Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
been read by other geographers interested in tourism rather than colleagues in mainstream
geography. The latter group would probably have dismissed the papers as shallow and so far off
current mainstream geography as to not be worth the trouble to react to. One needs to refl ect
how this might relate to current and future positions of tourism geography and/or the geog-
raphy of tourism, as was the task requested by Julie Wilson as the editor of the present volume.
Geography
The fi rst point for discussion is whether it matters if it is Tourism Geography or Geographies of
Tourism. The fact that such an issue is being discussed raises a matter of some personal concern
over both geography and tourism, which is that both subjects seem to suffer from a sense of
insecurity, academic inferiority, and inability to secure and hold their own 'turf ' in the academic
world. This is, I think, a traditional problem with new subjects, Sociology had the same problem
at its inception, and that tourism should be in this position should not be surprising. That geog-
raphy seems to have been stuck in this position for many years seems to me to be absurd and
totally unacceptable. I believe very strongly that there is a geographic or spatial gene and that a
sense of space, place, location is automatic, important and central to those possessing it. As long
as I can remember I have felt like a geographer, and there was never any time, except around my
A levels, that I thought I would be anything else. Then it took one term at university to realise
that fascinating though History was, I really belonged in Geography and there I have remained
ever since, at least in spirit (R.W. Butler, 2010 ). Despite moving into Business/Management, my
outlook did not change and essentially I taught and researched tourism geography in a non-
geography department, which, as some here will be aware, is not always a comfortable situation,
although somewhat less problematic when you are a professor rather than a lecturer.
Some years ago I gave a lecture to the Ontario Association of Geographic and Environmental
Educator s ( h ig h school teacher s i n t hose subject s ). In ret u r n t hey g ave me a sweat sh i r t embroi-
dered with their slogan, one which to me very neatly and concisely summarises what I think
geography is about - 'WHY WHAT IS WHERE'. Or, putting it another way, explaining the
location of phenomena, which may appear to be a terribly old-fashioned viewpoint to some
readers. I have looked with dismay and a feeling of frustration as colleagues (at least in the
sense that we share the same discipline) have moved further and further away from any sense
of space, place or location, and also appear to increasingly deny their vocation as geographers,
if not explicitly, then at least implicitly through their writing. They seem reluctant to admit
to being what they are. So we have economic geographers, urban geographers, cultural geog-
raphers, biogeographers, etc.; perhaps because we know if we say 'geographer' we will most
likely get one of three responses: 'I was never any good at geography', 'I never liked geog-
raphy at school' or 'I am no good at maps'. Living now in St Andrews, of course, I have an
advantage as geography there gained a little more stature when the heir to the UK throne,
Prince William saw the light and moved from History of Art to Geography.
Following a recent conversation and with the aim of generating debate, Julie Wilson
forwarded me a quotation from an anonymous sociologist working in a UK geography
department which stated that 'geography is sociology with space added in'. I would respond
that 'sociology is human geography without the spatial element', i.e. considerably less than the
whole, or even a part of the whole. I can only say that the writer must be working in isolation
or that it is a very peculiar department of geography in which they are working to think that
way. Or maybe it isn't and that is the problem?
The fact remains, however, that most people, including most other academics, do not
know or care what geographers do. So much so that they continually add spatial elements to
