Tourism in Global Society - by Kevin Meethan (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

There is a wealth of case study material on tourism from a variety of different disciplines, but few attempts to synthesise the broad themes into a coherent analytical framework. This book addresses this problem by analysing tourism in light of contemporary social theory. By focusing on tourism in terms of consumption, commodification, and the political and cultural economy, the relationships between tourism, globalisation, people and place are explored in an empirically grounded but theoretically informed analysis.

From the Back Cover

We are all tourists now', or so it would seem, and tourism is often blamed for destroying other cultures by turning them into mere spectacles for tourist consumption, leading to the erosion of authentic ways of life.

Tourism in Global Society sets out to challenge assumptions such as these, which have often been uncritically applied to the analysis of tourism as a global phenomenon. It investigates the links between the political economy and culture and it provides a critical analysis of key concepts such as alienation, authenticity, the modern and the primitive, and the problem of cultural commodification. By focusing on these issues in terms of the social production of place, culture and consumption, the relationships between tourism, globalisation, people and place are explored.

The text critically examines some of the traditional ways in which tourism has been theorised, and it argues for a reformulation of accepted classifications to take account of the complexities of change, which are as much the product of the localities as they are of globalisation. It calls for a new approach that focuses on the role tourism plays in the dynamics of change and transformation to places and cultures in a globalised world.

Combining a wide variety of examples from around the world with sound theoretical analysis, this important book clearly demonstrates the light sociological perspectives can shed on this area of mass consumption.

About the Author

KEVIN MEETHAN is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Plymouth where he is also Convenor of the Consumption and Representation research group. His current research into tourism policy at both regional and national levels, focuses on issues concerning globalisation, consumption and cultural change.
KEVIN MEETHAN is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Plymouth where he is also Convenor of the Consumption and Representation research group. His current research into tourism policy at both regional and national levels, focuses on issues concerning globalisation, consumption and cultural change.