Connection, Place, Transit: Airport Atmospherics and Meaning-Making at Cape Town International Airport

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter considers the non-place of an international airport in the global South as a meaningful space for connection with- and transit to a tourist city. Since the mid-twentieth century, a network of homogeneous and highly efficient international airports has grown to serve as a critical element in the mobility of tourists and the growth of mass tourism. However, there are few studies that examine the distinctiveness or role of these airports in their connection to the tourist cities they serve. Through an empirical study of airport atmospherics and airport user experiences of Cape Town International Airport (CTIA), this chapter considers the deliberate shaping of the airport atmosphere in order to explore CTIA along the continuum of non-place or utopia of globalisation. Results speak to the role of airports in connection, dwelling and transit with/to the tourist city of Cape Town and its tourism places. It is concluded that a unique focus on the tourist city in which it is located brings Cape Town tourism attractions and ‘distinctive’ Cape Town places and landmarks into the space of the airport.KeywordsAirport atmosphericsMeaning-makingNon-placesTourist citiesCape TownSouth Africa