Abstract
This chapter addresses the inadequacy regarding the author presence in tourism academic discourses, particularly in Asian qualitative research, and sheds light on the alternative paradigm within tourism studies. This is done through the interactions which took place during the fieldwork in New Zealand, between Chinese working holidaymakers (WHMs) and me, a researcher from Mainland China. Through an autoethnographic approach, this research explores the reflexive accounts of my experiences in the “field” and how they link with the working and traveling experiences of Chinese WHMs. It is argued that acknowledging the presence of the author and his reflexivity presents a potential way to generate tourism knowledge while integrating with the “emic” perspectives from the research participants. Moreover, my active participation in the “field” and my presence and reflexivity in the text further contribute to the ongoing discussion and debate in tourism discourses.
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Zhu, H., Tucker, H., Duncan, T. (2018). Working and Traveling in New Zealand: A Reflective Narrative in the Field. In: Mura, P., Khoo-Lattimore, C. (eds) Asian Qualitative Research in Tourism. Perspectives on Asian Tourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7491-2_8
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