Kodachrome icons: photography, place and the theft of identity

Photography has an ambivalent relationship with tourism. Many destinations visited by tourists have a strong identity and sense of place, which is embodied in the history, physical form and social activity. However, photography selectively extracts from this multifaceted expression and reduces it to a series of icons. This distorts the identity and trivialises the place and contributes to the consuming nature of tourism. The commodification of places to the detriment of its identity is an ethical issue. There are also practical implications: the sensitive use of photography in marketing, supported by local people, should be seen as an essential component of a more sustainable approach to tourism; and the inappropriate choice of visual imagery may reduce the value of tourism and undermine attempts at destination management.