2003 GLOBAL FRAMEWORKS AND LOCAL REALITIES:
|
 |
CONTEXT
The big debates undertaken by major tourism institutions generally seem to have little space allocated to how the global framework of tourism reshapes social and cultural identities at a local level. Local identities, especially of indigenous peoples and minorities, are seen as part of the tourist product and thus available for consumption. The potentially exploitative nature of tourism may undermine economic justice and contribute to the removal of locally-controlled rates of cultural and identity transformations. On the other hand, it may be argued that tourism can reinvigorate cultural identity through exposure to appreciative audiences thus securing pride and recognition. In addition, tourism is produced and consumed from within complex spatial constructs and geographies that influence how identities are constructed, imagined and experienced. The relationship between identity and tourism is therefore a significant and compelling area for academic debate.
Main aims:
- Identify, synthesise and articulate problem areas
- Applaud best practice in developing tourism and its consumption to benefit indigenous peoples
- Communicate and disseminate alternative responses to potentially destructive and unsustainable consumption of peoples, histories and cultures.
Overarching themes:
- Globalisation, identities, cultures and cultural appropriation
- The role of tourism in social and cultural identity formation
- Social constructions of space and the consumption of meaning