Tourism, Development and International Studies - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 412

based in the UK, is well-known for its campaigns to end the injustices in
tourism. Human rights and tourism as discussed in Chapter 13 have links to
liberalism (see Snyder, 2004). Liberalism could also be used to examine the
role of tourism in the emerging democracy of Tunisia. Tunisia was the first
country to spark the uprisings that would lead to the Arab Spring in late 2010.
In January of 2014, Tunisia signed a new constitution into law, enshrining
freedom of religion and women's rights (Associated Press, 2014). The tourism
industry in Tunisia is incorporating the new democracy and constitution as
part of its new image to attract tourists (Lynch, 2014).
Cosmopolitanism
Cosmopolitanism is concerned with the equal moral status of every
human being (Held, 2010). Held (2010: 69) outlines a set of eight principles
of cosmopolitanism that can be universally shared and form the basis of the
protection and nurturing of each person's equal significance in the 'moral
realm of humanity' as '(i) equal worth and dignity; (ii) active agency; (iii) per-
sonal responsibility and accountability; (iv) consent; (v) collective decision-
making about public matters through voting procedures; (vi) inclusiveness
and subsidiarity; (vii) avoidance of serious harm; and (viii) sustainability'.
While Held (2010) does call for a universal approach, he does state that there
is a need to recognise cultural specificity in interpreting and implementing
cosmopolitan prescriptions and ideals.
In a variety of countries there have been protest movements, from the
Arab Spring to food riots in 2008 when global rice shortages coincided with
dramatic increases in staple food prices resulting in food riots in the Middle
East, North Africa and South Asia (Ahmed, n.d.). Moynagh (2008: 7) exam-
ines political tourism within the context of cosmopolitanism. She argues that
'political tourism can contribute to our understanding of what enables (or
impedes) social justice work across transnational borders as well as radical
inequalities and cultural differences between groups of people across the
globe . . . If cosmopolitanism is an ethos to be embraced, then it is so by virtue
of its proximity to the practices of solidarity that political tourists strive to
engage in'. Solidarity tourism, justice tourism or tourism designed to assist
those in need can be examined in volunteer tourism or the approaches offered
through pro-poor tourism which again has links to liberalism. One company,
Political Tours, is offering a trip to Ukraine in 2014 to investigate the recent
crisis, and other excursions have been made to examine the US election,
Scotland's independence vote, Greece's financial troubles, as well as North
Korea and Libya ( The Economist , 2014). Higgins-Desbiolles (2008) makes the
argument that justice tourism not only tries to reform the inequalities and
damage of contemporary tourism, it also attempts to chart a path to a more
just global order. She also states that 'various forms of alternative tourism
including ecotourism, sustainability, peace through tourism and pro-poor