African Hosts and their Guests: Cultural Dynamics of Tourism
Author(s): Annette M Schmidt (Author, Contributor), Walter E A Van Beek (Editor, Contributor), Annelou Ypeij (Contributor), Eiliadh Swan (Contributor), Dr Elizabeth MacGonagle (Contributor), Georg Klute (Contributor), Harry Wels (Contributor), Ineke van Kessel (Contributor), Dr Joseph E. Mbaiwa (Contributor), Kate Finlay (Contributor), Kim C. Warren (Contributor), Lucy McCombes (Contributor), Marijke Steegstra (Contributor), Marja Spierenburg (Contributor), Shanade Barnabas (Contributor), Shirley Brooks (Contributor), Stasja Koot (Contributor), Ton van Egmond (Contributor), Valene Smith (Contributor), Vanessa Wijngaarden (Contributor), Wanjohi Kibicho (Contributor)
Publisher: James Currey
Publication Date: 20 Sept. 2012
Language: English
Print length: 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1847010490
ISBN-13: 9781847010490
Book Description
Africa is a ‘theme park’ for Western tourists to experience untouched wilderness, untamed nature, and truly ‘authentic’ cultures, where the hosts, too, are part of a discourse about the ‘other’ and ourselves, about wildness, danger and roots. Tourism is important for Africa: international tourist arrivals to Africa continue to grow, income from tourism is crucial to national economies, and tourism investments are considered among the most profitable. This edited volumedeals with the interaction of local communities with tourists coming into their areas and villages. Based upon a common theoretical approach, fourteen cases of African tourism are discussed which involve direct contact between ‘hosts’ and ‘guests’. The viewpoint throughout is from the side of the locals, establishing how the processes of interaction shape each small scale destination. Crucial in Africa is the fact that the large majority of tourism is game oriented and the interaction between locals and visitors is very much ‘tainted’ by this fact. Central is the notion of the tourist bubble – the infrastructure that is generated locally (and internationally) for hosting tourists, as it is this institutional interface that tends to impact on the local society and culture, not the tourists themselves directly. The examples come from all over Africa, from the Sahara to the Eastern Cape, and from Kenyato Ghana. All contributions are based upon original fieldwork. Walter van Beek is professor of anthropology at Tilburg University and Senior Researcher at the African Studies Centre, Leiden; Annette Schmidt is curatorof the African department at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, and is an archaeologist with a long experience in cultural management projects.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Highly recommended. ― AFRICA AFFAIRS
A welcome addition to the growing field of tourism research in Africa [which will] provide insights for policy-makers to further consider the benefit-sharing formulas in host-guest relations in Africa, especially when aiming for poverty reduction by utilising the tourism industry as a tool. ―
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
This collection of insightful essays on tourism in Africa makes a major contribution to the literature. . Highly recommended. ―
CHOICE
About the Author
WALTER E.A. BEEK held a joint appointment as Professor of Anthropology of Religion at Tilburg University and the African Studies Centre Leiden. Now retired from Tilburg, he continues as Senior Researcher at the ASCL. His books include (with Oumar Ongoiba and Atime Saye) Singing with the Dogon Prophet (2022).
Joseph Mbaiwa is the Director of the Okavango Research Institute (ORI), University of Botswana and Professor of Tourism Studies. He is on the editorial board of the South African Geographical Journal, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and Journal of Ecotourism.
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