THE CAMPING SPIR ITTHE CAMPING SPIRIT

A short reserch book about campingBy Eric Palmér

“ P E R H A P S , TOURISM CAN INDEED BE RE-GARDED AS A GOOD SYMBOL FOR HUMAN LIFE AND IT’S REALLY BIG QUESTIONS. “

THE CAMPING SPIRIT

French classification of destinations: Worth a trip, Worth a detour, Worth a visit“Our visit on earth can be seen as worth a detour, and when you are already here, there are a lot of things worth a visit”. – Bengt SahlbergLife can be seen as a long trip where you make detours along the way to experi-ence different tings.

Worth a trip, Worth a detour, Worth a visit

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FROM LOCAL TO THAILAND

CommercializationMany phenomena that were once associated with our home environment are now something we pay to do on vacation. Before fast transportation the rural population swam in their local lakes, and bask in the sunshine at the shore. With trains and cars you could go to other places to swim, to better places. And when they become popular someone could start collecting a fee. Now, with jet planes you can go to Thailand and swim and bask in the sun, and it will cost you a fortune. But it’s still free to swim in the local lake.

The same reasoning can be applied for camping spots. A lot of things that we can do for free at home are something we gladly pay for when we travel. The different between sun basking at home and in Thailand is the packaging, and that’s what you pay for.

VACATION CAMPING

≠INVOLUNTARY CAMPING

TR AVELLING OR LIVING?

It’s easy to look at vacation camping and involuntary camping as two things that have a lot in common. These are however too very distinct phenomena. They may seem a lot alike in appearance but differs a lot in intent. The same goes for a nomadic lifestyle that is often equated with vacation camping. It’s based on very different reasons. One is based on survival, the other on luxury.

Is camping to be seen as travelling or living? Is it the journey that is important, the experience? Or is it perhaps the exchange of ideas with others that is so attractive? Camping is not a unique phenomena, it’s an aspect of travelling which is a more basic the camping. If you want to understand camping you need to understand travelling.

Involuntar y camping

TRAVELLING

RITES

ROOTS

ROLES

ROOTS, RITES, ROLES

Why people travel where they travel

Roots are a big part of our fundamental values and actions. They keep us sta-ble and safe, but also conservative, slowing down development. They are a big part of traveling. Some travel to visit their roots, other to get away from them. Travelers from the north makes up for a big part of the “sun” tourism.

Rites are part of our collective, a way to strengthen the social bonds in our society. Some places get connected with a rite and become a “must travel to” location, both spiritual and profane. Another rite is the summer vacation, traveling is mandatory at least once.

Roles are the social and economical positions we hold in society. They influ-ents the way we travel in many aspects. There is status connected with trave-ling, both privet and in a professional roll. Some professions are even built on traveling. The economical role is probably one of the biggest factors, not only in what you can afford but in what context a person with a certain amount of money will associated with.

Combined Roots, rites and roles to get a deeper understanding of traveling.

JOURNEY DESTINATION

JOURNEY/DESTINATION

When does a journey start and end?

The first part of the journey starts before the travelling. For most people, dreaming is as important as the physical trip. And it doesn’t end with plan-ning and dreaming, after a trip the journey continues with memories and pic-tures, storeys to tell your friends.

This is evident when it comes to hiking, camping and riding. The goal is often not the campsite for the evening but the nature in between. How we look at nature is derived from our roots, rites and roles, and has there for many differ-ent values for different people. Is the journey over when you get on the train home? Or is it when you arrive at your house? Or is it always with us in some ways?