Abstract
With an increase in tourists originating from Asia, the geographies of tourism have changed considerably in recent decades. Arguably, however, tourism scholarship remains largely Western-centric. In this research note, we focus on one particular area of tourism scholarship where Western-centrism may be especially problematic: tourist culture. As part of this, we draw on a case study of ‘lifestyle travel’ to illustrate the need for more inclusive, diverse and non-Western-centric (auto)ethnographic/(auto)biographical studies in tourist culture scholarship. In so doing, we argue that such studies may be especially useful for capturing the stories of ‘Others’, thus helping to broaden our knowledge base in light of tourism’s shifting geographies.
Highlights
With an increase in tourists originating from Asia, the geographies of tourism have changed considerably in recent decades
Globalization has radically changed the geography of tourism in recent decades and, in particular, contemporary tourism has come to be characterized by increased mobilities among tourists from Asia, notably China and India (Cohen/Cohen 2012; Tucker/Hayes 2019; Tucker/Zhang 2016; Winter 2009)
Given its potential for a diverse range of individual and context-specific experiences, this need may be especially great when it comes to scholarship into ‘tourist culture’ which, in the context of this research note, is something of an umbrella term that broadly encompasses the social and cultural aspects linked to touristic experiences
Summary
Globalization has radically changed the geography of tourism in recent decades and, in particular, contemporary tourism has come to be characterized by increased mobilities among tourists from Asia, notably China and India (Cohen/Cohen 2012; Tucker/Hayes 2019; Tucker/Zhang 2016; Winter 2009). In spite of this shift, tourism literature remains largely Western-centric (Edensor/Falconer 2012; Tucker/ Hayes 2019). The producers of tourism knowledge are largely Western scholars’ Studies such as Edensor/Falconer (2012) and Tucker/Hayes (2019) echo earlier calls from authors such as Pritchard/Morgan (2007) and Winter (2009) for a decentring of tourism scholarship. The case study serves to illustrate the potential usefulness of (auto)ethnographic/biographical approaches in this endeavour
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