THE APPROACH

Rethinking responsible tourism

Drawing on the critique of ideology elaborated by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, in this conceptual paper we rethink responsible tourism. More specifically, in line with Žižek’s argument that ideology is closely linked to reality and not a dreamlike illusion, we reconceptualise the ideological character of responsible tourism. This ideological character, we propose, is fundamentally rooted in real global issues, and often inadvertently and implicitly sustains the mechanism of modern global capitalism. 

Although responsible tourism has been a powerful unifier among tourism stakeholders, we argue that its critical conceptual considerations have not yet been given sufficient robust reflection. Hence, in this conceptual paper, we rethink responsible tourism through the lens of ideology contributing to further knowledge about this topic. In doing so, we analyse two key policy documents: the Cape Town (2002) and Kerala (2008) Declarations from which the term of responsible tourism originated. 

Following Žižek’s critique of ideology, we aspire to shape more inclusive and effective sustainable and responsible development as advocated by the Sustainable Development Goals and responsible tourism stakeholders. Furthermore, the novel interjection of the Žižekian concept of ideology to the context of responsible tourism opens up new theoretical possibilities for critical tourism studies.

Discourses of growth

Using a corpus of seven European national tourism policy documents, this research examined the language used to resolve the apparently conflicting goals of economic growth and social and environmental sustainability. The detailed discourse analysis, using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, found wide-scale appropriation of the term ‘sustainable’, but no definitions or operationalisation. In fact, there was no acknowledgment that growth and sustainability were conflicting priorities, but ‘sustainable’ was used to give a hint of ecological sustainability, while actually meaning ‘sustained’ in phrases such as ‘sustainable growth’ and ‘sustainable development’. Thus ‘sustainable’ is appropriated to suggest continued growth, rather than reflecting the finite limits of ecological and societal sustainability.

Economic goals were portrayed as instrumental to communities’ wellbeing, without evaluation, while environmental sustainability was depicted as instrumental to maintaining tourist demand. A variety of linguistic devices were used to normalise and promote economic growth, including up/down metaphors and associating growth with good health and thriving and a lack of growth with poor health and looking for recovery. Countries’ competitive aspirations militate against cooperative action to reduce the environmental damage caused by international tourism. The findings illustrate how language supports neoliberal hegemony while paying lip service to sustainability.

Indigenous communities and sustainable development

Tourism has been considered a tool for sustainable development (SD) of rural/indigenous communities living within natural protected areas (NPAs) since the 1980s. This article examines the use of tourism as an SD intervention in the management of NPAs. 

Based on the theory of social change and on the realist methodological approach to social research, the study focuses on the case of Mexico. It seeks to establish causal chains to identify mechanisms that trigger (un)expected outcomes within a specific sociocultural context. The research distinguishes between the development of tourism, and SD through tourism. 

Preliminary findings from ongoing research in the indigenous community of Sta. Cruz Tepetotutla in Oaxaca, Mexico point to the necessity for an alternative approach to the design, application and assessment of tourism interventions. It is argued that specific contextual features trigger mechanisms that lead to (un)expected outcomes. Considering traditional social organisation is fundamental to achieve improvement in collective well-being, biodiversity preservation and cultural heritage. 

The article seeks to help decision-makers improve their outcomes from interventions, and to generate further discussion on the use of tourism for the management of NPAs, and on the role tourism can play in the improvement of the living conditions of the communities.

Small businesses with social goals

This paper adds to previous conceptualisations of lifestyle entrepreneurship in tourism by framing the identity construction of such enterprises in terms of their ethical commitment to global issues, social and economic inequalities, and radical criticism of neoliberal capitalism. 

The study addresses a gap in the tourism studies literature which usually conceptualises entrepreneurs as either commercially oriented or lifestyle oriented. Such dichotomies do not easily accommodate entrepreneurs who are driven by a set of values associated with ‘doing good’. A linguistic narrative analysis – combined with features of structural narrative analysis – is used to reveal three prominent entrepreneurial identities among a group of values-based Italian entrepreneurs: the intellectual and educational, the professional and entrepreneurial, and the empathic ‘free speech’. These entrepreneurial identities challenge several assumptions about entrepreneurship in small non-commercially oriented tourism firms, thereby revealing some key theoretical and practical insights.

Small businesses, social justice and global citizenship

In this paper we focus on the relationship between justice and tourism and the tension between consumerism and citizenship within the context of small values-based tourism firms. We combine Foucault’s concept of parrhesia, the speaking of “truth to power”, with Latour’s Actor-Network Theory to show how those businesses are situated in an interconnected world, where the global/local distinction is flattened. 

This qualitative study adopts a narrative approach which consists of in-depth, unstructured interviews with owner-managers of small Italian tour operators. This research suggests that small firms largely make sense of themselves as global citizens; ‘truth-tellers’, pursuing justice in response to the 21st Century’s crises and challenges. In this scenario, alternative tourism forms of production and consumption centered on human beings and their roles in society become central. Thus, we advocate for the emergence of ways to resist capitalist forms of tourism through collective acts of activism.

outputs and recognition

1. Elisa Burrai, Dorina-Maria Buda & Davina Stanford (2019) Rethinking the ideology of responsible tourism, Journal of Sustainable Tourism,27:7,992-1007,DOI:10.1080/09669582.2019.1578365
2. Kate Torkington, Davina Stanford & Jo Guiver (2020). Discourse(s) of growth and sustainability in national tourism policy documents. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(7): 1041-1062. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.17206 95
3.  Warnholtz, G., Ormerod, N. and Cooper, C. (2021). The use of tourism as a social intervention in indigenous communities to support the conservation of natural protected areas in Mexico. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1860069
4.  Lucia Tomassini, Xavier Font & Rhodri Thomas (2020). Narrating values-based entrepreneurs in tourism. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2020.1793991
5.  Lucia Tomassini, Ian Lamond & Elisa Burrai (2021) Global Citizenship & Parrhesia in Small Values-Based Tourism Firms, Leisure Sciences, DOI:10.1080/01490400.2021.1874574