Tourism Discourse and Surveillance: Situational Analysis of Post-Katrina New Orleans

Abstract

Following Hurricane Katrina, tropes of disaster relief and recovery were evoked to legitimate swift modifications to public policy in New Orleans. It is well-documented that such policy changes led to increased privatization and gentrification, but also notable is the increase in surveillance that emerged under a discourse of public safety. This research utilizes situational analysis (SA), a critical qualitative method, to examine through the lens of surveillance capitalism, a range of interconnected conditions that shape surveillance strategies within the New Orleans’ tourism complex. Results show the ways in which safety, identity and opportunity discourse is used to support increased surveillance measures and delineates for whom a tourism destination is to be secured and who is to be surveilled.