Native Tours: The Anthropology of Travel and Tourism [Paperback]

Erve Chambers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1577660897 | ISBN-13: 978-1577660897 0

We are all tourists in an increasingly portable world. Tourism has the potential to increase our understanding of other cultures and places. Why then do so many of us try to avoid applying the term "tourist" to our own travels, and why are tourists so often disparaged and resented in the places they visit? For decades tourism has been regarded as a trivial activity, not worthy of serious intellectual interest. In the meantime, it has become one of the largest industries in the world, transforming the places in which we live major towns and cities or the most remote regions of the globe. Tourism is also the most intimate of all industries, bringing people of strikingly different backgrounds into close but also almost invariably transient relationships. Chambers shares many of his own travel experiences and research in this book and invites us to explore the cultural and environmental consequences of our own travels. He offers detailed case studies of tourism in the American Southwest, the Tyrolean Alps, and the Caribbean nation of Belize. A unique feature of the book is Chambers' discussion of the development of Japanese tourism, as an antidote to the prevalent notion that modern tourism was solely an invention of the West.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Title of related interest from Waveland Press: Gmelch, Tourists and Tourism: A Reader (ISBN 9781577663065).

From the Back Cover

"Chambers' book is a major contribution to the modern anthropological study of tourism and the best starting point for anyone interested in the field to learn the key theoretical ideas, contexts, and applied perspectives." -- Tim Wallace, North Carolina State University --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 137 pages
• Publisher: Waveland Pr Inc (October 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577660897
• ISBN-13: 978-1577660897
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,398,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best text for the anthropology of tourism on the market, July 27, 2004

By 

J. M Wallace "Tim Wallace" (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Native Tours: The Anthropology of Travel and Tourism (Paperback)

As a fellow anthropologist in the field, I know that Erve Chambers has done the anthropology and tourism research and teaching community a great favor by writing this book which summarizes most of the key ideas that have been distilled in the field over the last 30 years. It is well written, easy to read, densely packed with ideas, concepts and examples and is the best book to use in introductory courses in the anthropology of tourism. If you are new to the field and don't want to take a course in it, this book is still the best thing on the market. It is also inexpensive and a great bargain.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and wordy, July 14, 2007

By 

kate - See all my reviews

This review is from: Native Tours: The Anthropology of Travel and Tourism (Paperback)

This book gives a good overview of lots of different theories in Anthro and Tourism. She also spatters the book with various examples. However, it is wordy and not an easy read. In general, I would say if you are looking to really study, this is a good book. It is not a leisurely read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent text, May 23, 2009

By 

W. Wedenoja (Springfield, MO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Native Tours: The Anthropology of Travel and Tourism (Paperback)

This little book is now nine years old, but there is still no better text on the market for a course on the emerging field of the anthropology of tourism. Chambers covers a lot of ground in less than 130 pages, starting with the origins of modern tourism and ending with the issue of authenticity. The main concern is the impact of tourism on cultures, as people from the developed world travel in increasing numbers to the less-developed world. Specifically, what are the social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental costs and benefits of tourism, particularly for small scale societies and ethnic minorities? The focus is on cultural, ethnic, and indigenous tourism and ecotourism. The book is very clearly written and easy to follow, but not exciting to read. You will learn a lot from it, relatively painlessly, but it won't keep you up at night. Chambers covers the topic comprehensively, he has an excellent command of the relevant literature, and he has original ideas to contribute. The book is admirably cheap and it has a tough binding that will hold up well.