Järvinen, professor Michel Maffesoli, associate professor Morten Hesse and the anonymous reviewers for their help and comments on this paper.

Notes

1. One anonymous reviewer kindly pointed out that the present study bears some similarity to Malbon’s work on ‘clubbing’ (1999). Malbon makes clear that it is possible to reach altered states of consciousness without the use of substances. However, he argues that the changes in consciousness that took place on the British club scene of the 1990s was often fuelled of by a combination of ecstasy (MDMA), dancing crowds and loud music (1999, p. 110). Similarly, Reynolds emphasises the important role of loud music and ecstasy in stirring up effervescence among rave party attendees in the ‘decade of dance’ (1988–1998): ‘rave music has gradually evolved into a self-conscious science of intensifying MDMA’s sensations’ (1999, p. 85). See also the seminal work of Fontaine and Fontana (1996) for a description of the French rave scene in the 1990s and the mind-altering techniques used by the French ravers.

2. Like so many other nightlife resorts around the world, Sunny Beach is a highly masculinised and (hetero) sexualised environment that promotes ideas of men as potent dominators and women as sexual objects (Andrews, 2009). For further discussion of the gendering of space at tourist resorts, see also the work of Pritchard and Morgan (2000).

3. In 2003, Las Vegas successfully boosted its reputation as a place of forbidden fun by running an advertisement campaign with the slogan, ‘What Happens Here Stays Here’ (Tamara 2009). This slogan has since been used as an invitation for excess at many other nightlife destinations such as Tenerife, Ibiza and Sunny Beach (Thomas 2005).