Peace through Tourism

Book excerpt: Peace through tourism refers to a body of analysis which suggests tourism may contribute to cross-cultural understanding, tolerance and even peace between communities and nations. What has been largely missing to date is a sustained critique of the potential and capacities of tourism to foster global peace. This timely volume fills this void, by providing a critical look at tourism in order to ascertain its potential as a social force to promote human rights, justice and peace. It presents an alternative characterisation of the possibilities for peace through tourism: embedding an understanding of the phenomenon in a deep grounding in multi-disciplinary perspectives and envisioning tourism in the context of human rights, social justice and ecological integrity. Such an approach engages the ambivalence and dichotomy of views held on peace tourism by relying on a pedagogy of peace. It integrates a range of perspectives from scholars from many disciplinary backgrounds, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), tourism industry operators and community, all united by an interest in critical approaches to understanding peace through tourism. Additionally diverse geo-political contexts are represented in this book from the USA, India, Japan, Israel, Palestine, Kenya, the Koreas, Indonesia, East Timor and Indigenous Australia. Written by leading academics, this groundbreaking book will provide students, researchers and academics a sustained critique of the potential and capacities of tourism to foster global peace.