Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
what extent, for example, are women 'in charge' of their own and the family's activities and
experiences on such holidays?
Regarding gender and tourism demand more broadly, the contemporary emphasis on the
body in tourism research is a promising development (see Edensor and Falconer, Chapter 9 in
this volume). Tourism concerns much more than imagery, imagination and a 'state of mind';
tourists perform in gendered bodies . More research is needed on the relationship between
bodies and places in tourism, for example, on the dis-ease caused by being of the 'wrong'
gender within gendered space, or on the downgrading of the importance of place by the pre-
eminence of bodily need. With regard to studies of embodiment, the intersection of gender
and race/ethnicity is an important subject for more attention, while the relationship between
gender and age remains largely unresearched. Where it has been addressed, the focus has
tended to be on young men and women, while surprisingly little attention has been paid, as
yet, to older women tourists, despite their numerical and economic importance in certain
sections of tourism activity (independent travel and voluntourism, as well as the more stere-
otypical coach trips and cruise tourism).
With respect to tourism imagery, it is important to see whether the new interest in 'ethical'
tourism is matched by a corresponding concern for the manner of representation of places and
people, and in particular their gendered imagery, or whether the tourism industry is merely
paying lip service to ethical developments through commercial necessity. Are pro-poor
tourism and voluntourism directed at projects that seek to enhance women's community
status, or are the same old representations of traditional work patterns and domestic roles still
employed in attracting participants? How do changing gender relations infl uence the ways in
which tourism places and spaces are represented?
Finally, there is a need for the further development of theory relating to gender, space and
tourism that will challenge the (gender-neutral) bias of existing models of tourist motivation,
experience and satisfaction, as well as those analysing tourism development and impacts.
Clearly there are many research topics that need future attention in order to understand better
the relationship between gender and tourism.
 
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