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Marketing Mardi Gras: Commodification, Spectacle and the Political Economy of Tourism in New Orleans

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  • Kevin Fox Gotham

    (Department of Sociology, Tulane University, 220 Newcomb Hall, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA, kgotham@tulane.edu)

Abstract

Recent urban scholarship on the rise of the tourism industry, place marketing and the transformation of cities into entertainment destinations has been dominated by four major themes: the primacy of `consumption' over 'production'; the eclipse of exchange-value by sign-value; the idea of autoreferential culture; and, the ascendancy of textual deconstruction and discursive analyses over political economy critiques of capitalism. This paper critically assesses the merits of these four themes using a case study of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. The analytical tools and categories of political economy are used to examine the rise and dominance of tourism in New Orleans, explore the consequences of this economic shift and identify the key actors and organised interests involved in marketing Mardi Gras. 'Marketing' is the use of sophisticated advertising techniques aimed at promoting fantasy, manipulating consumer needs, producing desirable tourist experiences and simulating images of place to attract capital and consumers. The paper points to the limitations of the 'cultural turn' and the 'linguistic turn' in urban studies and uses the concepts of commodification and spectacle as a theoretical basis for understanding the marketing of cities, the globalisation of local celebrations and the political economy of tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin Fox Gotham, 2002. "Marketing Mardi Gras: Commodification, Spectacle and the Political Economy of Tourism in New Orleans," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(10), pages 1735-1756, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:39:y:2002:i:10:p:1735-1756
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098022000002939
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Annette Hastings, 1999. "Discourse and Urban Change: Introduction to the Special Issue," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(1), pages 7-12, January.
    2. Allen J. Scott, 1997. "The Cultural Economy of Cities," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 323-339, June.
    3. Michael Storper, 2001. "The Poverty of Radical Theory Today: From the False Promises of Marxism to the Mirage of the Cultural Turn," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 155-179, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Getz, Donald & Page, Stephen J., 2016. "Progress and prospects for event tourism research," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 593-631.
    2. Erwin Van Tuijl & Leo Van den Berg, 2016. "Annual City Festivals as Tools for Sustainable Competitiveness: The World Port Days Rotterdam," Economies, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-13, May.
    3. Sofield, Trevor & Guia, Jaume & Specht, Jan, 2017. "Organic ‘folkloric’ community driven place-making and tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1-22.
    4. Luo, Fen & Moyle, Brent D. & Bao, Jigang & Zhong, Yongde, 2016. "The role of institutions in the production of space for tourism: National Forest Parks in China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 47-55.
    5. Avraham, Eli & Daugherty, Daniel, 2012. "“Step into the Real Texas”: Associating and claiming state narrative in advertising and tourism brochures," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1385-1397.
    6. Yuko Aoyama, 2009. "Artists, Tourists, and the State: Cultural Tourism and the Flamenco Industry in Andalusia, Spain," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 80-104, March.
    7. Rickly, Jillian M. & Clouser, Rebecca, 2019. "Spectacle and adventure philanthropy," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 158-160.
    8. Jaelani, Aan, 2017. "Event and festival in Cirebon: Review of shariah marketing mix," MPRA Paper 78624, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 Apr 2017.
    9. Pier Luigi Sacco & Guido Ferilli & Giorgio Tavano Blessi, 2018. "From Culture 1.0 to Culture 3.0: Three Socio-Technical Regimes of Social and Economic Value Creation through Culture, and Their Impact on European Cohesion Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-23, October.

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