The Tourism of the Authentic in a Rural Idyll: The Case of a Family Organized Activity in the South of France

Abstract

Ethnography is a multi-method human-conducted examination of what humans do, say, think and believe. As Sherry Ortner flawlessly explains: “ethnography has always meant the attempt to understand another life world using the self – as much of it as possible – as the instrument of knowing.” (2006: 3) My thesis will be devoted to study how people experience alternative lifestyles and new ways of living in rurality, among nature and natural resources. We will meet a Parisian couple Yann and Corinne, with their two daughters, Emma and Camille who decided to move from Paris to the South of France in Eoulx. More precisely, the focus will be on the authenticity of my protagonists’ approach – namely eco-tourism. Their story begins three years ago, when they decided to change their life and adopt an alternative lifestyle in the mountains, surrounded by animals and nature. My research starts there, when they decided to leave urban areas to go to what they imagined as being peaceful and natural rural environments: here is the story of a ‘a journey to a rural idyll’. Mark Schucksmith stated: “Rural studies have highlighted a rural idyll as something to which many aspire, perhaps as a vision of a good place to live or as a repository of values.” It is clear that Yann, Corinne and their two daughters pursued a ‘Quest for Authenticity’ by thinking of the rural as being ‘authentic’ and ‘refreshing’ compared to loud, polluted and sickening urban environments that they left. Indeed, this led them to migrate to the South of France and established an activity based on eco-tourism, namely ‘Destination Ailleurs,’ which aims at inviting their guests to a new destination.