Moral gaze at literary places: Experiencing being the first to worry and the last to enjoy at Yueyang Tower in China

This study examined the literary tourism phenomena at Yueyang Tower in China using a multi-method approach. The concept of moral gaze emerged from the analysis of a combination of data about touristic provision and experience at this site and relevant Chinese traditions. The moral gaze can be seen as a general way of thinking, feeling and acting that involves morality. It is reflected in at least five interrelated aspects in the Yueyang Tower case, including: the moral function of literature, the emphasis on the moral character of the writer, the moral inference from nature usually expressed in literature, the moral cultivation of the visitor self and the society, and the place as moral symbolization. This concept of moral gaze contributes to the understanding of literary tourism and the attractiveness of a destination, and may be used to help improve tourism product development and interpretation to create more meaningful experience. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.