This collection of key articles from the most influential journals and books in the field examines what social scientists mean by the term tourism, and what it means to be a tourist. Carefully selected and introduced by the editor, this material charts the sociological changes that have occurred in tourism, and the change from the upper-class grand tours of the late nineteenth-century to the mass tourism of the present day. The collection also assesses the economic impacts of tourism on local economies, environmental considerations, and whether the growth of tourism is sustainable in a post-September 11th world. "Tourism: Critical Concepts in the Social Sciences" is an accessible and comprehensive resource designed for academics and scholars researching in tourism, globalization, and human geography.

With the exponential rise in leisure mobility, tourism has increasingly become of great economic significance. Cultural heritage, such as museums, churches, historical landscapes, urban parks, and exhibitions attract many visitors and countries, regions and cities which house such historic-cultural amenities have seen increasingly large waves of tourists. While an avalanche of tourists has a positive impact on the local economy, such modern mass tourism also brings about negative externalities such as congestion, decline in quality of life, low access to cultural amenities and loss of local identity; to the extent that the sustainability conditions of a locality might be endangered. This tourism dilemma is particularly pronounced in cities with a rich cultural past, such as Venice, Naples and Amsterdam. Bringing together an interdisciplinary team of leading scholars from North America and Europe, this book examines the interface of local cultural resources and modern mass tourism from a sustainability perspective. It puts forward innovative methodologies and best case practice for future cultural conservation policies.

Although there has been an increasing interest in rural tourism in terms of research, training and teaching in recent years, its conceptualization and the relationships between concept and strategy are still poorly represented and not well understood. The need for such a critical understanding is particularly crucial as rural areas experience rapid change, and as tourism is viewed as a key element of development and regeneration. This volume provides an interdisciplinary approach to new directions in rural tourism, drawing on the latest conceptual thinking and evolving strategic roles. It brings together case study exemplification from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Spain, Slovenia, Poland, New Zealand and the Caribbean. It debates such key issues as sustainability and niche marketing. The book thus provides accessible material drawn from a range of environmental and cultural contexts and focuses attention on the nature and interrelationships between local and global issues in rural tourism and development.

With the emphasis on small enterprises, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of what is happening across Europe in terms of sustainable development objectives and sustainability in the context of tourism supply. Each contribution in this edited collection addresses specific aspects of tourism enterprise activity within the overall context of policy and practice aimed at improving environmental performance. A series of broader issues are examined such as EU environmental policy and initiatives as they relate to tourism, social issues such as equity and employment, and transport, followed by detailed examples of specific case studies. Well-informed and based on current research this book is informative and invaluable to any one studying tourism and hospitality today, particularly those involved directly or indirectly in the fields of policy, planning and development.

This book offers international perspectives on the economic, social, geopolitical, and environmental implications of COVID-19 on tourism, an unprecedented situation for this sector. It considers the challenge of making the tourism industry more resilient to such crises and the future sustainability of tourism. Contributions explore the changing dimensions of tourism marketing post-COVID-19; the rising challenges in tourism education and ways to handle the crisis; the impact of the pandemic on tourism governance; and the emerging ethical issues of stakeholders’ responsibility. The book will be useful for researchers, students, and practitioners in the fields of tourism, geography, and crisis management disciplines.

Over the last two decades, tourism has become firmly established as a recognized field of study and the focus of extensive academic research. There has been continual expansion in the provision of taught programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level, dramatic developments in the tourism literature and a growing community of tourism academics. Despite this explosion in the study of tourism, however, it is still struggling to achieve wider academic legitimacy, it remains to some extent divorced from the industry upon which it is focuses and, even within its academic ranks, there remains uncertainty over its role and future direction. This volume aims to critically explore this paradoxical situation and to consider the future direction of the study of tourism. It charts the development of tourism as an area of study, analyzing approaches taken from an international context; it critiques contemporary epistemologies of tourism framed around the social science vs. management dichotomy and offers alternative approaches to the study of tourism. In doing so, it engages directly with a range of important academic debates: what tourism ‘is’ in an academic context, the purpose of studying tourism and how it should be studied in the future. This important and stimulating volume will have global appeal to higher level students, academics and researchers within tourism and related disciplines.

Tour guides, a highly responsible group of professionals who are in direct communication with tourists traveling around the world, have a great impact on the proper promotion of the culture of countries, global peace, and tolerance. Additionally, they are also effective in the preservation of world natural heritage. Thus, the educational status of tour guides, as well as the characteristics and ethical values that they should possess, need to be examined on an international scale. In today’s world, where tourism demand is directed towards all types of tourism, practices in special interest tourism should be customized in order to ensure the highest level of service quality and cultural appreciation. Cases on Tour Guide Practices for Alternative Tourism provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of the occupational issues that surround tour guides and their applications within international tourism. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as cultural education, specialized learning, and international business, this book is ideally designed for tour guides, travel agencies, tour managers, tour developers, heritage sites, museums, academicians, researchers, students, industry experts, and hospitality professionals.