The Anthropology of Tourism

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The Anthropology of Tourism

• Tourism and Globalization

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History

• The establishment of tourism as a legitimate
  topic for anthropological study is a relatively
  recent development. 
• Theron Nuñezs Tourism, Tradition, and
  Acculturation Weekendismo in a Mexican Village
  (1963) is often credited as the earliest
  tourism-related article in American
  anthropological literature. 
• He suggested that tourism may be studied within
  the general framework of acculturation. Tourists
  act as donors of culture to regional
  recipients

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History

• Hosts and Guests (1977) a seminal anthology which
  collected work from numerous scholars
• It proved extremely influential in the
  development of an anthropological system of
  tourism studies
• Since the publication of Hosts and Guests there
  has been an explosion of interest in tourism
  within the anthropological communit

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Theory and Themes

• The anthropological literature on tourism has
  been dominated by ethnographic descriptions of
  niche variants of travel
• Studies of tourisms effect on local communities
• Few scholars have focused on developing
  comprehensive theoretical models 

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Theory and Themes

• The most influential approaches in current
  anthropological thinking are H.H Graburns
  construction of tourism as a personal
  transformative experience and Dennison Nashs
  view of tourism as a form of modern imperialism.
• Graburn chose to analyze tourism as a symbolic
  superstructure (ie. Interactions between people)
• Nash has elected to focus his attentions on
  tourisms political and economic aspects

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Theory and Themes

• Dean MacCannells research on identity
  construction and staged authenticity (1973,
  1976) is perhaps more valid to our studies than
  any otherhe was a SOCIOLOGIST
• Staged Authenticity making a modern
  interpretation seem authentic
• Bad examples include period towns like Old Town
  Sacramento which provide only a veneer of
  authenticity.
• Good examples can get quiet elaborate like
  Lincoln's New Salem outside of Springfield, Ill

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History of Tourism

• The elite have always traveled to distant parts
  of the world to see great buildings and works of
  art, to learn new languages, to experience new
  cultures, and to taste different cuisines
• Historically, we can trace such activities back
  to Rome, but without a doubt earlier
  civilizations participated in leisure travel

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History of Tourism

• European tourism may have originated with the
  medieval pilgrimage
• Primarily for religious reasons
• The pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales saw the
  experience as a holiday
• The term itself being derived from the 'holy day'
  and its associated leisure activities

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History of Tourism

• By the 17th century. elite often undertook a
  Grand Tour of European countries
• The sons of the nobility and gentry were sent
  upon an extended tour of Europe as an educational
  experience
• Thus the history of touring

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History of Tourism

• Leisure travel, as we think of it today, is
  associated with industrialization
• Initially, this applied only to the owners of
  production, the economic oligarchy, the factory
  owners, and the traders
• As the middle class expanded and economic growth
  spread through the society, the working class
  began to also take advantage of leisure time

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Tourism Types

• Ethnic Tourism
• Cultural Tourism
• Historical Tourism
• Environmental Tourism
• Recreational Tourism

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Examples of special interest tourism

• Business Tourism
• Convention Tourism
• Culinary / Gastronomic Tourism
• Cultural Heritage / Ethnic Tourism
• Dark Tourism
• Environmental / Eco-Tourism
• Farm Tourism
• Genealogy Tourism
• Health / Spa Tourism
• Religious Pilgrimage Tourism
• Sex Tourism
• Space Tourism
• Sports Tourism
• Volunteer / Service-Based Tourism

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Tourism, a systems approach
Geopolitics, Economics, pop. Movement
Local culture, internal dynamics
Local micro- adaptation
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• Describe the differences in these two beach front
  destinations. Why is the one so popular and the
  other not so popular. Its in the photo small
  details.