Theorising practices of walking in tourism

This chapter discusses the theorisation of practices of walking in tourism and leisure contexts. It begins by examining the theorisation of practices in the context of the mobilities turn in social science and further develops the conceptualisation of walking as a specific social practice. Practice theories have been developed to avoid the structure-agency dualism that has been much discussed in contemporary social science. However, examining walking as practice may also have significant policy and planning impacts as it reveals how such practices may also change in the context of different environments. The concept of practice inherently combines a capacity to account for both reproduction and innovation". The chapter examines the complex relationships between walking and tourism using an example from China. It concludes that practice theories can help to understand not just how people walk but how walking as a social practice may also lead to changes in how different cultures engage with various environments and contexts.