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“This is a piece of coral received from captain Bob”: meanings and functions of tourist souvenirs

Alain Decrop (Full Professor of Marketing, based at the Department of Administration, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium)
Julie Masset (Research Assistant, based at the Department of Administration, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium)

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

ISSN: 1750-6182

Article publication date: 25 February 2014

1601

Abstract

Purpose

Tourists' special possessions are under-studied in consumer research despite their importance in self-identity development. Furthermore, extant studies about tourist souvenirs fail in providing an extensive and in-depth view of souvenirs, and in exploring both their functional and symbolic dimensions. This paper aims to better and deeply understand the symbols and meanings attached to tourist souvenirs as well as the functions they fulfil in contemporary consumption.

Design/methodology/approach

A naturalistic interpretive approach has been privileged. A total of 19 informants have been interviewed and observed at home in a triangulation perspective. Interview transcripts, field notes, and pictorial material were analyzed and interpreted through the grounded theory approach.

Findings

A new typology of four types of symbolic souvenirs including touristic trinkets, destination stereotypes, paper mementoes, and picked-up objects is developed. The typology is grounded on four major functions souvenirs may fulfil in terms of meanings and identity construction, that is: categorization, self-expression, connectedness, and self-creation.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a better knowledge of tourist souvenirs, which is a typical case of consumers' special possessions that may be central in self-identity processes. Considered as powerful “messengers of meaning”, tourist souvenirs help consumers to maintain material links with cherished past experiences and to convey individual and cultural meanings to their broader existence. Typologies such as the one developed in this paper are crucial not only for researchers but also for marketers and retailers.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Received 1 August 2013 Revised 1 August 2013 Accepted 3 November 2013

Citation

Decrop, A. and Masset, J. (2014), "“This is a piece of coral received from captain Bob”: meanings and functions of tourist souvenirs", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 22-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-08-2013-0051

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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