Recentering Tourism Geographies In The Asian Century

This book considers what the transition into the Asian Century means for some of the most urgent issues in the world today, such as sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, and environmental change. The book critiques Anglo-Western centrism in tourism theory and calls on tourism scholars to make radical shifts toward more inclusive epistemology and praxis. From the British Century of the 1800s to the American Century of the 1900s to the contemporary Asian Century, tourism geographies are deeply entangled in broader shifts in geopolitical power. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of shifts in tourism geographies and the themes addressed in this volume are more urgent than ever. That the world faces increasing turmoil is abundantly clear. Yet, amidst the disruption to the everyday, it is hope and compassion, but also political-economic restructuring that is needed to reset the tourism industry in more sustainable, equitable, and ethical directions. In no uncertain terms, the pandemic has forever changed the tourism industry as the world once knew it. This book, therefore, sets out to collectively build on the momentum of the inclusive scholarship that Critical Tourism Studies-Asia Pacific is renowned for, while also asking readers to pause and reflect on the possibilities and challenges of tourism in a post-pandemic Asian Century. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Tourism Geographies.

Current Issues in Asian Tourism: Volume II draws together a collection of papers from Current Issues in Asian Tourism (CIAT). CIAT was launched by the editors of Current Issues in Tourism in response to the growing number of papers about tourism in Asia received by the journal and the increasing number of authors from Asian countries. This volume focuses on three aspects of Asian tourism. Firstly, the section on marketing, consumption and demand for Asian tourism includes papers on mega events, creative experiences, World Heritage Sites and pollution. Secondly, a group of papers focus on sustainable Asian tourism destinations including papers on investment, climate change, energy and local food. Finally, there are two chapters on Asian tourism research methods including the use of photography and qualitative methods. The papers in this book were originally published in Current Issues in Asian Tourism.

This Handbook provides a critical analysis of the evolution of the contemporary niche tourism phenomenon. By framing discussions around sustainable development thinking, concepts and practical applications, each chapter provides specific reflections on niche tourism trends, successes and/or failures, and the challenges and opportunities that destinations that pursue tourism as a vehicle for sustainable development face around the world.

Tourism Places in Asia examines the impacts of tourism on places in East and Southwest Asia. Asia has been the most dynamic region for tourism development in recent decades, and tourism research from this region has grown significantly to better understand this phenomenon. The primary focus is on the Chinese realm of mainland China and Taiwan. East Asia has been the most dynamic region for tourism development in the world in recent decades, driven by the growth of both outbound and domestic travel and tourism among mainland Chinese. This reflects the phenomenal change in prosperity that the People’s Republic of China has experienced since the 1970s, as well as the human drive to travel and explore their world. Tourism research has also grown significantly in the Asian continent in recent years. Much of this scholarship is focused on developing the Asian economies to move them from their ‘developing world’ status. Tourism Places in Asia: Destinations, Stakeholders, and Consumption highlights the progress of tourism scholarship in Asia in other areas, especially in the way places are impacted by impacts tourists and the tourism industry. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Tourism Geographies.

This book delves into topics on pilgrimage travel and communities from a variety of perspectives through academic research based on the Middle East, Northeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Europe, where sacred sites have become of great importance for both international and domestic tourism. In particular, Europe and Asia possess a high volume of world-renowned pilgrimage sites that are currently being developed as tourism destinations in their respective countries, such as Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Lourdes (France), and Koyasan (Japan). This book includes studies on these two continents that harbor both a great history of pilgrimage tradition, as well as tourism development related to religious travel. The book importantly covers the role of the community in religious tourism, as well as the impact on the locals, which is comparatively an unexplored area. Whilst pilgrimage is seen as an effective tool to revitalize local economies, this book also reveals the different challenges to achieving this goal. Realizing the importance of the interrelationship of community and pilgrimage travel, as well as the lack of studies on it, this book seeks to address this research gap through 14 chapters divided into two parts, ‘Communities and Constestation’ and ‘Pilgrimage Shaping Communities’. To ensure diverse perspectives, case studies from different Eurasian countries, written by authors with expertise in the study of pilgrimage and religious travel, are included. Readers can expect to gain new perspectives by having a deeper comprehension of the ‘community side‘ of pilgrimage travel in Eurasia, and thus an integral understanding of contemporary pilgrimage

Over the past decade, digital geographies has emerged as a dynamic area of scholarly enquiry, critically examining how the digital has reshaped the geography of our world. Bringing together authors working at the cutting-edge of the field, and grounding abstract ideas in case studies, this Research Agenda looks at the ways in which technology has altered all aspects of society, culture and the environment.

This book provides an in-depth examination of the growing Asian tourism market and consumption in Arctic destinations. Through five parts, the book covers Asian mobilities consumption as an extension of Arctic international politics, the transportation sector and green cruise tourism, and ethnicity, culture, and history. It contributes to further understanding of the impacts of increased tourism in these polar regions by exploring climate change, debates around emerging economies and global power roles in the political, socio-economic, security and legal issues of the Arctic and Antarctic and associated polar strategies and policy. By drawing on a range of disciplines and with contributions from experts in Arctic destinations or who are associated with the Arctic, it further provides a holistic framing of emerging demand and mobility patterns of Asian tourists in a polar context. Asian Mobilities Consumption in a Changing Arctic will be valuable reading for students and academics across the fields of tourism, economics, sustainability, development studies as well as other social science disciplines.

This timely handbook critically examines the development and role of tourism in small Pacific Island states located across Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The volume presents an expansive evaluation of current issues, challenges and potentialities for the 13 self-governing states. Interdisciplinary in coverage and borne of a varied and international authorship, this handbook incorporates 27 specifically commissioned and original contributions. Structured into four thematic sections and embellished with insightful tables and illustrations throughout, the overarching ethos of this volume is to contribute to framing the role of tourism, tourism development and the tourism industry within the context of self-governing Pacific Island states faced with the challenge of pursuing an independent path of development. In doing so, the work highlights and deciphers various tourism development perplexities in the Pacific, examining closely the intersecting sociocultural, geopolitical, environmental, organizational, operational and strategic challenges. This volume, thus, discusses a range of issues: facilitators and inhibitors of tourism growth and development; climate change, ecological concerns, and eco-tourism; non-tourism and undertourism; crisis management and the COVID-19 virus; transportation and tourism infrastructural concerns; tourism policy and planning (including tourism governance); sectoral links between tourism; food and agriculture; gender and micro-entrepreneurship; community management and participation; cultural and natural heritage sites; and the handicraft industry. The work pays critical attention to the various trajectories of sustainable tourism and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the many challenges and concerns raised, the book implicates the importance of good governance, progressive post-COVID-19 recovery strategies and directives, and creative and imaginative options in the successful development, re-development and advancement of tourism. As a definitive reference resource for this subject area, this handbook will be of great interest to students, researchers and academics within tourism, development studies, geography, Pacific studies, sustainability and environmental studies.