Expanded Tourism 101: Tenerife 27th-31st July 2015

Popular tourist destinations usually cater for simple tourist needs very effectively with a mix of food, relaxation, nightlife and so on. This easily translates into a set of unwritten rules that govern what you should do in order to have a good time when on holiday. These rules can be quite narrow and expanded tourism 101 is a five day invitation to break them and re-imagine what tourism can be. You will perform a number of tasks individually and in a group that will turn you into the active creator of your touristic experience and give you something to think and talk about for some time to come. In the spirit of Expanded Tourism it will take place in an atmosphere of enquiry, adventure and fun!

The activities will include:

• way-losing: deliberately and systematically getting lost
• turning walks into stories - finding and developing narratives
• taking and recycling existing tours
• foraging
• night-time exploration
• following people, studying tourists, locals and their interactions
• performing a series of social tasks - taking on new roles and personae
• offering services / opening a temporary shop
• selecting and following phenomena in the town and in nature - creating your own tours
• taking photos and videos of your walks and turning these into blogs, slideshows and movies

The total cost is €200 to include 5 full days of activities. Participants must arrange their own transport to Tenerife and accommodation too, which can be done according to their budget and time requirements. Food and drink is not included in this price, and there will some communal dinners and explorations of Tenerife’s nightlife though these will take expense into account. The maximum number of participants is 8.

The Expanded Tourism activities originate in art and performance exercises but they are suitable for anyone with a sense of adventure, curiosity and willingness to try. The group’s language will be English and some basic level of proficiency is required.   

Enquiries and bookings: info (at) billaitchison.co.uk

Bill Aitchison is a performance artist who specialises in making critically acclaimed alternative tours that re-imagine places. He has shown his performances, videos, photos and audio works widely in theatres, galleries, museums and festival in Europe, Asia, The Middle East and North America, is published and translated in a number of languages and has worked for radio. He has a PhD from Goldsmiths College and is an associate research fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London. www.billaitchison.co.uk