Traveling for Celebrities: Fandom Tourism and the Creatively Repurposing of Urban Spaces

Abstract

In recent years, celebrity-related travel across cities in China has increased markedly, reflecting emerging trends where consumption converges with production, and emotional attachment intersects with community participation. This article proposes the concept of fandom tourism to address the limitations in existing popular culture and media tourism literature, particularly in accounting for fans’ active cultural and spatial practices. Based on exploratory interviews with Chinese fan travellers, the study identifies key patterns of fandom tourism, examines the affective and community-driven decision-making processes underlying travel behaviour, and explores how such practices contribute to the re-inscription and symbolic revalorisation of urban space. The fandom tourism framework offers a critical conceptual lens for understanding the affective economies and participatory dynamics that shape contemporary popular culture-induced mobility.