FROM STATUS TO STIGMA: THE DISCURSIVE JOURNEY OF LEISURE TRAVEL DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to explore and illustrate how the societal view of leisure travel is discursively portrayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have taken on a different approach compared to a majority of prior tourism research as we have shifted our focus from major actors within the industry to the contemporary consumer. Thus, our contribution to tourism-related research is that we shed new light on the role of discourses in the travel landscape during times of crisis. Our research demonstrates that there is a divide in public opinion that is mediated through three prominent discourses: the shaming discourse, the justification discourse and the homo economicus discourse. These discourses influence and affect the societal view of leisure travel during the prevailing pandemic, as they, combined, produce a form of stigma around leisure travel. This in turn renders an ethical and moral debate where the appropriateness of leisure travel is questioned and challenged, consequently resulting in an increased polarization and a divide in public opinion. Our findings indicate that the message mediated by the shaming discourse has been manifested as part of the new norm, and that the politically correct view of leisure travel is, during the current conditions, more of a skeptical nature.