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Taking a cue from John Lennon’s famous song which calls for the elimination of barriers and exclusion based on class, race, gender and nationalities the emphasis for our 2006 conference is on the progress of tourism as a tool for poverty reduction in poor and economically underdeveloped regions. At a time of increasing mobility, ease of travel and the emergence of new destinations, tourism’s contribution remains shrouded in bad data, misinformation, myths and mystery. Given that the industry servicing “people on the move’ deliver socio-economic benefits is not in question, why is it still so controversial?
CONFERENCE AIMS
The conference aim is very simple: bring together a group of peers to discuss theoretical and practical issues around tourism’s role in development and poverty alleviation.
Among the specific themes included are:
* Global and Local Conflicts in Tourism
* Tourism Corporations and Corporate Social Responsibility
* South-South Solutions to Global Problems
* Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals
* Anthropology in Action
* Economic Exploitation of the Exotic
* New Waves in Tourism Development and Planning
* Tourism and Development Methodologies
* Gender Equality and Participation
* Paradoxes and critiques of ecotourism
* Fieldwork Methodologies
These topics will be of particular interest to many groups including:
* Anthropologists and sociologist undertaking empirical and/or action research at grass roots level
* Development academics
* Cultural geographers
* Human geographers
* Tourism scholars trying to theorise tourism impacts, tourist behaviours
* Area specialists (Asia, Africa, Pacific, Caribbean, Latin America, emerging economies of the new Europe etc.)
* Officials of inter-governmental organizations, development agencies and NGOs who see the potential for tourism as an agent for development
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