Book reviews

Landscape, Tourism, and Meaning, Daniel C. Knudsen, MichelleM. Metro-Roland, Anne K. Soper, Charles E. Greer (Eds.), AshgatePublishing Limited, USA/Aldershot, 176 pp., Hardback, ISBN:978-0-7546-4943-4: £ 50.00

This nicely edited book, part of a series on ‘‘New Directions inTourism Analysis’’, sets the level of ambition high from the veryonset, where it is stated that ‘‘the purpose of this book is to re-theorize tourism.’’ If that goal is actually achieved can be questioned,but it definitely offers the reader a journey through a fascinatinglandscape of theories and approaches that are mostly relevant totourism. The volume is dedicated to Jane Zaring, claimed to be thefirst to explore the nexus of landscape, tourism, and meaning in1977, examining artists’ impressions of Wales in late 18th century.The chapters of the book are based on contributions to two sessionsat the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographersin Philadelphia, March 2004.

In the introductory chapters, a critical assessment is made ofUrry’s ‘‘tourist gaze’’ as well as of Foucault’s model of power exertedthrough ‘‘gazing’’ at objects. Lefebvre’s notion of space beingproduced by society underlies much of the writing throughout thevolume, in parallel with establishing an insider–outsider frameworkto describe the cultural and social processes taking place in land-scapes affected by tourism. The concept of parallax, reasonablyapplied in the chapter on Celaque in Honduras, offers a more gradualchange from one extreme to another. The concept of landscape ismostly addressed from the vantage point of cultural or human geog-raphy, partly in the tradition of Sauer’s Landscape Geography, withlimited excursions into the neighboring field of landscapes ecology.Still, while tourism can have fairly rigid definitions, as practice and asbusiness, even when the role of the ‘‘tourist’’ is questioned (Perkins &Thorns, 2001), landscape is more of an impalpable concept, that canonly be made operational with immense efforts.

The elusiveness of landscapes is reflected in the selection of sitesand regions for the case studies, (eight in all), which make up themain body of the volume. Four are from Europe, three of these inurban settings, one a rural region, two sites are in Central Americaand finally one from Kazakhstan in Asia and one from Mauritiusoff Africa in the Indian Ocean. In the urban settings, intense discus-sions on the meaning of individual buildings, streetscapes andmonuments can take place, typically in as part of struggle to stagea past suitable for current ethnical and political power patterns (Nor-kunas,1993). This is clearly illustrated by the examples from Munichand Budapest. The recurrent theme of insider–outsider is well illus-trated in most of the chapters, probably most clearly spelled out inthe examples from Celaque in Honduras and Thy in Denmark (whichhas been designated the country’s first national park since the publi-cation of the book). Together they also provide a nice contrast of thechallenges facing landscape management at regional level, fornature and environmental services as well as for tourism, in thirdand first world countries respectively. In some of the chapters thelinks between landscape, place and actual, ongoing tourism is ratherspeculative. Surely, some potential for development of touristrelated activities and adding layers of experience can be asserted,

but how it affects the destination, economically and environmen-tally is only sporadically addressed. The chapter on Mauritius isbased on innovative research and provides useful insight in therole that sites and attractions maintained for tourism can play inthe evolution of ethnic and national identities. Some more thematicmaps or sketches would have been useful, in particular for the moreexotic sites – keeping in mind that drawing a tourist map is also partof defining and conquering space and place (Pickles, 2004, chap. 4).This reader consulted Google Earth a number of times duringreading of the book, an activity found to actually inform and supple-ment the text well. The importance of suitable geographic scale isnoted in chapter 4 on the Mexican Copper Canyon region. Takenliterally, that observation ought to have been applied to improvethe town maps in the same chapter, which are hard to interpret(although this could be due to difficulties in reproducing the map).

A bold claim is made in the otherwise very precise concludingremarks (on page 133): ‘‘Tourism is the act of deciphering the iden-tity of place from its landscape’’. One could argue that tourism isalso an act of being on holiday away from home – drawing onservices from transportation and hospitality providers, driven bya multitude of incentives (Decrop, 2006), but at least this claimstimulates the discussion of what then defines tourism as activityapart from the inadequate gaze.

Potential readers of this book could include practitioners and(more so) researchers of cultural and heritage tourism, to a lesserdegree agents of geo-tourism in the sense defined by the NationalGeographic magazine where emphasis is on sustainable manage-ment. For academic readers this book will make a stimulatingread, qualifying discussions on the role of space and landscape intourism, even if no grand new unifying theory of tourism emergesand the meaning is not served on a silver platter, it unfortunatelyhas to be hammered out in further theoretical and practical studies.To some degree the authors are knocking down open doors (statingthe obvious), since much of the discourse on tourism activity hasmoved from gaze to performance (see for instance Bærenholt,Haldrup, Larsen, & Urry, 2004; Perkins & Thorns, 2001) and quanti-tative methods are gaining ground with the advance of GIS and GPStechnology (see for instance Gimblett & Skov-Petersen, 2008). Thena central question remains for further inquiry, namely: how do wedevelop methods to describe and understand the use of landscapeas a scene for outsiders being tourists? Stated alternatively: Doesthis book contribute to building bridges between disciplines and/or approaches in tourism research? With a little goodwill theanswer is yes, since careful reading can stimulate trans-disciplinarystudies and set bearings for projects where destination manage-ment and branding or marketing is confronted with theory onspace, place and meaning derived from tangible or intangible heri-tage – in mental as well as physical landscapes.

References

Bærenholt, J. O., Haldrup, M., Larsen, J., & Urry, J. (2004). Performing tourist places.Aldershot: Ashgate.

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Tourism Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/ tourman

Tourism Management 30 (2009) 771–781

Decrop, A. (2006). Vacation decision making. Wallingford: CABI Publishing.Gimblett, R., & Skov-Petersen, H. (Eds.). (2008). Monitoring, simulation, and manage-

ment of visitor landscapes. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.Norkunas, M. K. (1993). The politics of public memory. Tourism, history and ethnicity

in Monterey. California: State University of New York Press.Perkins, H. C., & Thorns, D. C. (2001). Gazing or performing? Reflections on Urry’s

tourist gaze in the context of contemporary experience in the antipodes. Inter-national Sociology, 16(2), 185–204.

Pickles, J. (2004). The cartographic gaze, global visions and modalities of visualculture. A history of spaces. London: Routledge. pp. 75–91.

Niels Chr. NielsenCenter for Tourism,

Innovation and Culture,University of Southern Denmark,

Esbjerg, DenmarkE-mail address: ncn@sitkom.sdu.dk

doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2008.11.012

A Review of Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism,K.D. Lyons, S. Wearing (Eds.). CAB International, Wallingford(2008). p. 210 US$99.00 (hbk), ISBN: 978-1 84593-380-7

This volume contains 16 articles (appropriate for a typicalsemester at a U.S. institution if an instructor were to assign a chapterper week), some case study exposition and others research-based,by 25 different contributors posited in 3 different ‘‘parts’’ includingJourneys Beyond Otherness: Communities, Culture and Power;Inward Journeys: Motivations, Needs and the Self; and Journeysat the Edge: Overlaps and Ambiguities. It is likely more suitableas a group of supplementary readings from which to choose asappropriate for a particular unit of undergraduate study. The collec-tion is somewhat heterogeneous, different articles touching ondifferent issues. The read is, unfortunately pitched at differentlevels and uses different styles for a textbook, and therefore isperhaps more suitable as an introduction for the graduate student.

Though Taylor & Francis recently initiated the Journal of Interna-tional Volunteer Tourism and Social Development, the body of litera-ture surrounding this topic is still relatively novel. It is very likelythat university students will enjoy reading most of the articles asthey are the primary target market for the activity. Many havepossibly seen articles about it in popular magazines, or listened topeers share first-hand experiences of ‘‘mission trips’’. A naturalcuriosity and interest should be aroused, particularly among butnot exclusive to cultural/social anthropology and tourism students.

Reading through the articles, one gains a strong sense thata ‘‘volunteer tourist’’ is much more than a tourist as defined bythe tourism industry, and therefore the term with which theseauthors are identifying, though several would probably argue aboutthe ‘‘tourist’’ part of it. If we collected them all in the same rooma consensus could probably be established, though some maypart from others relative to classifying it as ‘‘work’’ or ‘‘leisure’’, asparticipating in some form of community service on behalf ofa host population. Most volunteer tourists would probably agreethat it is a free-will activity in which one may engage away fromhome that will involve the short- or long-term guest in learning,engaging closely or perhaps even living with the host. It wouldnever reach the level of the ethnography, yet some elements ofthis method could play a part in the experience.

Various somewhat unique nomenclature surfaces throughoutthe book. These include volunteer tourism opportunity providers(‘‘sending organizations’’) such as non-government organizations(NGOs) and commercial tour operators, service learning, culturalexchange, adventure tourism, travel off the beaten track. One articlefocuses on the special nature required of marketing materials forthis type of tourism, especially so as not to mislead consumerssuch that they are completely dissatisfied. More than one article,in part, cited personal motives for volunteer tourists includingcontemplating, interpreting and interacting with surroundinghost environments; learning new forms of behavior; seeking

personal growth; engaging in meaningful experiences such ashelping others in need, restoring the environment, immersingthemselves in another culture and then stepping back into theirown world as a changed person; special interest tour guiding;having an opportunity to work with like-minded people; gainingappreciation for intrinsic outcomes, developing skills relative touniversity studies and future careers, helping the host people; ful-filling a dream; testing skills; making social connections; or justdoing something enjoyable. These common motives make thewhole experience particularly intriguing for young people, presum-ably the target audience.

Another primary focus of articles across the text includes resultsfor host communities. Some are not always as positive. One articlerevealed that not all host communities view religious volunteertourists with their ‘God talk’ desirable. Often the experience ismarked by shallow judgment of socioeconomic disparity betweenguest and host. However, a frequent outcome is that both can over-come this issue, and usually discover that they have somethingunique and perhaps unexpected to offer, thus preserving thedignity of the host. The reader quickly understands that a certainamount of regulation, careful planning and management shouldgovern the visit.

A most interesting case study was found in Article 14, ‘‘Journeysfor Experience: the Experiences of Volunteer Tourists in an Indige-nous Community in a Developed Nation – a Case Study of New Zea-land’’ by A. J. McIntosh and Z. Zahra. This chapter, a case studyresearch report, gets right into the passion of the volunteer touristexperience. The authors suggest that this form of alternative travelis more rewarding and meaningful than other holidays and focuseson altruistic and self-developmental experiences these visitors maygain, and the assistance that they may deliver to destinationcommunities. By introduction, they focus on a tripartite of impor-tant attributes of the volunteer experience suggested by Wearingand Neil (2003):

1. Volunteer tourism is a personal experience that incorporates theperception chosen for its difference and involves intrinsicmotivation.

2. The experience can potentially benefit the participant’s life aswell as that of the host community.

3. Meaning is given to the experience through social interactionwhich may involve a renegotiation of the volunteer tourist’sidentity.

They suggest that in New Zealand there has been a demand forincreased development of cultural products based on the indige-nous Maori in an attempt to facilitate economic development fortheir communities.

Their study involved in-depth interviews, diaries and partici-pant observations to examine pre-, during- and post-trip experi-ences of just 12 Australian visitors undertaking to organize

Book reviews / Tourism Management 30 (2009) 771–781772