Last weekend I took a road trip to the Grand Canyon. While the formation was undoubtedly stunning, I quickly realised that I was more excited by the idea of visiting the Grand Canyon than the visit itself. It was the Grand Canyon’s toponymy rather than its topography that really impressed me.
Duncan Light’s article Tourism and Toponymy: Commodifying and Consuming Place Names highlights the role of names in enhancing or sometimes even creating touristic interest in a place. This is evident in the Grand Canyon which, were it not for its glorious moniker, would probably only receive a fraction of the visits. Indeed, while Light (2014: 144) cites Urry and Larsen’s (2011) point that a tourist site is defined by being ‘in some way, out of the ordinary’, he argues that names play an essential role in highlighting this.
Thus one not only visits a canyon but the Grand Canyon, along with all the imaginaries its name has assigned it. This inevitably causes a feeling of anticlimax when a place is unable to meet these expectations or imaginaries. Looking back I believe this was the case when visiting other landmarks in the past few months, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Central Park in New York to name just two examples. While each of these sites is of course physically stunning and deeply fascinating, it was more their names that I found myself consuming. This can ultimately be quite unfulfilling when you realise there is little tangibility behind a name.
Contrastingly I found the drive to the Grand Canyon a far more satisfying experience. Without the added pressure of a hyped up name, I was able to enjoy the surrounding beauty for what it was rather than what I or others expected it to be. This has been a valuable lesson and I hope that next time I experience a popular landmark or event I will be able to look beyond its name allowing me to fully appreciate what makes it so special.
References
Light, D. (2014) ‘Tourism and toponymy: commodifying and consuming place names’, Tourism Geographies, 16,1, 141-156.
Urry, J. and J. Larsen (2011) The Tourist Gaze, London: Sage.
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| View of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim |
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| Taking in the American spirit on the road |
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