The search for perfection: Examining surf travelers’ construction of the perfect wave

Usher, Lindsay E; Porter, Brooke A

Publication:
The search for perfection: Examining surf travelers’ construction of the perfect wave

dc.contributor.author	Usher, Lindsay E
dc.contributor.author	Porter, Brooke A
dc.contributor.department	Old Dominion University
dc.contributor.department	Auckland University of Technology
dc.date	2023-10-22T23:50:29.000
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-26T21:31:06Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-26T21:31:06Z
dc.date.issued	2018
dc.description	<p>Dr. Lindsay Usher’s research focuses on host communities in coastal tourism destinations. Her primary research investigates surf culture and surf tourism. Other interests include climate change and tourism sustainability. She is an assistant professor of Park, Recreation and Tourism Studies at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.</p> <p>Dr. Brooke Porter explores human interactions with the sea. Her research investigates tourism as a development and conservation strategy in lesser-developed regions. She is postdoctoral research fellow at AUT in NZ and serves as scientific adviser to The Coral Triangle Conservancy, an NGO focusing on marine conservation in the Philippines.</p>
dc.description	Qualitative Research Methods Workshop - Research Papers
dc.description.abstract	The search for the perfect wave, brought into the surfing imaginary by the movie, The Endless Summer, is considered the primary motivation for surf travel. Researchers have examined the ways in which the surf media has perpetuated this concept and driven surfers to remote parts of the world seeking perfect surf. However, much of the literature assumes a similar definition of the perfect wave. Research on surf travelers has found that many surfers agree on the perfect wave size, but there are differences among surfers in the type of wave and surf break they prefer. The purpose of this study is to explore surf travelers’ descriptions of the perfect wave. Using an online survey of approximately 144 surf travelers, it revealed a number of differences in the ways surfers define the perfect wave. The results carry important implications for surf tour operators and destination managers.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/49040
dc.relation.url	https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2187&context=ttra&unstamped=1
dc.source.status	published
dc.title	The search for perfection: Examining surf travelers’ construction of the perfect wave
dc.type	event
dc.type	event
digcom.contributor.author	isAuthorOfPublication\|email:lusher@odu.edu\|institution:Old Dominion University\|Usher, Lindsay E
digcom.contributor.author	isAuthorOfPublication\|email:brooke.porter@aut.ac.nz\|institution:Auckland University of Technology\|Porter, Brooke A
digcom.identifier	ttra/2018/Qual_Research_Papers/4
digcom.identifier.contextkey	11393511
digcom.identifier.submissionpath	ttra/2018/Qual_Research_Papers/4
dspace.entity.type	Publication