In defence (or praise) of tourism: an agreement Peter Smith Director of Tourism St. Mary’s University United Kingdom e-mail peter.smith@stmarys.ac.ukTourism Advocacy Agreement • March 16th, 2024
Professor Sharpley’s introductory essay is a welcome defence of tourism and a timely reminder that in academic studies the vilification of mass tourism has been the normative discourse for some time. Such is the extent of (mass) ‘tourism bashing’ the view taken by key critics of mass tourism cited by Prof. Sharpley, such as Poon (1993) and Croall (1995), will be familiar to tourism students everywhere. Tourism it seems is characterised as a sinner against host communities, the environment and what economic benefits it brings are minimal at best. In contrast in its various alternative and ethical forms tourism is frequently seen by academics and observers as a means to solve many of the developing world’s problems; not so much sinner as an answer to prayers. This contribution is less a rejoinder to Prof. Sharpley’s defence of tourism, which this author would endorse wholeheartedly, but more a call to be even bolder in our defence of tourism.
