In Paris, the Cité de l'Économie is dedicating the exhibition "All Inclusive: Cross Perspectives on Globalized Tourism" to Canadian photographer Kourtney Roy until September 20th. Through some thirty vividly colored and highly staged images, the exhibition examines the hidden side of tourism: behind the turquoise pools, photogenic motels, and ferry crossings, the standardization of destinations, economic imbalances, and the pressure exerted on local areas also become apparent.
A captivating, then suddenly unsettling, imaginary world
Kourtney Roy's selection is far from arbitrary. Her visual style, somewhere between a postcard, cinema, and satire, perfectly complements the subject matter. At Citeco, photographs from films such as The Tourist, Sorry, No Vacancy, and In Between create a mock vacation album where everything initially appears desirable before becoming strange, empty, or artificial.
Invited to speak on France Culture, Citeco director Vida Konikovic summarized this tension by emphasizing that the artist presents "an imaginary of tourism that oscillates between glamour and artificiality, with a great deal of humor." She added that these images also reflect the contradictions of the contemporary traveler, torn between the desire for escape and the confrontation with the "dark side of the coin." This discrepancy is precisely what the exhibition seeks to convey, by contrasting the promises of globalized tourism with its very real effects.
Tourism, an economic powerhouse with serious consequences
The exhibition doesn't just show; it provides context. Speaking on France Culture, Vida Konikovic reminds us that tourism alone represents "10% of global GDP," making it one of the major drivers of the international economy. But this power, she says, comes with numerous "negative externalities," particularly those related to pollution, climate change, mobility, and globalization.
In this economic interpretation, Kourtney Roy's images become gateways to very concrete issues: massive resource consumption, the commercial staging of landscapes, overtourism, and the transformation of places into seasonal backdrops. By creating a dialogue between contemporary art and economic analysis, Citeco has produced a doubly successful exhibition: visually appealing, yet sharp enough to leave a lasting impression on the visitor's perspective on the holiday industry.
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