Tourism mobility (in)justice: Exploring lived experiences of cross-border tourists

Tourism is often seen as driver for equality and sustainable development, yet the differential scrutiny tourists face at the border directly challenge this narrative. Using a narrative inquiry, we examine how marginalised tourists with low-ranking passports navigate border-crossing predicaments, despite meeting pre-entry requirements. Findings reveal that marginalised tourists experience border-crossing as a continuous feedback loop between the felt border and the performed border. We demonstrate how borders become imprinted on and internalised within tourists' bodies, producing automatic confessions and obedience. We critique the blurred lines between compulsion and obedience at borders, exposing the contingent nature of travel mobility frameworks. This study advances critical border thinking, highlights ongoing uneven tourism mobilities and calls for humane and equitable travel experiences.