Cultural Tourism in a Changing World: Politics, Participation and (re)presentation

Front Cover
Melanie K. Smith, Mike Robinson
Channel View Publications, 2006 - Business & Economics - 303 pages

At the interface between culture and tourism lies a series of deep and challenging issues relating to how we deal with issues of political engagement, social justice, economic change, belonging, identity and meaning. This book introduces researchers, students and practitioners to a range of interesting and complex debates regarding the political and social implications of cultural tourism in a changing world. Concise and thematic theoretical sections provide the framework for a range of case studies, which contextualise and exemplify the issues raised. The book focuses on both traditional and popular culture, and explores some of the tensions between cultural preservation and social transformation.

The book is divided into thematic sections - Politics and Policy; Community Participation and Empowerment; Authenticity and Commodification; and Interpretation and Representation - and will be of interest to all who wish to understand how cultural tourism continues to evolve as a focal point for understanding a changing world.

From inside the book

Contents

The Shifting Contexts
1
Cultural Politics Cultural Policy and Cultural Tourism
21
Heritage Tourism Politics in Ireland
36
Copyright

14 other sections not shown

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2006)

Melanie Kay Smith (PhD) is an Associate Professor, Researcher and Consultant whose work focuses on urban planning, cultural tourism, wellness tourism and the relationship between tourism and wellbeing. She is Programme Leader for BSc and MSc Tourism Management at Budapest Metropolitan University in Hungary. She has lectured in the UK, Hungary, Estonia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as being an invited keynote speaker in many countries worldwide. She was Chair of ATLAS (Association for Tourism and Leisure Education) for seven years and has undertaken consultancy work for UNWTO and ETC as well as regional and national projects on cultural and health tourism. She is the author of more than 100 publications. Mike Robinson is Professor of Tourism and Culture and Director of the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds, UK.

Bibliographic information