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Key Words origins of tourism, impacts of tourism, alternative tourism, conservation. development
Abstract Tourism is relevant to many theoretical and real-world issues in anthropology. The major themes anthropologists have covered in the study of tourism may be divided conceptually into two halves: One half seeks to understand the origins of tourism, and the other reveals tourism's impacts. Even when taken together, these two approaches seem to produce only a partial analysis of tourism. The problem is that most studies aimed at understanding the origins of tourism tend to focus on tourists, and most research concerning the impacts of tourism tend to focus on locals. The goal of future research should be to explore incentives and impacts for both tourists and locals throughout all stages of tourism. This more holistic perspective will be important as we explore the ways in which ecotourism and other alternative forms of tourism can generate social, economic, and environmental benefits for local communities while also creating truly transformative experiences for tourists.
Tourism has some aspects of showbiz, some of international trade in commodities; it is part innocent fun, part a devastating modernizing force. Being all these things simultaneously, it tends to induce partial analysis only.
Victor Turner, 1974
INTRODUCTION
Anthropologists and tourists seem to have a lot in common. Both spend time exploring the cultural productions and rituals of society, and both carry the status of outsider as they make forays into the lives of others. Though as anthropologists we may be loath to admit any relationship to the sandal-footed, camera-toting legions in our midst, the truth is that tourism can be an ideal context for studying issues of political economy, social change and development, natural resource management, and cultural identity and expression. Indeed, many of the major questions that concern cultural anthropologists appear in the study of tourism.
Using the lens of tourism, anthropologists have asked many questions. What are the cross-cultural meanings of work and leisure (MacCannell 1976; Nash 1981, 1996)? What are the connections between play, ritual, and pilgrimage (Cohen 1972, Graburn 1983, Turner 1982)? What are the dynamics and impacts of intercultural contact between tourists and locals (Machlis & Burch 1983, Nunez 1989, Rossel 1988, Silverman 2001)? How is culture represented in tourist settings,...