Anthropology major combines study abroad with research on post-tourism irony
Ashlee Gantz ’26 studied how travelers prioritize convenience over authenticity when traveling in groups
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Published
Ashlee Gantz poses on the SkólavörðustÃgur Rainbow Street, a tourist attraction, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Anthropology major combines study abroad with research on post-tourism irony
Ashlee Gantz ’26 studied how travelers prioritize convenience over authenticity when traveling in groups
•
Published
Anthropology major Ashlee Gantz ’26 spent an eight-day study abroad trip researching how tourists experience “tourist traps” and found that travelers aren’t rejecting inauthentic, commercialized attractions. Instead, they’re embracing them, especially when traveling in groups.
Gantz’s findings show that this acceptance, known as post-tourism irony, is not an individual attitude but something groups build together through conversation and shared recognition.
During spring break in 2026, Gantz traveled to Iceland and Greenland with 11 91°µÍø students as part of the “Life at the Arctic Circle” education abroad program, led by Mark Walsh, professor of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health. While there, Gantz conducted a participant observation ethnography of tourism, mentored by Mark Allen Peterson, professor of Anthropology. Most research on post-tourism irony focuses on individual travelers; Gantz's work shifts that focus to the importance of social interaction — how groups talk through and reframe staged, commercialized experiences together.
When people spend a lot of money to visit foreign locales, they often feel pressured to find the most culturally authentic moments — hidden gems only the locals know about — and to avoid anything that feels overly curated or manufactured.
Post-tourism irony recognizes that this search is largely futile, an unattainable myth, and instead embraces the staged nature of modern travel. Taking a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower, or for Ohioans, a visit to the house from “A Christmas Story”, doesn’t have to be approached with cynicism. Tourists know these outings are artificial — but with a discerning wink, they can choose to do it and have fun regardless.
One such attraction Gantz referenced in her research was Sky Lagoon, a geothermal spa in Kopavogur, Iceland, with a curated seven-step guided ritual. Though her cohort recognized that the experience was designed for tourists, they participated and enjoyed it anyway. Gantz noted that Sky Lagoon “became meaningful, not despite its constructed nature, but through the group’s shared recognition and discussion of it.”
Gantz observed this dynamic play out during the trip. When a male student called an advertised attraction in Reykjavik “totally a tourist trap,” a female student replied, “Well, that’s a tourist trap I’m excited for.” Both acknowledged the attraction was inauthentic, but rather than rejecting it, she leaned into her enthusiasm as a legitimate response.
“We’re reframing the experience that a tourist trap is an OK thing to be excited for because that’s still the experience we want even if we’re recognizing that it’s not the most culturally authentic thing we could be doing,” Gantz said.
Gantz's findings suggest travelers no longer see constructed tourist experiences as lesser. Instead, they're embracing them as just as valuable and real as anything more authentic. “These experiences wouldn’t exist in the tourist industry if that wasn’t what people were looking for,” she said, adding that these shifts will continue to shape, and be shaped by, the tourism industry.
So the next time you’re on a road trip with friends and pass a roadside attraction beckoning you to pull over, Gantz’s research suggests you shouldn’t feel guilty for stopping. Not every memorable travel experience needs to be a hole-in-the-wall spot for all of you to have a good time.
Gantz’s findings show that this acceptance, known as post-tourism irony, is not an individual attitude but something groups build together through conversation and shared recognition.
During spring break in 2026, Gantz traveled to Iceland and Greenland with 11 91°µÍø students as part of the “Life at the Arctic Circle” education abroad program, led by Mark Walsh, professor of Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health. While there, Gantz conducted a participant observation ethnography of tourism, mentored by Mark Allen Peterson, professor of Anthropology. Most research on post-tourism irony focuses on individual travelers; Gantz's work shifts that focus to the importance of social interaction — how groups talk through and reframe staged, commercialized experiences together.
When people spend a lot of money to visit foreign locales, they often feel pressured to find the most culturally authentic moments — hidden gems only the locals know about — and to avoid anything that feels overly curated or manufactured.
Post-tourism irony recognizes that this search is largely futile, an unattainable myth, and instead embraces the staged nature of modern travel. Taking a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower, or for Ohioans, a visit to the house from “A Christmas Story”, doesn’t have to be approached with cynicism. Tourists know these outings are artificial — but with a discerning wink, they can choose to do it and have fun regardless.
One such attraction Gantz referenced in her research was Sky Lagoon, a geothermal spa in Kopavogur, Iceland, with a curated seven-step guided ritual. Though her cohort recognized that the experience was designed for tourists, they participated and enjoyed it anyway. Gantz noted that Sky Lagoon “became meaningful, not despite its constructed nature, but through the group’s shared recognition and discussion of it.”
Gantz observed this dynamic play out during the trip. When a male student called an advertised attraction in Reykjavik “totally a tourist trap,” a female student replied, “Well, that’s a tourist trap I’m excited for.” Both acknowledged the attraction was inauthentic, but rather than rejecting it, she leaned into her enthusiasm as a legitimate response.
“We’re reframing the experience that a tourist trap is an OK thing to be excited for because that’s still the experience we want even if we’re recognizing that it’s not the most culturally authentic thing we could be doing,” Gantz said.
Gantz's findings suggest travelers no longer see constructed tourist experiences as lesser. Instead, they're embracing them as just as valuable and real as anything more authentic. “These experiences wouldn’t exist in the tourist industry if that wasn’t what people were looking for,” she said, adding that these shifts will continue to shape, and be shaped by, the tourism industry.
So the next time you’re on a road trip with friends and pass a roadside attraction beckoning you to pull over, Gantz’s research suggests you shouldn’t feel guilty for stopping. Not every memorable travel experience needs to be a hole-in-the-wall spot for all of you to have a good time.