Photography and tourism are widely considered to be intrinsically linked. Photographs play a crucial role in the promotion of tourism destinations, working through a range of media including brochures, television commercials, and picture postcards. Meanwhile the practice of photography is often held to be intimately related to the condition of being a tourist. Urry (1990) links these two phenomena, suggesting that they may constitute a self-reinforcing "closed circle of representation" in which tourist photographs both reflect and inform destination images. Using an innovative research approach combining visitor-employed photography with content analysis and quantitative statistical techniques, this article presents an empirical test of Urry's theory. Mixed evidence is found, suggesting that while in many respects the circle of representation may indeed be at work, in certain other respects it may not be. This suggests that a more fine-grained and nuanced understanding of the circle of representation is required.

Studies of how people react to scandals in the tourism industry are scarce. Based on an online survey (n=1350) and grounded in cognitive appraisal theory, this study examines people?s reactions to a hypothetical breach of ethics at a tourism destination. Results from a structural equation model suggest that the more severe the scandal and the greater the attribution of responsibility to agencies within the destination, the more likely it is that an individual will develop hostile emotions toward the destination. The tourist may then decide to avoid the incident emotionally or to spread negative word of mouth (WOM) about it. The study also highlights the importance of a positive destination image in reducing hostile emotions during a scandal. Moreover, tourists will be more likely to re-visit a destination if they choose to avoid engaging emotionally with a scandal and less likely to do so if they spread negative WOM.publishersversionPeer reviewe