Ethnic and Minority Cultures as Tourist Attractions

Edited by: Anya Diekmann, Melanie Kay Smith

Format:
Hardback
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Paperback, Ebook(PDF), Ebook(EPUB)
ISBN:
9781845414832
Published:
Publisher:
Channel View Publications
Number of pages:
272
Dimensions:
234mm x 156mm
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This book focuses on ethnic and minority communities in urban contexts and the ways in which their cultures are represented in tourism development. It offers a multi-disciplinary approach which draws on examples and case studies of ethnic and minority communities and cultural tourism development from all around the world, including slums in India, favelas in Brazil, Chinatowns in Australia, Jewish quarters in Central and Eastern Europe, ethnic villages in China, the African district of Brussels, the gay quarter in Cape Town and a desert town in Israel. It offers a positive perspective on ethnic and minority cultures and communities at a time when social and political support is lacking in many countries. This book will be a useful resource for those studying and researching cultural and urban tourism, urban planning and development, community studies and urban and cultural geography.

This is an excellent and comprehensive account of a critical field in tourism research, stretching its boundaries to key issues in urbanism, and will appeal to academics and place managers alike. The chapters do a great job of documenting how the sticky mobilities of migrations and diasporas and the fast mobility of tourism juxtapose in – and negotiate – places, in ways that may be subversive or strident, but are ultimately generative of change and discourse.

This book is a vital tool for exploring the complex issues of fostering multiculturalism, celebrating diversity and engaging difference. It offers insights into the interface between ethnic and minority groups, tourists, urban planners and government authorities. The chapters, written by authors from around the world, reveal insights into power, domination and resistance and open up a promising avenue of research.

Tourism is an essentializing practice where complex cultures are compressed for transitory consumption. This can be liberating or oppressive but is always rooted in extant power relations that spill over into the touristic realm. Diekmann and Smith do an excellent job of bringing together international cases that highlight the fine balance between consensual projection of minority cultures or their marginalisation.

I found the book easy to read, free of unnecessary jargon, with a focus on important themes, illustrated by a wide range of examples from many parts of the world. It is a very useful and timely contribution to the literature, could be used as a course text, and provides a foundation on which others can certainly build.

Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 3 Issue 2

Anya Diekmann is Professor of Tourism at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium. Her research focuses mainly on cultural tourism, urban ethnic and slum tourism as well as social tourism.

Melanie Kay Smith is Associate Professor in Tourism at BKF University of Applied Sciences, Budapest. Her research focuses on cultural tourism, community-based tourism, urban development and planning and health and wellness tourism.

Contributors

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part One: Socio-Cultural Developments

1. Negotiating Asian identities in London and other Gateway Cities - Stephen J. Shaw

2. Discovering or Intruding? Guided Tours in the Ethnic District Matonge in Brussels - Isabelle Cloquet and Anya Diekmann

3. The Potential for Roma Tourism in Hungary - Anita Zatori and Melanie Smith

Part Two: Community Perceptions

4. Reflections on Ethnic and Minority Communities as a Tool for Improving Intercultural Change in Tourism - Yvette Reisinger and Omar Moufakkir

5. Shifting Perceptions: Negotiating Place and Space in the Israeli Desert Frontier Town of Mitzpe Ramon - Joshua Schmidt

6. Slum Dwellers' Perceptions of Tourism in Dharavi, Mumbai - Anya Diekmann and Nimit Chowdary

Part Three: Visitor Experiences

7. Would You Be a Favela Tourist? Confronting Expectations and Moral Concerns amongst Brazilian and Foreign Potential Tourists - Bianca Freire-Medeiros and Márcio Grijó Vilarouca

8. China Towns as Tourist Attractions in Australia - Jock Collins Part Four: Development Policies

9. Ethnic Tourism in Rural China: Cultural or Economic 'Development'? - Nelson Graburn

10. Jewish Culture and Tourism in Budapest - Melanie Smith and Anita Zatori

11. Pink Tourism in Cape Town – the Development of the Post-Apartheid Gay Quarter - Esti Venske

Conclusions

Postgraduate, Research / Professional, Undergraduate
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