Margaret Byrne Swain

Gender in tourism

While its contribution to economic and social development is widely acknowledged in the literature, over the years little attention has been paid to how the tourism industry bene ts women and men, as well as to the relation between tourism and gender equality. According to the UNWTO, tourism presents both opportunities and challenges for women, which makes the gender equality perspective highly relevant.

Women producers of ethnic arts.

Abstract Gender dynamics of indigenous ethnic arts production cannot be explained by development theories which predict that either women producers are empowered by economic gain, or exploited by the patriarchal drive of global capitalism epitomized by international tourism. Comparative data on commoditization of ethnicity by indigenous groups indicate that internal (family/community) factors enable womens empowerment, while external (market/state) factors in a stratified gender/class/ ethnicity order limit role options for indigenous women and men to the “same old stuff./rd Whether in homeland or refugee status, the common issue of cultural survival shapes the gender dynamics of “Fourth World” arts production.

Developing Ethnic Tourism in Yunnan, China: Shilin Sani

Yunnan Province is developing scenic, geographically distinct minority areas for tourism including Shilin, “limestone forest” home of the Sani ethnic group. The Sani provide an example of indigenous tourism, a subtype of ethnic tourism differentiated by the control a group exerts in marketing their own culture and territory, resulting in sustainable development. Worldwide, ethnic minorities involved in tourism must face a paradoxical push for change from tourist trade which is based on the expectation that they will stay quaintly “ethnic”. A model of indigenous tourism explores articulation of state political economy, tourism capitalism and local ethnic group economy as a mode of promoting ethnic group maintenance through indigenous control of resources.

An Ecofeminist Approach to Ecotourism Development

This paper raises the question of what an ecofeminist approach may contribute to ecotourism development. It addresses shared discourse in the international literatures of these distinct ecologically based fields of study. Concepts such as sustainability and environmental justice inform both bodies of work. We illustrate this through the words of ecofeminist Vandana Shiva and ecotourism researcher Tej Vir Singh. Uses of ecofeminist-based gender analysis in ecotourism development projects are examined, drawing from the observations of various researchers, and case studies from around the globe. In conclusion, it is argued that an ecofeminist approach asks critical questions for ecotourism development projects, highlighting issues of agency, gender awareness, and equity necessary for ecologically sustainable communities.

Las dimensiones de género en la investigación sobre turismo: Temas globales, perspectivas locales

La perspectiva de genero en los Estudios de Turismo ha evolucionado desde un enfoque de «anadanse mujeres y agitese» a estudios diversos que se apoyan en la teoria feminista plasmada en una fertil literatura internacional. En este articulo empezare revisando y atendiendo a los diferentes significados en disputa de genero en tanto que concepto que sigue inspirando la teorizacion sobre las relaciones entre los hombres y las mujeres, sus identidades y sus actividades. Veremos como las intersecciones del genero con otras formas de categorizar las diferencias como la etnicidad, la edad, la clase, la sexualidad o la nacionalidad se manifiestan en disenos complejos de ideas culturales y relaciones sociales. En nuestro campo, los investigadores analizan los entornos del turismo sexuado y la construccion de relaciones de poder en funcion del genero en los sistemas de turismo. Nos estamos enfrentando a cuestiones que tienen que ver con la etica en el turismo sexual, las desigualdades en la produccion, marketing y consumo del turismo y su disfrute sexuado en funcion de las ideas sobre la masculinidad y la feminidad. Estas preguntas urgentes sobre la equidad de genero se plantean en los contextos de temas globales como la acumulacion de capital, el movimiento de la poblacion, los recursos medioambientales naturales, la tecnologia de la informacion, la cultura popular y la seguridad. Las percepciones de genero locales ofrecen bases para analizar pormenorizadamente estudios de caso y para realizar investigaciones comparativas. A partir de ideas relativas a la encarnacion, un termino bastante frecuente aunque a menudo oscuro, ha ido emergiendo un enfoque fructifero. Los cuerpos representan lo local por excelencia. Aqui, las tensiones globales y locales se codifican y representan en un espacio individual. El articulo termina con una discusion sobre lo que una teoria sobre el cuerpo puede suponer para la produccion de conocimiento en los estudios de turismo, siendo tambien nosotros investigadores corporeos.

Chinese Cosmopolitanism (Tianxia He Shijie Zhuyi) in China’s Heritage Tourism

This chapter explores how cosmopolitanism, a complex of ideas about global citizenship that encompass ethical, political, and trans-cultural issues, is reconstituted in China as tianxia (Confucian, heritage-based worldview) and shijie zhuyi (outward-looking engagement with the changing world). Drawing from case studies in the Stone Forest and Northwest Shangri-la regions of Yunnan, both lauded for strong indigenous cultural identity and ecological sustainability, the chapter argues Chinese cosmopolitanism is a strategic concept useful for all tourism practitioners. It demonstrates that ethnic and ecological heritage tourism development is shaped by Chinese cosmopolitanism, adding a global dimension to discussions of cosmopolitanism and local heritage.