Like a fish in water: Habitus adaptation mechanisms of informal tourism entrepreneurs in Thailand

Erdinç Çakmak, Rico Lie, Tom Selwyn and Cees Leeuwis

Annals of Tourism Research, 2021, vol. 90, issue C

Abstract: This article investigates possible pathways of habitus change by informal tourism entrepreneurs in Thailand. Bourdieu's concept of habitus is depicted as a person's understanding of the world. Do people adapt their worldview in response to only external stimuli? Through ethnographic fieldwork including participant observations and active semi-structured interviews with 53 participants, this paper identifies a classification of four modes of habitus adaptation: (1) Understanding and appreciating the field and its conditions, (2) Challenging core beliefs systems, (3) Applying a practical sense to ‘objective possibilities’, and, (4) Challenging non-reflective dispositions. We argue that charting the modes of habitus adaptation could help policymakers understand the change processes of informal entrepreneurs in the tourism sector and their willingness to change.

Keywords: Habitus change; Bourdieu; Informal tourism entrepreneurs; Ethnography; Social structural change; Thailand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:anture:v:90:y:2021:i:c:s0160738321001407

DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103262

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