Discourse on space and place in the Blue Lagoon reviews

Wellness tourism often evokes a space for relaxation. However, in-person experiences sometimes fall short of that expectation. Incorporating the concepts of space and place in Expectancy Discrepancy Theory, we examine how tourists construct their reviews of Blue Lagoon Iceland (BLI). Using discourse analysis, we study 1130 one-star and two-star TripAdvisor reviews between 2009 and 2024. Our analysis shows how reviewers built their complaints against BLI, making explicit comparisons between space and place. Instead of being a relaxing space, reviewers noted four anti-wellness aspects. The place is overcrowded, unhygienic, and full of visitors taking selfies and engaging in hedonistic activities. Collectively, reviewers used these complaints to explain their in-place experience disappointments in BLI as a space for relaxation.