Gazing or performing? Reflections on Urry's tourist gaze in the context ofcontemporary experience in the antipodes

This article develops a critique of aspects of Urry's 'tourist gaze' throug h an analysis of contemporary tourism in New Zealand. We argue that the met aphorical basis of the gaze seems to lie in the experience of tourism in Eu rope among particular classes of tourists. In that situation, tourists spen d a considerable amount of time looking at historical landscapes and relate d interpretative sites/sights. By contrast, both international and domestic tourists in European settler societies such as New Zealand participate in active forms of touristic recreation; thus gazing is only one component of the tourist experience. This leads us to suggest that a better metaphorical approach to tourism is to talk about the tourist performance, which incorp orates ideas of active bodily involvement, physical activity and gazing.