The flying Kiwi: travel as a cultural icon

Abstract

In international tourism studies little attention has been paid to how different types of travel are portrayed in tourists' home countries, despite the fact that travel experiences are often culturally determined. Tourism and travel are embedded in the popular culture of many countries; media and cultural representations of travel can dictate which destinations are popular and influence many characteristics of the travel experience. One such travel experience is the 'OE' (overseas experience) of young New Zealanders. An OE is an extended overseas travel experience undertaken by young New Zealanders. Commonly, participants stay away for several years and, from a base in London, engage in periods of work interspersed with travel. With annual departures of around 15-20,000 people the OE has significant economic and social impacts on New Zealand. Over five decades a cultural tradition has become established and, despite the OE being a travel experience that occurs outside New Zealand, it has become a cultural icon in New Zealand. The role and importance of the OE as a cultural icon can be understood from a variety of perspectives. Key to its importance is that the acronym 'OE' is used as a noun. This 'naming' process is a significant linguistic development which gives the OE institutional status in New Zealand culture. Through processes of lexicalization the OE has acquired an accretion of descriptors and gained conceptual integrity. Put simply, the OE was a concept for which a new word was needed. The OE appears across a wide array of cultural forms as it features in the news, in advertising, in the arts and in literature. Common themes emerge in these expressions of the OE, themes that absorb both perceptions of national identity and personal challenges as a form of cultural 'rite of passage' tourism. New Zealanders 'fly up' from 'down-under' to be part of the larger world; how this 'flight' is practised is also determined to a large extent by the expressions of OE that appear in New Zealand. Continual reinforcement of London as the OE 'destination', along with descriptions of other OE characteristics, ensures the continuation of the OE in its understood form. Less concrete, but equally important is the way in which this representation of a cultural icon reinforces New Zealanders' national identity and sense of belonging through overseas travel.