Between the everyday and the extraordinary: encounters in the wet market study tour

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the blurring of boundaries between tourism and everyday life, research has increasingly focused on tourism activities occurring within daily life spaces. This paper explores various encounters in proximity tourism through a wet market study tour. It investigates how the mundane practice of ‘roaming through a wet market’ has evolved into tourism encounters that resonate with everyday life experiences. It found that firstly, the wet market, which is typically associated with everyday life, appears unfamiliar and alienating to young parents and children. This unfamiliarity serves as a prerequisite for its transformation from a commonplace activity to a tourist attraction. Secondly, tourism encounters can be created. Organizers intentionally create encounters through interactive activities, fostering difference-based interactions. Thirdly, the proximity tourism encounter can be understood as a process of (re)discovering the everyday and the nearby. Its impacts extend beyond the tourism space, influencing attitudes, practices, and reflections on self, family relationships, and the local environment. The study highlights the group dimension of encounters in family tourism and suggests a shift in encounter studies to focus on relational aspects. It calls for recognizing the interconnected relationship between tourism and everyday life.