Source link : https://usa365.info/space-tourisms-growth-blurs-the-line-between-scientific-and-symbolic-achievement-a-tourism-scholar-explains-how/
Blue Origin’s NS-31 flight lifted off on April 14, 2025. Justin Hamel/Getty Images
On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched six women – Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez – on a suborbital journey to the edge of space.
The headlines called it a historic moment for women in space. But as a tourism educator, I paused – not because I questioned their experience, but because I questioned the language. Were they astronauts or space tourists? The distinction matters – not just for accuracy, but for understanding how experience, symbolism and motivation shape travel today.
In tourism studies, my colleagues and I often ask what motivates travel and makes it a meaningful experience. These women crossed a boundary by leaving Earth’s surface. But they also stepped into a controversy about a symbolic one: the blurred line between astronaut and tourist, between scientific achievement and curated experience.
This flight wasn’t just about the altitude they flew to – it was about what it meant. As commercial space travel becomes more accessible to civilians, more people are joining spaceflights not as scientists or mission specialists, but as invited guests or paying participants. The line between astronaut and space tourist is becoming increasingly blurred.
Blue Origin’s NS-31 flight brought six women to the edge of space.
In my own work, I explore how travelers find meaning in the way their journeys are…
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Author : USA365
Publish date : 2025-05-19 17:36:00
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