This chapter discusses concepts such as ‘border’ and ‘territoriality’ in connection to (working) bodies, to explore the ways that a ‘pandemic body politics’ impacts on tourism workers and work spaces. Because of the exposure to the virus in high touch service sectors, and because of the loss of jobs and incomes, tourism and hospitality workers are affected by the pandemic in very direct ways. In that respect, bodies are not bordered entities, but permeable to both Covid-19 and the social and economic repercussions that follow. The pandemic has made it abundantly clear that social and worker protection is either missing or is insufficient, and insecure forms of employment will perpetually produce precarious bodies in this industry. In light of the above, I suggest a conceptualization of the working body as an open, permeable space in the making, and as an autonomous, unassailable space protected by law and international conventions.
Chapter 12