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

Front Cover
Melanie Kay Smith, Mike Robinson
Channel View Publications, Sep 12, 2006 - Business & Economics - 272 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.

 

Contents

The Shifting Contexts
1
Cultural Politics Cultural Policy and Cultural Tourism
21
Heritage Tourism Politics in Ireland
36
Heritage Tourism and the Revitalisation of Barony
56
Cultural Tourism and Socioeconomic Development
71
Cultural Tourism Community Participation
89
A Comparison
104
Township Tourism Blessing or Blight? The Case of Soweto
124
Aspects of Authenticity
177
The Process of Authenticating Souvenirs
191
Pataxo Tourist Arts and Cultural Authenticity
203
Dance Performances
215
Interpretation in Cultural Tourism
227
Interpretation in the House of Terror Budapest
244
Implications
257
Engagement
290

A Case
143
Raising the Status of Lappish Communities through
159

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About the author (2006)

Melanie Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Cultural Tourism from the University of Greenwich in London, as well as a Visiting Lecturer in Budapest, Hungary.

Mike Robinson is Professor of Tourism and Culture and Director of the Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds, UK.

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