Roads not adopted: tourism research in neo-liberal(?) times.

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores conceptions of neo-liberalism in the context of the development of tourism research. Although its intellectual origins are somewhat earlier, neo-liberalism as an economic philosophy is mostly seen as growing in global dominance from the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, the starting point for this discussion is the extensive and ongoing debate about neo-liberalism's general influence on higher education in particular. This is justified in terms of the corresponding growth of tourism in higher education since the 1970s. Putting it another way, in the English-speaking world (and, some would argue, beyond), the apparent growth of neo-liberalism in higher education is coincidental with the rise of tourism as a subject in that milieu. Accordingly, we might not unreasonably expect the development of tourism as a relatively new area of enquiry to more strongly reflect the supposed tropes of the neo-liberal project than is the case with more established subjects. Following from this, the chapter seeks to explore the extent to which the neo-liberal project has influenced tourism research, finally reflecting on the implications of such an analysis.