Local impression of tourist photographing: A perspective from Iran

Abstract

The current study discusses the impression of local people towards tourist photographing in three heritage villages of Iran. A qualitative face-to-face interviews were undertaken of 65 respondents through snow-ball sampling technique. Unlike previous tourist photography literature where photos taken by tourists were analyzed (photographers' perspectives), in the current study authors brought up the impression of local residents in tourist photography. The results showed that locals had disgust feeling when they have been photographed without permission. They, moreover, were afraid of photo misuse and called for application of ethical codes in tourist photographing. Locals were not happy of their heritage commodification, although some advocated of earning revenue through tourist photographing. The findings also cleared out that locals felt proud when they appeared in tourist-local shared photos. The study enhances knowledge and understanding of local impression in tourist photography specifically in a part of the world which has been relatively neglected.