Maximiliano E. Korstanje

Tourism and terrorism: conflicts and commonalities.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore why tourists continue to visit troubled and often violent nations, even when there is perceived risk. Tourism and terrorism reflect very different philosophies, but there are also some disturbing commonalities. Both need modern technology to be effective, both rely heavily on media management and both require the manipulation of perceptions and attitudes.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses historical evidence to examine the rise and fall in world travel and tourism demand related to acts of terrorism.Findings – The paper observes that the Caribbean experienced a 13.5 percent decline in US visitors after the 9/11 terrorist attack in the USA and this led to the temporary loss of an estimated 365,000 jobs.Practical implications – The paper considers the fact that Jamaica suffers the equivalent of one 9/11 incident each week in terms of the percentage of the population killed by organized crime and gangs. It concludes that crime does not have the same...

Reconsidering cultural tourism: an anthropologist's perspective.

After returning home from fieldwork on the Guarani reservation in Misiones, Argentina, the author was approached by one of his colleagues and asked about the difference between ethnography and ethnic tourism. The immediate response was, what do you mean by ‘ethnic tourism’? After a moment of silence, he responded that, to him, ethnic tourism meant people traveling to interact with indigenous people and experience their lifestyles and customs. This thought process brought about the interest in writing this reflective research note. This short opinion piece teases out the importance of aboriginal peoples and their culture as heritage attractions and proposes the role of anthropology in creating conditions of neo-colonialism in the tourism context.

Being lost: tourism, risk and vulnerability in the post-‘9/11’ entertainment industry

This study explores the ways in which the post-‘9/11’ film industry employs tourism as a plot that re-creates mythical imageries of the ‘West’ in relation to a radical ‘other’. Reflecting on sociological and psychological concepts of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘risk’, the authors undertake a content analysis of four ‘horror’ or ‘terror’ films and reveal complex discourses linked to nationalist sentiment, political ideology, the power of expertise and public insecurity in the post-‘9/11’ USA. One interesting feature of the current horror-movie genre is the extent of violence and sadism exerted on Western tourists going abroad. Drawing on the image of the tourist as victim, the authors further discuss the tensions between mobility, hospitality and hostility, not only as a means to create cinematic suspense, but as underlying expressions of insecurity in the currently unstable global settings.

Filosofia Do Turismo: Teoria e Epistemologia

Taking advantage from the lack of studies regarding the epistemology of tourism, Alexandre Panosso Netto brings to us his book entitled Philosophy of Tourism reedited in 2011. Basically, he addresses the question of to what extent do we understand what tourism means? In order to respond to this issue, Netto’s goals are not only to review carefully the state of the knowledge, but also to show the importance of philosophy in tourist-related studies. The evolution of tourism encompasses three stages, ranging from pre to post paradigmatic facet of transformation. This book is based on the idea that phenomenology has served to explain the tourist object, transcending what has been proposed by other paradigms. Unfortunately, the episteme of tourism keeps on being an open debate whose results and goals confuse scholars and researchers. To what extent philosophy may contribute to address this issue seems to be one of the aspects Netto would like to resolve. To this end, Netto acknowledges that tourism is an activity enrooted in history and subject to countless variables. In view of this, the tourist represents a subject, which is historically re-framed. This process is not flat, but it is in ongoing change. The ‘being tourist’ is founded on its experience. The journey delocalizes the ontology of worker cutting its existent in two, before and after its tourist-experience. However, the process of identity takes room only by means of time that confers meaning to the events. Therefore, tourists are more than objects, they exhibit a self-negotiated construction with others non-tourists. Starting from the premise that tourism resulted from an ancient human practice, Netto convincingly reminds the reader of the urgency to re-define the boundaries of the discipline beyond the hegemony of management and marketing. This is a good point, of course, to consider the enrichment of the discussion up to date. Nonetheless, as we will see, his tendency to consider phenomenology as the only valid methodology not only blurs the limits between object and agent, but also legitimates involuntarily the hegemony of marketingrelated pseudo studies in the scientific research. These pseudo-scientific disciplines made personal interviews and questionnaires their primary technique for gathering information. We need an epistemology and we need it now. This interesting book has two parts, which may be separately read. The first corresponds with the problems tourism must face to be considered a formal scientific discipline. In this section, we see the erudite formation of Netto, combining not only a valuable enriched knowledge but also a complete revision of studies about the already published works in tourism and hospitality. From Jafari to Ritchie, more than a dozen theories are placed under the lens of scrutiny. Second, Netto prefers to advance in the fields of phenomenology of tourism considering the following important points:

Constructing an American fear culture from red scares to terrorism

Building on the work of social analysts who have identified the emerging culture of fear in the USA, this article argues that the current fears about terrorism derive from deliberate campaigns by the world capitalism’s elites. It traces the history of political scares since the late 19th century to show an evolution from red scares to terrorism. While acknowledging the complexities of cultural constructions, the obsession with terrorism is shown as an outgrowth and offspring of earlier, anti-communist hysterias in the USA.

Commentaries on our new ways of perceiving disasters

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help readers gain more understanding of the new phenomena of terror, risk, and threat perception.Design/methodology/approach – Various authors are reviewed: Castel, Beck, Baral, Kellner, Sabada, Korstanje, and in particular, Baudrillard.Findings – Several matches are found among the reviewed authors which comprise, for example: late modernity (from 1970 to date) witnesses an increase of fears, panic, and risk assessments in social imaginary; these concerns are part of a process that opens the future to the contingency. That way, the decision‐making process in human beings sheds light on certain aspects of life such as health, body‐care planning but this has a dark side; even though the modern state is in charge of warranting the stability and security, external dangers override their capacities of response. An emergent sentiment of anxiety arises whenever human relations collapse.Originality/value – This paper is an interesting commentary from an anthropologist/so...

Challenging the negative images of Haiti at a pre-visit stage using visual online learning materials

ABSTRACT Post-conflict destinations can struggle to attract visitors because of their negative image. Research addressing this remains limited. The same can be said about the education of tourists. This research paper contributes to the literature in both areas as it examines the proposition that the education of tourists at a pre-visit stage using online, game-based material could be effective in challenging the negative perception of these destinations. From a destination management point of view, this paper offers an alternative to existing promotional material as there is little evidence at the moment that existing strategies are effective. From a conceptual point of view, this paper contributes to the very limited academic research in Gamification by adding the fact that Gamification can be a very efficient tryvertising tool if using subtle and implicit marketing elements.

Reconnecting with poverty: new challenges of disaster management

Purpose – It is clear that poverty can be a key factor to take into consideration at time of potentiating or mitigating the unexpected aftermaths of disasters. In some extent, the degree of vulnerability created by poverty leads scholars to preclude material conditions of life plays a pivotal role in disaster rebuilt. Nonetheless, the present paper aims to explore precisely the connection between the false conceptualization of poverty as pathways towards the conditions of disasters with the disaster in such.Design/methodology/approach – This thesis is that the poverty is a humanitarian disaster often intellectualized as cause of disaster in order for real liable actors not assume their faults. The conceptual contributions of this paper pave the pathways for the advent of a new debate in disaster and recovery issues.Findings – This paper questions the classical idea that poverty plays a positive role in the process of recovery after a disaster paving the pathways for the triggering of a hot debate in disas...

An Essay on the Social Costs and Benefits of Technology Evolution

Abstract After the Chernobyl’s and Three Miles’s accidents, the relation between technology and risk started to be questioned. Social scientist posited considerable criticism against technology and how its interventions may engender new dangers. However, these views ignored the fact that risks are not just a result of technology, but also depend upon the trust and knowledge. Any risk, first, should be defined as a narrative which is enrooted in a previous cultural and stereotyped framework. By itself, technology is only an instrument employed in different directions. This essay review explores the limitations and approaches of two senior sociologists who delved in the study of risk and climate change, Cass Sunstein and Anthony Giddens.

Falklands/Malvinas: a re-examination of the relationship between sacralisation and tourism development

The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas, in Spanish) are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located approximately 250 nautical miles from the coast of mainland South America. This paper examines the relationship of Argentina and the UK with the Falklands as well as the pervasive role played by dominant ideologies in this dispute. In addition, the widely held principles of sacralisation and touristification of places are re-examined in the context of Falklands tourism development. Previous theorists assumed that the process of sacralisation historically precedes tourism development, enhances attractiveness and generates more tourism demand. The Falklands case provides counter evidences to such claims. For most Argentines, Malvinas are a sacred symbol of nationalism. Yet, Argentine tourists visiting Malvinas are very few in number.