Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Subsequently, studies seeking to disentangle the geographies of tourism work and workers
will go a long way towards reinvigorating Britton's resolve that tourism geographers must
embrace a political economy approach. Certainly, these will allow us to move beyond one of
the serious shortcomings of the 'critical turn', namely its short-sightedness when it comes to
understanding the market-based mechanisms that drive much of tourism development.
Conclusion: economic geographies of tourism
Hall and Page
(Chapter 2
of this volume) suggest that no one paradigmatic approach exists
regarding the geography of tourism. They prefer the phrase 'geographies of tourism' to
capture the proliferation of new theoretical perspectives and research foci that have emerged
in recent years. We use the term 'economic geographies of tourism' in much the same spirit.
Although we sympathise with those arguing that the 'world of work and production' in
tourism has been neglected of late (Bianchi, 2009
; Chapter 5
of this volume; Gibson, 2009;
Judd, 2006), this chapter should not be interpreted as a form of methodological imperialism
or a hegemonic claim for one particular theoretical perspective over another. Instead, it is
important to celebrate the chaos of the different 'turns' mirroring an intellectual growth and
more complex maturation process in the economic geographies of tourism.
