How area tourism blurs the road between scientific, symbolic achievement

On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched six ladies – Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez – on a suborbital journey to the sting of area.

The headlines known as it a historic second for girls in area. However as a tourism educator, I paused – not as a result of I questioned their expertise, however as a result of I questioned the language. Had been they astronauts or area vacationers? The excellence issues – not only for accuracy, however for understanding how expertise, symbolism and motivation form journey immediately.

In tourism research, my colleagues and I usually ask what motivates journey and makes it a significant expertise. These ladies crossed a boundary by leaving Earth’s floor. However in addition they stepped into an issue a couple of symbolic one: the blurred line between astronaut and vacationer, between scientific achievement and curated expertise.

This flight wasn’t simply in regards to the altitude they flew to – it was about what it meant. As business area journey turns into extra accessible to civilians, extra individuals are becoming a member of spaceflights not as scientists or mission specialists, however as invited friends or paying contributors. The road between astronaut and area vacationer is turning into more and more blurred.

In my very own work, I discover how vacationers discover which means in the best way their journeys are framed. A tourism research perspective will help unpack how experiences just like the Blue Origin flight are designed, marketed and finally understood by vacationers and the tourism trade.

So, had been these passengers astronauts? Not within the conventional sense. They weren’t chosen by way of NASA’s rigorous coaching protocols, nor had been they conducting analysis or exploration in orbit.

As an alternative, they belong to a brand new class: area vacationers. These are contributors in a crafted, symbolic journey that displays how business spaceflight is redefining what it means to go to area.

Area tourism as a distinct segment market

Area tourism has its origins in 1986 with the launch of the Mir area station, which later grew to become the primary orbital platform to host nonprofessional astronauts. Within the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, Mir and its successor, the Worldwide Area Station, welcomed a handful of privately funded civilian friends – most notably U.S. businessman Dennis Tito in 2001, usually cited as the primary area vacationer.

Area tourism has since developed into a distinct segment market promoting temporary encounters to the sting of Earth’s environment. Whereas passengers on the NS-31 flight didn’t buy their seats, the expertise mirrors these bought by business area tourism suppliers equivalent to Virgin Galactic.

Like different types of area of interest tourism – wellness retreats, heritage trails or excessive adventures – area journey appeals to these drawn to novelty, exclusivity and standing, no matter whether or not they bought the ticket.

These suborbital flights could final simply minutes, however they provide one thing way more lasting: status, private storytelling and the sensation of taking part in one thing uncommon. Area tourism sells the expertise of being someplace few have visited, not the vacation spot itself. For a lot of, even a 10-minute flight can fulfil a deeply private milestone.

Vacationer motivation

The push-and-pull concept in tourism research helps clarify why folks would possibly need to pursue area journey. Push elements – inside needs equivalent to curiosity, an urge to flee or an eagerness to achieve fame – spark curiosity. Pull elements – exterior parts equivalent to wishing to see the view of Earth from above or expertise the feeling of weightlessness – improve the enchantment.

Area tourism faucets into each. It’s fuelled by the inner drive to do one thing extraordinary and the exterior attraction of a extremely choreographed, emotional expertise.

These flights are sometimes branded – not essentially with flashy logos, however by way of storytelling and design decisions that make the expertise really feel iconic. For instance, whereas the New Shepard rocket the ladies travelled in doesn’t carry a separate emblem, it options the corporate’s title, Blue Origin, in daring letters alongside the aspect. Passengers put on personalised flight fits, pose for pre-flight images and obtain mission patches or certificates, all designed to echo the rituals {of professional} area missions.

What’s being bought is an “astronaut-for-a-day” expertise: emotionally highly effective, visually compelling and wealthy with symbolism. However beneath tourism classifications, these travellers are area vacationers – contributors in a curated, short-duration tour.

Illustration, advertising and marketing expertise

The picture from the Blue Origin flight of six ladies boarding a rocket was framed as a symbolic victory – a girl-power second designed for visibility and celebration – nevertheless it was additionally fastidiously curated.

This wasn’t the primary time ladies entered area. Since its inception, NASA has chosen 61 ladies as astronaut candidates, a lot of them making groundbreaking contributions to area science and exploration. Sally Trip, Mae Jemison, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir not solely entered area – they skilled as astronauts and contributed considerably to science, engineering and long-duration missions. Their journeys marked historic achievements in area exploration somewhat than curated moments in tourism.

Recognizing their legacy is essential as business spaceflight creates new sorts of distinctive, tailor-made experiences, ones formed extra by media efficiency than by scientific milestones.

The Blue Origin flight was not a scientific mission however somewhat was framed as a symbolic occasion. In tourism, corporations, entrepreneurs and media shops usually create these performances to maximise their visibility. SpaceX has taken an identical method with its Inspiration4 mission, turning a personal orbital flight into a worldwide media occasion full with a Netflix documentary and emotional storytelling.

The Blue Origin flight bought a sense of progress whereas mixing the roles between astronaut and visitor. For Blue Origin, the symbolic worth was important. By launching the primary all-female crew into suborbital area, the corporate was in a position to declare a historic milestone – one which aligned them with inclusion – with out the associated fee, complexity or danger related to a scientific mission. In doing so, they generated huge media consideration.

Tourism training

In immediately’s world, area journey is all in regards to the story that will get informed in regards to the flight. From curated visuals to social media posts and press protection, a lot of the expertise’s which means is formed by advertising and marketing and media.

Understanding that course of issues – not only for students or trade insiders, however for members of the general public, who comply with these journeys by way of the narratives produced by the businesses’ advertising and marketing groups and media shops.

One other concept in tourism research describes how locations evolve over time – from exploration, to improvement, to mass adoption. Many types of tourism start in an exploration section, accessible solely to the rich or effectively related. For instance, the Grand Tour of Europe was as soon as a ceremony of passage for aristocrats. Its legacy helped form and develop fashionable journey.

Proper now, area tourism is within the exploration stage. It’s costly, unique and accessible solely to a couple. There’s restricted infrastructure to help it, and firms are nonetheless experimenting with what the expertise ought to appear like. This isn’t mass tourism but, it’s extra like a high-profile playground for early adopters, drawing media consideration and curiosity with each launch.

Advances in expertise, financial shifts and altering cultural norms can enhance entry to distinctive locations that begin as out of bounds to a majority of vacationers. Area tourism could possibly be the following to evolve this fashion within the tourism trade. The way it’s framed now – who will get to go, how the contributors are labelled and the way their tales are informed – will set the tone transferring ahead. Understanding these journeys helps folks see how society packages and sells an inspirational expertise lengthy earlier than most individuals can afford to hitch the journey.

Betsy Pudliner is affiliate professor of Hospitality and Expertise Innovation, College of Wisconsin-Stout. This text is republished from The Dialog.