Social Tourism At The Crossroads

Social tourism is at a pivotal point. Over the past decade, there has been increased interest and research into social tourism issues, and as a result there is now much greater evidence on the important role that social tourism can play in providing significant benefits for the people supported through social tourism schemes. However, despite these advances and awareness of the benefits of tourism participation in most countries, there is still much confusion and ambiguity about the definition, role, and purpose of social tourism. This comprehensive volume reflects recent shifts in social tourism research by focusing on target groups and the benefits or constraints of these groups in holiday participation. The authors explore the diversity of issues, theories and social contexts that are relevant to social tourism research, offering a range of quantitative and qualitative methods and experimental designs as well as various policy and practice contexts to address policy issues. They also highlight opportunities for greater intensity of research on the importance of policy in advancing social tourism and to stress the fundamental role that social tourism can play in achieving strategic policy goals towards enhancing wellbeing, citizenship, and quality of life in the future. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events.

Maria Gravari-Barbas is Professor of Geography at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. She is also in charge of the IREST (Institute of Research and Higher Studies on tourism) and EIREST (Interdisciplinary Research Group on Tourism Studies). She leads the UNESCO Chair "Culture, Tourism, Development" and coordinates the UNESCO UNITWIN network of the same name. Nelson Graburn is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California Berkeley. He is a founding member of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, the Research Committee on Tourism (RC-50) of the International Sociological Association, and the Tourism Studies Working Group at U C Berkeley, and serves on the editorial board (for anthropology) of Annals of Tourism Research.

This book examines the concept of social tourism within a European context. It places social tourism within a historical context of social development in the region, highlighting the diverse ways in which social tourism has evolved, identifying commonalities and providing a comprehensive definition. The theoretical chapters approach social tourism from a multi-disciplinary perspective linking social tourism to concepts such as social inequality, welfare systems, sustainability, family diversity and mobilities.

This thought-provoking Handbook considers the impact and challenges that social tourism has on people’s lives, integrating case studies from around the world. Showcasing the latest research on the topic and its role in tackling the challenges of tourism development, chapters explore the opportunities presented by social tourism and illustrate the social imperative of tourism as a force for good.

This book explores the dynamic interaction between religion and tourism in the modern world. It considers questions such as: do travellers leave their religion at home when they are touring – and what happens if not? what are the relationships between tourism and pilgrimage? what happens to religious performances, places and festivals that function as tourism attractions? Other chapters examine religious theme parks, wellness and spa tourism, the roles played by tourist guides, guidebooks and religious souvenirs, and the role of tourism as a major arena of religious encounters in the contemporary world. Surveying the growing body of work in the field, Michael Stausberg argues that tourism should be a major focus of research within religious studies.

It is hard to imagine tourism without the creative use of seductive, as well as restrictive, imaginaries about peoples and places. These socially shared assemblages are collaboratively produced and consumed by a diverse range of actors around the globe. As a nexus of social practices through which individuals and groups establish places and peoples as credible objects of tourism, “tourism imaginaries” have yet to be fully explored. Presenting innovative conceptual approaches, this volume advances ethnographic research methods and critical scholarship regarding tourism and the imaginaries that drive it. The various authors contribute methodologically as well as conceptually to anthropology’s grasp of the images, forces, and encounters of the contemporary world.

Social tourism refers to facilitating access to tourism for low income groups and/or the use of tourism as a regeneration and economic stimulation strategy. Although social tourism has its roots in the early 20th Century and is still a major component of the tourism sector in a range of countries, the concept has received relatively little research attention until recently. In this volume, international specialists on social tourism present perspectives on social tourism from different disciplines and geographical contexts. The book highlights the multitude of interpretations and implementations of social tourism that make the concept so multi-faceted: examples reviewed in this book include holiday vouchers in Hungary, charity initiatives in the UK, tourism schemes for senior citizens in Spain and state provision in Brazil. Seven themed chapters and two case studies explore the potential of social tourism from a range of perspectives. Should tourism be a right that is available to all? Is social tourism indispensable in a sustainable tourism strategy? What are the different systems of social tourism supply and demand in Europe, and why do the implementations differ so much between countries? The book provides a critical reflection on these and other questions, and is therefore a key resource for social tourism researchers and practitioners. This book was originally published as a special issue of Current Issues in Tourism.