TOST306 (HAM)
Geographies of Tourism Planning and Development
20 points

Lecturer: Dr Anne-Marie d'Hauteserre and Elaine Bliss
Email: adhautes@waikato.ac.nz and ebliss@waikato.ac.nz

Paper description

Whether it exists in the form of mega-resorts, protected natural areas or adventure tourism destinations, international development agencies and non-governmental organizations, national policy makers and local communities promote tourism development as a means to provide social well-being and economic growth.  This paper will explore what it means to promote, plan and manage tourism, thinking critically about who plans and develops tourism and for whom. 

While tourism is the object of study in this paper, we will think geographically about what development - tourism and otherwise - means for men, women and children in various locations of the world and whether social well being is/was part of the development agenda. We will use a range of perspectives that influence contemporary critical geographic thinking (such as but not limited to post-structuralism, post-colonialism and feminism).

Part I of the paper will examine the original ideology of economic development.  In what ways has the development project succeeded?  In what ways have economic development and globalization failed?  What is “tourism as development”? 

In Part II, we will turn our attention specifically to tourism development, tourism planning and management using empirical examples from projects around the world.  Issues that we’ll look at in this part of the paper include: notions of sustainability, the role of planning in tourism development, and community participation in tourism development, as well as who benefits and who gains from tourism development.

Finally, in Part III of the paper, we will look at rapports between local hosts and their guests and at host responses to what has become a key global industry. 

Throughout, ethics and ethical behaviour issues will be woven into discourses about sustainable (tourism) development.

Required text

Mowforth, M. and Munt, I. 2009. Tourism and Sustainability. London: Routledge available from Bennett’s. There is also a required readings manual to be purchased from Campus Copy. 

Prerequisite(s)

20 points at level 2 in Tourism Studies.

Assessment

Internal assessment/exam ratio is 3:2

Timetable and Organisation:

Refer to the Online Timetable.