Narrative analysis in tourism: a critical review

ABSTRACT

Narrative analysis is a methodological approach that has gained popularity in the social sciences in the last 30 years. Yet, this method of inquiry has been relatively neglected by tourism scholars. While some work in tourism employs narrative analysis, there are no studies that explore the specific types of narrative analysis privileged by tourism scholars. Also, little is known about the paradigmatic beliefs that inform narrative analysis in tourism. This paper presents a critical analysis of the studies employing narrative analysis in tourism. More specifically, this work examines all the articles published in tourism and hospitality journals to identify the types, paradigms, and methods privileged by tourism scholars using narrative analysis. Overall, the results reveal that while most of the studies privilege thematic analysis as approach to narrative analysis, a conspicuous number of articles do not refer to any specific methodological approach. Moreover, this work shows that tourism scholars tend to neglect important contextual aspects of narrative work, such as researcher’s reflexivity, narrator’s biographies, interactional terrain, and situational context. The findings of this study are important as they provide guidelines and recommendations that tourism scholars willing to employ narrative analysis in their future research endeavours could take into consideration.

KEYWORDS:

• Narrative analysis in tourism
• narratives
• types of narrative analysis
• tourism qualitative research

Notes on contributors

Dr. Paolo Mura is a Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Programme Director of the Postgraduate Programmes at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. His research interests include tourist behaviour, gender, young tourists, and deviant behaviour on holiday and qualitative approaches to research.

Dr. Saeed Pahlevan Sharif is a lecturer and data analyst at Taylor’s Business School, Taylor’s University, Malaysia. His main area of interest and consultancy includes data analysis, modelling, cultural studies, and corporate governance.