Tourism in Development: Reflective Essays

Over the last fifty years, tourism has become firmly established as a development option around the world. Commensurate with this, the study of tourism's developmental role has also expanded significantly. There now exists a broad understanding of the policies and processes, opportunities and challenges that apply to tourism's potential contributions to development. As the tourism environment now faces numerous challenges and transformations, it is timely to reflect on contemporary understandings of the relationship between tourism and development and to consider future directions. As a contribution to a knowledge and understanding of tourism development, this book: Comprises reflective essays written by internationally-ranked scholars and tourism consultants with extensive experience, particularly in developing countries. Considers extant themes, issues and challenges related to tourism and development. Offers a critical and contemporary perspective on the significance of tourism and its role in development. This thought-provoking volume challenges the orthodoxy of tourism and development, highlights past and current events and considers longer term repercussions and developments. It will be a relevant and enduring resource for academics and undergraduate and postgraduate students in tourism.

Peter Dieke is Visiting Professor of Tourism at Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda. He has held prior academic positions at a number of institutions including the University of Nigeria, University of Strathclyde (UK), Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Dubai (UAE), and George Mason University, Virginia (USA). He completed his undergraduate education at the University of Nigeria in 1975, a master's degree at the University of Massachusetts in 1981 prior to his pursuit of a doctoral degree in the field of tourism development at the University of Strathclyde in 1988. Professor Carson L. Jenkins was his doctoral research degree supervisor at Strathclyde. His principal research interest is in the developmental aspects of tourism, focusing on policy, planning and implementation strategies for the developing world, with a regional interest in sub-Saharan Africa. He has published widely in these areas. He has also advised governments and undertaken assignments for several international organizations, most notably the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); the British Council; the African Union etc

Brian King is head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Brian was previously Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He completed his MSc in Tourism at the Scottish Hotel School under the supervision of Professor Kit Jenkins and returned to the School as a lecturer after spending time in the tourism industry. He has published books and articles on tourism marketing, integrated resorts, VFR travel and Asia-Pacific tourism. He is Co-editor-in-chief of Tourism, Culture and Communication.

Richard Sharpley is Professor of Tourism and Development at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. He has previously held positions at a number of other institutions, including the University of Northumbria (Reader in Tourism) and the University of Lincoln, where he was professor of Tourism and Head of Department, Tourism and Recreation Management. He is co-editor of the journal Tourism Planning & Development, a resource editor for Annals of Tourism Research and a member of the editorial boards of a number of other tourism journals. His principal research interests are within the fields of tourism and development, island tourism, rural tourism and the sociology of tourism and his books include Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues (2002, with David Telfer) Tourism and Development in the Developing World (2008, with David Telfer), Tourism, Tourists and Society, 4th Edition (2008); The Darker Side of Travel; The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism (2009, with Philip Stone); Tourism, Development and Environment: Beyond Sustainability (2009); and Tourist Experience: Contemporary Perspectives (2011, with Philip Stone). A further collection on tourist experiences, The Contemporary Tourist Experience: Concepts & Consequences, was published in 2012, and a second edition of Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues, was published in 2015.