Cultures of Mass Tourism
Doing the Mediterranean in the Age of Banal Mobilities
Pau Obrador Pons author Mike Crang editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:21st Sep '09
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
With more than 230 million international tourists a year, the Mediterranean region is the largest tourist destination in the world. This book outlines that its economic importance is matched by its significance as a cultural and aesthetic phenomenon. Through a series of ethnographic insights into some of the key sites of mass Mediterranean tourism, it focuses on package tourists' experiences of the serial, banal and depthless spaces that are mushrooming along the coast and the enchantments, dissolutions and dreams that saturate them. Moving away from the notion of authentic places corrupted by mass tourism, the book shows how new forms and spaces are made and remade by the mobilities and performances of locals, workers and tourists. Finally, the book looks at the complex materialities of mass tourism and the many networks that make it possible.
'This collection offers refreshing new perspectives. Exploring the mix between steady routines and the carnevalesque, as well as the skills of handling fleeting transnational encounters, it shows how important it is to take what may seem as the banalities of tourist life very seriously. The result is a fascinating cultural analysis of contemporary life.' Orvar Lofgren, University of Lund, Sweden 'Tourism in the Mediterranean has never received the academic treatment it truly deserves - until now. This book is theoretically astute, substantively rich and spatially diverse. A perfect research tool or teaching text.' Adrian Franklin, University of Tasmania, Australia 'Cultures of Mass Tourism excellently brings out the significance of bodies, beaches and the banal to the making and remaking of the complex and corrupted Mediterranean, the world's largest destination for international visitors.' John Urry, Lancaster University, UK 'The volume represents a nexus of cultural anthropology and human geography and is an excellent addition to existing literature on the cultural anthropology and geography of tourism, and brings the literature up to date with timely examples and current references...a highly enjoyable read.' Annals of Tourism Research
ISBN: 9780754672135
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 453g
192 pages