Understanding How Social Entrepreneurs Fit into the Tourism Discourse

This chapter discusses how social entrepreneurs fit into the existing tourism discourse. It examines four areas of literature in particular, tourism entrepreneurs, sustainability, destination development and intrapreneurship, and analyzes how introducing the concept of social entrepreneurs into these discussions is useful, and contributes to our understanding. Furthermore the paper illustrates that as social entrepreneurs are relevant to a broad range of issues in the tourism literature this should prevent the development of research silos where social entrepreneurship scholars seek out their own vein of research. The nexus of common ground and interests, as displayed in this chapter, should enhance the development of research, thought and understanding of social entrepreneurs within the field as a whole The key argument is that research on social entrepreneurs is not just relevant for those interested in entrepreneurs it also effects our thinking on issues such as destination development, relationships between stakeholders, tourism policy and sustainability. The chapter concludes with a wide range of questions for further research

40 years of tourism studies – a remarkable story

The formal study of tourism as a distinct subject in the academy is about 40 years old, the same age as Tourism Recreation Research. Over these 40 years, it has shown remarkable growth and development and in the process has changed and adapted. This paper, drawing inter alia on the author's own 40 years in the tourism academy and on his writings over the period, plots the past, present and future of tourism studies. The paper begins with the vocational origins and the rapid changes that brought tourism to a kind of maturity to take its place alongside other social sciences as a subject for research and teaching. It then explores the tensions and challenges that it has faced in more recent years as global competition has forced universities to focus more on their finances and reputations. In this environment, influenced by performance against various metrics, the position of tourism in the academy has been challenging. The paper then turns to consider the current problems created by a metrics driven agenda and how there is an opportunity for tourism to meet the needs of a post-industrial world by focusing not on immediate metrics but on the characteristics that tourism offers as a complex area of study

Transmodernity: Integrating perspectives on societal evolution

In this paper! engage with a broad range of literature that provides signals and evidence of an emerging and significant paradigm shift in human evolution. To describe this shift, different authors use a variety of terms, such as the transmodemity paradigm (Ghisi); the transmodern philosophy of political liberation (Dussel); the Hegelian dialectical triad of thesis, antithesis and synthesis (Magda); the reflective/living-systems paradigm (Elgin); partnership model of caring economics (Eisler); relational global consciousness and biosphere politics (Rifkin); love ethics (hooks); and the circularity paradigm of interdependence (Steinem). Reviewing a broad range of perspectives, I will argue that the reason we do not hear more about the emerging socio-cultural, economic, political and philosophical shift described by these authors is because it is not centralised and coordinated under a single unifying name. Hence, I will offer the concept of transmodernity as an umbrella term that ropes together many concepts and tenets to communicate the overall idea of an emerging paradigm shift and the next step in human history. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Dialectics of Authentication: Performing 'Exotic Otherness' in a Backpacker Enclave of Dali, China

This paper explores dialectics of entrepreneurship and cultural consumption in the backpacker tourist enclave of 'Foreigner's Lane' in Dali, Yunnan Province, PR China, focusing on the role of ethnic identities and their representation. The discussion uses the performance metaphor to conceptualise tourism as a carefully staged act and illustrates the context of authentification. The paper focuses on the activities of local entrepreneurs and their construction of 'exotic Otherness' that reflects the preconceptions and demands of identity obsessed backpacker travellers. It is argued that the agency of local entrepreneurs undermine traditional notions of cultural producers as passive victims commodified by the globalised tourism complex

Croatia in the new Europe: Culture versus Conformity

This chapter addresses the most critical issues and implications of EU enlargement for Croatian tourism over the next decade. The first part of the chapter gives a structuralist account of likely and future tourism development. The second part deconstructs the economic (mostly statistical) generalizations in an attempt to unravel the complexity of culture and values that shape tourism processes 'on the ground'. Facing the prospect of joining the EU in 2007, which basically requires conformity to EU governance and economic and social reorganizations, it is argued that the issue of local values, traditions, attitudes and practices is critical