Smart Crime Tourism as Multilayered Cultural Encounters: Exploring Aarhus via Locative Media and Crime Narratives

TY - JOUR

T1 - Smart Crime Tourism as Multilayered Cultural Encounters

T2 - Exploring Aarhus via Locative Media and Crime Narratives

AU - Bengesser, Cathrin Helen

AU - Waade, Anne Marit

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - This article investigates the trend of smartphone-enabled screen tourism based on the findings from practice-based research carried out during the development and testing of the locative screen tourism experience ‘DETECt Aarhus’. This work shows how smart screen tourism can facilitate multilayered cultural encounters because it can provide a multifaceted perspective on locations and can motivate people to explore local culture. App-guided tours enable the embodied and emotional experiences of traditional screen tourism, but in a more flexible way that eases the crossing of thresholds between the material space and fictional places of crime stories. The testing of the DETECt Aarhus app’s pilot version further highlighted that popular crime narratives and smart tourism technology can address a broader group beyond fans of specific crime media. In addition, visitors with no previous connection to (local) crime stories can use apps to encounter the destination as a material space, fictional place and site of cultural production.

AB - This article investigates the trend of smartphone-enabled screen tourism based on the findings from practice-based research carried out during the development and testing of the locative screen tourism experience ‘DETECt Aarhus’. This work shows how smart screen tourism can facilitate multilayered cultural encounters because it can provide a multifaceted perspective on locations and can motivate people to explore local culture. App-guided tours enable the embodied and emotional experiences of traditional screen tourism, but in a more flexible way that eases the crossing of thresholds between the material space and fictional places of crime stories. The testing of the DETECt Aarhus app’s pilot version further highlighted that popular crime narratives and smart tourism technology can address a broader group beyond fans of specific crime media. In addition, visitors with no previous connection to (local) crime stories can use apps to encounter the destination as a material space, fictional place and site of cultural production.

KW - CITIES

U2 - 10.1017/S1062798720001155

DO - 10.1017/S1062798720001155

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1062-7987

VL - 29

SP - 635

EP - 650

JO - European Review

JF - European Review

IS - 5

ER -