Hugh Wilkins

Hugh Wilkins

Hugh Wilkins is a researcher at Griffith University and the author of the 2011 Journal of Travel Research study of what tourists buy as souvenirs and why.

Who they are

Wilkins studied the purchase of souvenirs from the tourist's side, asking what people buy, what they say the objects are for, and how gender shapes the answers. His finding that souvenirs serve mainly as evidence of the experience is the starting point for the article on why people buy them.

Key papers

Wilkins, H. (2011), Journal of Travel Research 50(3).

Key ideas

Souvenirs serve mainly as evidence of the experience.

Memory and gift-giving are further roles for the objects.

Sources

  1. Wilkins, H. (2011), Journal of Travel Research 50(3), 239-247.