Promotie M. (Miranda) Cornelisse

‘Authenticity’ and ‘sustainability’ can be considered as to magnet concepts in tourism (studies): They do not only attract many stakeholders, they also attract or repel each other. Whereas the attractive force between the two magnets is observed in practice, the repulsive force is observed in tourism studies. This means that power relations in tourism studies are in ‘conflict’. As one of the few researches in tourism studies and with the help of the magnet concepts authenticity and sustainability, this dissertation makes today’s touristic dispositive and its opposing forces explicit: Tourism studies is composed of a fragmented collection of various disciplinary perspectives, all with their own institutional interests. Due to their values and agendas, it are the disciplinary perspectives that influence how the phenomenon of tourism is considered and with that, how concepts such as authenticity and sustainability are understood. Hence, tourism development and tourism studies involve power struggles. The stakeholder who exercises the most valuable instruments of power, dominates the process through ‘power’ and ‘knowledge’. Not only in practice, but also in research. Although these related power issues are inevitable, this does not mean that the influence of dominating gazes and productive biases should be ignored, Consequently, this dissertation advocates the embracement of multiple disciplinary perspectives on the phenomenon of tourism, and with that the inclusion of various perspectives on critical topics, such as climate change and income inequality, for that condition will perchance break the present deadlock in tourism studies and societal and academic debates on (post) pandemic tourism.

Due to corona, the PhD defences do not take place publicly in the usual way in the Senate Hall or in the Professor Andries Querido Room. The candidates will defend their dissertation either in a small group or online.