Landscape, Tourism and Meaning

About this book

How do we re-theorize tourism? By drawing less on the Foucauldian notion of 'tourism as gazing' and instead focussing on the social construction of meaning in the landscape, this insightful book provides an innovative and compelling new approach to tourist studies. Arguing that in any view of the landscape and in tourism generally, there is a multiplicity of insider and outsider meanings, the book grounds tourism studies within the framework of social theory, and particularly in the social theoretic approaches to landscape.

Bringing together specialists in tourism and landscape studies to discuss the relationships between the two, it finds that issues of identity are a common thread and are raised with regard to the social construction of landscape and its portrayal through tourism. The international studies range in scale from regional to national, personal to political, and from local residents to international tourists, highlighting the multiplicity of interpretations and meanings between these scales.

Contents

Preface; Landscape, tourism, and meaning, Daniel C. Knudsen, Anne K. Soper and Michelle M. Metro-Roland; Landscape studies and tourism, Charles E. Greer, Shanon Donnelly and Jillian M. Rickley; Identity and landscape: the reification of place in Strasbourg, France, Sean Huff; Landscape change and regional identity in the Copper Canyon region, Yamir Gonzalez-Velez; Mauritian landscapes of culture, identity, and tourism, Anne K. Soper; Slicing the dobish torte: the 3 layers of tourism in Munich, Richard L. Wolfel; A nostalgia for terror, Michelle M. Metro-Roland; The parallax of landscape: situating Celaque national park, Honduras, Benjamin F. Timms; Insiders and outsiders in Thy, Daniel C. Knudsen; Tourism as a reconnection to the Neolithic past: the Tamgaly rock paintings of Kazakhstan, Altynai S. Yespembetova, Jillian M. Rickley and Lisa C. Braverman; Landscape, tourism and meaning: a conclusion, Daniel C. Knudsen, Michelle M. Metro-Roland and Anne K. Soper; References; Index.

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Biography

Daniel C. Knudsen is Professor of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. Charles E. Greer is associate Professor (Emeritus) of Geography and East Asian Languages and Cultures, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. Michelle M. Metro-Roland is a PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. Anne K. Soper is Assistant Professor of Tourism and Events Management, George Mason University Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.