RESEARCH COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIO

EDITORIAL

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Finally, the Autumn 2004 / Spring 2005 RC50 Newsletter. It’s the first RC50 sign of life “after Mytilini”. I want to thank Jens Kristian Steen Jacobsen and Hatzimarinakis Stavros for their efforts having made the seminar a success. This also means that we have two reports about the Mytilini seminar: from Ruth Casey and Scott McCabe; thank you, Ruth and Scott.
The coming events will take place in Wageningen, the Netherlands, and Durban, South Africa. Our President, Giuli Liebman, writes about Mytilini – Wageningen – Durban, and the theoretical challenges to meet.
As said, the first coming event will take place at Wageningen University, the Netherlands [9th and 10th June, 2005]. In first instance, Jaap Lengkeek is responsible. RC50’s ambition is to make e new step towards new theoretical approaches in tourism theories including crossing borders between different domains of social studies and different cultures. The basis for that has been led in Mytilini when the idea of “international classroom of tourism studies” was discussed.
The Wageningen extra in-between-seminar is also meant as a step towards the symposium during the XVIth ISA World Congress, in 2006, in Durban. Our 1st Vice-President, Ning Wang [ lpswn@zsu.edu.cn ] is responsible for that.
Further on, a contribution about “Sociologist without borders” reached us.
After all, I proudly announce the launching of our own RC50 website, www.rc50.info . Suggestions for improvements are more than welcome.
I urgently recommend those who did not so far, to contact ISA in order to be registered as ISA member and RC50 member: see www.ucm.es/info/isa . E-mail address: isa@sis.ucm.es
And last of all, please, send me your e-mail address by return. This Newsletter and the next ones will be put on the website, respectively send to you by e-mail.

I am looking forward meeting you 9th and 10th June in Wageningen!

Yours,

Jan te Kloeze,
RC50 Secretary.

From Mytilini to Wageningen on the way to Durban

The fact that a Research Committee meets twice in two years for two interim conferences can be taken as a sign of great vitality. It represents at the same time the promise and the assurance that the World Congress of Durban is not going to be just lip service, but the final expression of a continuous need for discussion and response.
As we are all aware, we are faced with new and immediate challenges, perhaps far more than in other fields of studies. Hence, substantial efforts must be made for appropriate theoretical reflection running parallel to new frontiers in the tourism phenomenon. Setting aside the usual rhetoric, all epistemological and methodological aspects should be considered as a kind of torch in tourism studies to be kindled and kept constantly alive.
Under this light, it is not surprising that the first definition to come to mind is that of paradigms, a subject which re-ignited discussion at Mytilini last springtime reflecting the need for preliminary thought. Nevertheless, newcomers need to be informed of the RC 50 interim conference held in Jyväskylä, Finland in 1996 which was completely devoted to this topic..
On the other hand the sociology of tourism cannot ignore the transformations occurring in related fields. Many interesting areas of research are recently opening up in the light of inputs which continuously arrive from areas of general sociology, anthropology, psychology, as well as from human geography, political science, law and sometimes forgotten disciplines related to tourism. In particular, new conditions of perception and technological challenges urge the contribution from the psychology of tourism which has long been neglected as an area of studies.
In the last decades the pendulum has been steadily swinging between approaches centered on tourism and approaches centered on the tourist, with the latter prevailing in the recent years. Alternatively, transversal approaches could be more encouraged. The perennial approach of tourism and tourist mobility still deserves to be considered. Recently, ethics is revealing itself to be more and more a global challenge in all its complexity and will probably need highly articulated treatment.

Giuli Liebman – Parrinello, President of RC50

CONFERENCE REPORTS

UNIVERSITY OF AEGEAN AND THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
INTERIM SYMPOSIUM OF THE RESEARCH COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TOURISM (RC50)

"Understanding tourism - theoretical advances"

MYTILYNI - LESVOS 14/15TH MAY 2004

Report 1 – Ruth Casey (National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis, Ireland)
[ ruthcasey@ireland.com ]

Undoubtedly, Lesvos Island is one of the more exotic and unique settings for a Tourism conference! Co-organised by the University of the Aegean and the International Sociological Association, “Understanding Tourism – Theoretical Advances”, drew forth a lively debate, giving critical appraisal to developing epistemologies addressing Tourism as an evolving social phenomenon.

The conference pondered the problem of the ideal type of forum through which more complete engagement with theoretical advances, might be take place. A number of interesting solutions were raised. There was universal agreement that more discussion time is generally needed in order to critically evaluate and perhaps develop some of the theoretical points raised in papers. Further, that the discussion of the papers might be more easily guided by a facilitator who would act in addition to the chairperson, to bring the main points back to the central theme of the conference. An analogy of speed-dating was drawn with the generic difficulty of time faced by delegates at conferences, in relation to finding partnership of idea and colleague! Perhaps a solution would be either to compile a list of email and corresponding addresses for each delegate, to place separately in the conference pack, or include a booklet with each page comprising the abstract and email details of each delegate. A suggestion proposed by Professor Krzysztof Przeclawski was to circulate papers to delegates some months in advance of the conference. This would enable delegates to read the arguments made, and use the conference as a forum for debating aspects of theoretical interest. This approach has proven to be very useful for a past International Sociological Association conference.

Concurrently, as viewed from either side of the debate, a challenge is posed to both demonstrate how theoretical approaches within sociology have evolved and can now more fully engage in a post-disciplinary manner with other perspectives on tourism, and/or use critical social research to deconstruct the predominantly business typologies and frameworks which exist, for a more critical engagement of what ‘tourism’ as twin fields of industry and academia, actually means for scholars in the twenty-first century.

On a different note, a welcoming buffet greeted the first delegates of the conference on the Thursday evening at Epom Distillers. There, samples of Uzo, the Greek spirit speciality, were tasted and much enjoyed! The social programme took a lively turn on the Saturday evening, when our hosts took us to dinner at the Therma restaurant where we were entertained by truly excellent Greek dancing. A certain birthday girl led the more adventurous of us onto the dance floor while the rest of us tucked into the delights of Greek cuisine. On the Sunday, our hosts took us on a coach excursion around the island. Our guide on the coach introduced us to the extensive histories of Agiasos, Kalloni, Agia Paskevi and Molivos, giving us a particularly rich and vivid range of insights into life in Lesvos. Certainly, many thanks are extended for this lengthy and interesting narrative. A really delicious lunch was made and served by the women at the agrotourism co-operative in Agia Paraskevi, where we dined on Greek specialities too numerous to recount. Our day ended in Molivos, where we strolled down from the ancient castle walls, through the old narrow winding streets of the village, to the shore line below.
Thanks are due to our hosts of the International Sociological Association, and the University of the Aegean for a truly memorable experience.

Ruth Casey
Doctoral Research Fellow, at the
National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis
NUI Maynooth, Ireland

Report 2: Scott McCabe (Sheffield Hallam University, UK)
[ s.mccabe@shu.ac.uk ]

The beautiful Island of Lesvos provided a stunning backdrop for the interim symposium of RC50 on International Tourism in mid May this year, and our hosts, the University of Aegean went out of their way to make delegates feel welcome and prepared for two interesting days of discussion on theoretical advances in tourism. Graham Dann (University of Luton) threw down the gauntlet on the opening session by asking; 'what's new in tourism theory?' Arguing from the proposition that the whole gamut of tourism theory could be traceable back to Aristotle's thinking, Dann's talk made allegorical references between tourism theory and the meeting between Aristotle and Alexander the Great on the Island which set the physical and theoretical scene of the debates which were to follow. However, by the closing discussion session, there was much debate as to the extent that papers really addressed the theme of the symposium, and realistically the extent to which speakers could develop new theoretical advances, without having the opportunity to have more time to debate and discuss issues raised within the sessions. Partially this is a scheduling and operational dilemma, yet many delegates lamented the lack of time available to get detailed discussion going. These debates did not dampen the overall sense that the organisers had made an excellent effort to bring together a great diversity of speakers on a range of tourism topics, not necessarily from a sociological perspective, but who had all nonetheless endeavoured to relate their discussions to sociological problems and theories of tourism.
There were for example, papers which dealt with conventional social structural issues in tourism, such as paradigms of drivers of development (Terry Nichols Clark, University of Chicago) community participation (Leonidas Maroudas et al, University of Aegean), social and labour mobility (Paris Tsartas et al, University of Aegean) and development strategies (Antonio Miguel Nogues, Universidad Miguel Hernandez). There were also papers which dealt with issues of theory and methodology in the sociology of tourism for example David Botterill's (UWIC) attempt to map out Beck's thesis of the Rick Society onto current problems in tourism, Michael Ireland's (College of St Mark and St John) discussion of the concept of socially responsible tourism, life stories about place attachment through second home ownership in Finland (Seija Tuulentie, University of Finland) and the wonderful elaboration of the case for using photographic images together with interviews in revealing how tourists and locals make sense of place (Ruth Casey, NUI, Maynooth).
A wealth of papers dwelt on the nature and character of tourist experiences, and in this terrain there were some theoretically challenging discussions and propositions of new approaches, with contributions tackling role theory (Jens Jacoben, Stravanger University College) the conceptualisation of the tourist experience (Natan Uriely, Ben-Gurion University), and forms of stereotyping in the overseas experience (OE) by NZ backpackers (Jude Wilson, Lincoln University, NZ), and Giuli Liebman's (University of Roma) great discussion of the theoretical link between mind and the body in the expression of tourist experience.
However, also of interest at this symposium were the contributions from speakers not directly connected with sociological problems in tourism theory. Svein Larsen's (University of Bergen) clinically empirical psychology paper on expectations, actions and memories in the tourism experience seemed a breath of fresh air, Michael Riley's (University of Surrey) analysis of social relations between tourists and tourism workers was similarly fresh and crisp, and Angela Costetsos's (City University, London) ideas for her research on sexual health risks of young 'horny' tourists to Failiraki and other 'hot' destinations, coming from a health sociology perspective ended the paper sessions with some food for thought.
These interactions between disciplinary perspectives need to be encouraged and RC50 seems to be one of the best organisations through which this dialogue can be achieved, however, the participants also need to be given time to really explore issues and theoretical perspectives in order to realistically achieve some advances in theory in tourism.

[Sponsored by WICE: World Leisure International Centre of Excellence at Wageningen University, the Netherlands; see www.wice.info ]

First day

6 Introductions:

Answer or address at least one or two of the following questions:

How adequate is your paradigmatic approach for tourism, when tourism is developing from a predominant western phenomenon to a globalised blend of western and non-western cultures and structures?

How well are contemporary sociological theories and approaches reflected in tourism studies or in your contribution?

Is there a significant mutual inspiration and exchange with other scientific fields and disciplines?

Do (your) tourism studies contribute to sociological theoretical advancement?

Can we bridge the gap between fundamental (academia) and applied scientific knowledge (policy, industry, management) in the field of tourism?

How well are our theories and understandings subject to critique from inside and outside our field and what lessons can we draw from that?

What suggestions would you propose for theoretical advancement in the next future?

The second day:
A round table discussion based on statements prepared by each of the participants.
The statements have to based upon the questions mentioned above.
Each participant brings in at least one statement.
Each statement comprises a maximum of 500 to 600 words.
Statements have to be sent before 1st May to jaap.lengkeek@wur.nl . The RC50 secretariat will take care of distribution among the participants in time.

Statements and a report of the discussion will presented on our new RC50 Website, CD Rom and probably counts as Publication of Abstract for your publication list.

CONTACT AND REGISTRATION:

Registration – as soon as possible, but before 3rd June - for the seminar: jan.tekloeze@wur.nl
Scientific information: jaap.lengkeek@wur.nl

Seminar Venue:
the seminar will be held in:
Hotel De Nieuwe Wereld
Marijkeweg 5
Postbus 5
6700 AA Wageningen
The Netherlands

Wageningen [situated appr. 100 km south east of Amsterdam, along the Rhine River] can easily be reached by public transport from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport; see following text.

Be aware of pickpockets, especially at Duivendrecht Railway Station. Do not leave your luggage unattended. Remember that the “bad guys” have plenty of tricks to rob you out. Last trick: someone of their group pretends to get a heart attack on the platform beneath the train, and when you come to his rescue, his mates take your luggage. Other trick, somebody drops coins in the train, and when you help him to recollect, his mates take your luggage.

Bus lines to your hotel:

Hotel De Nieuwe Wereld [= seminar venue]: bus line 83, direction Wageningen; stop: Haagsteeg
Hotel WICC-WIR: bus line 86, direction Wageningen; stop Wageningen bus station
Hotel De Wereld: bus line 86, direction Wageningen; stop Wageningen bus station
Hotel De Wageningse Berg: bus line 86, direction Wageningen/Arnhem, stop Wageningse Berg

RC50 members; 2 days	€ 100.-- [seminar, two days + two lunches included]
RC50 members; 1 day	€ 050.-- [seminar, one day + one lunch included]
RC50 non-members; 2 days	€ 120.-- [seminar, two days + two lunches included]
RC50 non-members; 1 day	€ 075.-- [seminar, one day + one lunch included]
VVS leden	€ 060.-- [seminar, one day + one lunch included]

1	Paradigms and Perspectives in the Sociology of Tourism	Jaap Lengkeek	jaap.lengkeek@wur.nl
2	Tourism, Globalisation and Destinational Society	Kevin Meethan	k.meethan@plymouth.ac.uk
3	Social Construction of the Tourist Experience	Giuli Liebman Parrinello	liebman@uniroma3.it
4	Tourism and Postmodernity	Stephanie Hom Cary David Picard	shcary@berkeley.edu d.picard@shu.ac.uk
5	Ethics of Tourism and sustainable tourism	Scott McCabe	s.mccabe@shu.ac.uk
6	Technologies and tourism	Simon Milne	Simon.milne@aut.ac.nz
6A	Round table discussion	To be decided yet	jan.tekloeze@wur.nl
6B	Joint session with RC13 [Sociology of leisure]	Francis Lobo and Jan te Kloeze	f.lobo@ecu.edu.au jan.tekloeze@wur.nl
6C	Joint session with RC03 [Community Research]	Rachel Harvey and Jan te Kloeze	rmharvey@uchicago.edu jan.tekloeze@wur.nl