Tourism, Development and International Studies - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 415

launched the Silk Roads Project in 1988 as part of its mandate to 'promote
mutual understanding, tolerance, reconciliation and peace through dialogue'.
The Silk Road linked East and West across Eurasia through trade. In 1994,
the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)established the
Silk Road Program through 25 countries and the tourism concept is set up to
benefit the host communities and tourists. It focuses on marketing and pro-
motion, capacity building and destination management and travel facilita-
tion (UNWTO, n.d). UNESCO also links cities together through their
Creative Cities Network, which aims to get cities to work 'together towards
a common mission for cultural diversity and sustainable urban development'
(UNESCO, 2013b). Social constructivism could also be utilised to examine
different points of view from countries, destinations, host populations or
tourists that are collaborating or competing or perhaps in conflict, which
may have an impact on the tourism development process. Since early 2014,
Venezuela has been the site of mass protests over the economy and crime,
resulting in some airlines such as Air Canada suspending flights to the capi-
tal Caracas (Cripps, 2014). Airlines have also been unable to access funds
earned through ticket sales as a result of tight currency controls in the coun-
try (Cripps, 2014). The Australian government (2014) updated its travel
warnings to the country urging tourists to 'exercise a high degree of caution',
warning about the protests but also stating 'Venezuela has one of the world's
highest crime rates. Violent crime, including murder, armed robbery, kidnap-
ping and carjacking, occurs throughout Venezuela.' Social constructivism
could be used to help illustrate different perspectives on civil unrest and
poverty in Venezuela and its impact on tourism.
Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism, also referred to as postmodernism, focuses on dis-
trusting and exposing accounts of human life that claim to have direct access
to the truth (Baylis et al. , 2011). Post-structuralists reject meta-narratives
which include other theories discussed in this chapter as they claim to have
fundamental truths (Baylis et al. , 2011). In writing on culture, Connor (1997: 8)
states that postmodernism manifests itself in the 'multiplication of centres
of power and activity and the dissolution of every kind of totalizing narra-
tive which claims to govern the whole complex field of social activity and
representation' (Connor, 1997: 8). Baylis et al. (2011) refer to the work of
Foucault who argued that knowledge is not immune to the workings of power
and that power produces knowledge. Power requires knowledge and all
knowledge relies on and even reinforces existing power relations and so
therefore there is no truth outside of power. The example given by Foucault
on power influenced post-structuralists to examine the 'truths' in interna-
tional relation theories and understand how dominant concepts in the vari-
ous theories are based on power relationships (Baylis et al. , 2011).