A touristic habitation: automobilities of Chinese driving tourists

As an emergent tourism sector, driving tourism connects car use and touristic activities intimately. Following the notion of the �inhabited car�, this article explores how and why Chinese tourists inhabit a travelling car for drivers/passengers in the leisure automobility and driving tourism context. Through three different road trips and �mobile methods�, it was found that Chinese tourists inhabit the car in four ways: driving, gazing, listening, and communicating. Through this embodied habitation, the car is turned into a �touristic inhabitation� space for protecting the tourists generating touristic emotions_social interactions, and tourism meanings. The study contributes to automobility and tourism literature and provides implications for driving tourism development in China.