Music tourism is becoming more and more popular. But what is it that these people are looking for? And in what way can music lead to tourism? Leonieke Bolderman, PhD Candidate at ESHCC. did research into 'musical topophilia': the love for a location where you seem to get closer to the intangible nature of music. NWO wrote an article about her study entitled Musical topophilia. A critical analysis of contemporary music tourism. Bolderman will defend her research on Thursday 22 March.
Tourism versus music
For her research, Bolderman spoke to dozens of tourists, tourist office employees and tour guides, NWO writes. Not only did she ask them questions about their touristic visits, but she also questioned them about their 'travel music' - music that they collect on Spotify and take with them while traveling.
Zoutelande as an example
The article of NWO mentions the current hit from the Dutch band Bløf called 'Zoutelande' as an example. The Tourist Office of Zeeland makes grateful use of this song, which describes the atmosphere of Zeeland and thereby encourages listeners to take a look at the coastal place Zoutelande. That is despite the fact that the song is just a Dutch cover from a German hit, which describes Frankfurt an der Order.
According to Bolderman this example demonstrates 'that music can very concisely and persuasively shape a local identity, as a result of which music and the place become interwoven. Certain music can feel as if it is inextricably linked to specific locations, whereas actually this connection is constantly being made by us as listeners, helped by text and image, and within a certain sociocultural context. That process is what makes music tourism so interesting.'
- More information
Read the full article from NWO on their website.
- Related content
