Tourism Studies Working Group Seminar: Yujie Zhu, Heritage Tourism: From Problems to Possibilities

This talk is an overview and open discussion of Yujie Zhu’s newly published book Heritage Tourism. It examines the hegemonic power of heritage tourism and its consequences, the spectre of nationalism and colonialism in heritage-making, particularly for minorities and indigenous peoples, and the paradox of heritage tourism\u27s role in combating these issues. The talk addresses a range of approaches and challenges of empowerment within the context of heritage tourism, including the ladder of heritage interpretation. Zhu argues that heritage tourism has the potential to develop as a form of co-production and that it can be used to create a mechanism for community-centered governance that integrates recognition and interpretation and promotes dialogue, equity and diversity. Discussants Lucie K. Morisette (Universite\u27 du Quebec a\u27 Montreal) and Michael A. Di Giovine (West Chester University of Pennsylvania) provide additional commentary, joined by Dean MacCannell, Bertram Gordon, Nelson Graburn, and others