Gazing from above, dwelling in two places: A post-phenomenological inquiry into tourist-drone on-site experiences

Abstract

Drones have moved from the tourism industry's operational toolkit into tourists' own hands, yet how they reshape the on-site experience of travel remains under-theorized. Using Ihde's post-phenomenology as a framework and abductive thematic analysis as the procedure, this study draws on 30 in-depth interviews with 34 tourists in China. Participants' accounts point to a perceptual configuration we term split embodiment, in which perception is distributed between a body on the ground holding a controller and a camera in the air. We specify it as a configuration running across Ihde's four relations, defined by three criteria: co-presence of a control loop and a representational loop, heteronomous rhythm, and authored self-objectification. Three findings follow from this specification. First, the screen operates simultaneously as viewfinder, instrument panel and allocator of liability, which accounts for the frequency of relational transitions. Second, transitions are triggered by device, environment and institution rather than elected, and they can fail, an outcome we call relational lock. Third, the configuration is conditional on proficiency, equipment, terrain and weather, crowd density, companionship and institutional setting. The study contributes to tourism experience research by reframing the drone as a constitutive mediator rather than a neutral tool, and by extending post-phenomenological vocabulary toward the dynamic, technologically mediated visuality and embodiment of contemporary travel.