Responsible tourism before 'responsible tourism'? Some historical antecedents of current concerns and conflicts.
2013; Volume: 6; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2335-4194
Autores Tópico(s)Culinary Culture and Tourism
ResumoThis article discusses the historical antecedents of what is now called ‘responsible tourism,’ taking into account the relationship between this concept and ‘sustainable tourism.’ It uses a comparative case-study methodology to identify and analyse precursors of ‘responsible tourism’ from the mid-eighteenth century onwards. Case studies cover the English Lake District, the English coastal resort of Whitby, the Spanish spa resort of Mondariz Balneario, the development of ‘social tourism’ in Mar del Plata (Argentina), and the Atlantic island of Lanzarote (Canary Islands). Each of the illustrative examples engages with different, but overlapping, aspects of ‘responsible tourism,’ and the article concludes that (despite the perils inherent in looking for the historical roots of a current concept) the approach taken is viable and conducive to a better understanding of the issues, not least because each case displayed its own distinctive complications and cross-currents. The final, extended case-study, which examines the role of the artist Cesar Manrique in the rise of Lanzarote as a tourist destination between the 1950s and the 1990s, provides a particularly satisfying illustration of how the key elements of ‘responsible tourism’ might take root and develop under the right cultural and political circumstances, long before the concept had actually been articulated, and offer a genuine opportunity for policymakers to learn from historical example.
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