Understanding Urban Tourism: Image, Culture and Experience

by Martin Selby

Overview

Despite the formidable growth of urban tourism there has been little of the critical engagement that one would expect from the social sciences: the rich potential of contemporary social science for urban tourism has yet to be realized. Martin Selby's textbook makes available to practitioners and students seeking to understand the phenomenon of tourism in towns and cities the methods and concepts that are currently enhancing and transforming our understanding of society in other areas of the social sciences. With an emphasis on image, culture and experience, the author draws upon the "cultural turn" to explains the human aspects of the urban tourism phenomenon. The discussions emphasize the significance of urban tourism within debates upon the contemporary city, postmodernity and the pursuit of social science. Clearly written, with case studies and further reading, this book should be welcomed by students and lecturers in geography, tourism, planning and sociology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786724489
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	12/18/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Martin Selby is Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University

Table of Contents

	Preface	xi
1	Introduction	1
	Studying Urban Tourism	1
	Urban Tourism Perspectives	4
2	Urban Tourism	10
	Introduction	10
	Contemporary Urban Tourism	11
	The Urban Tourism Product	18
	Urban Tourism in Theory and Practice	23
Case Study 2.128
	Urban Tourism Research	31
Case Study 2.234
	Conclusion	40
3	Urban Tourism and Postmodernity	42
	Introduction	42
	Urban Tourism and the Postmodern City	43
	Materialist Perspectives	45
	Limitations of the Materialist Perspective	52
Case Study 3.155
	Acknowledging Culture	58
	Conclusion	61
4	Place Image and Urban Tourism	64
	Introduction	64
	The Concept of Place Image	65
	Place Image and Urban Tourist Decision-making	67
	Place Image Research	70
	Destination Marketing Implications	73
Case Study 4.176
	Limitations of Place Image Studies	78
	Theoretical Limitations	80
	Conclusion	85
5	The Culture of Urban Tourism	87
	Introduction	87
	Cultural Analysis	89
	Culture and Urban Tourism	95
	Urban Culture	103
	Overlooking Consumers	114
	The Peopling Prognosis	118
Case Study 5.1120
	Conclusion	123
6	The Experience of Urban Tourism	125
	Introduction	125
	Experiential Urban Tourism Research	127
Case Study 6.1139
	Limitations of Experiential Approaches	142
	Existential Perspectives	146
	Urban Tourist Knowledge	150
	Tourist Action	158
	Conclusion	161
7	Understanding Urban Tourism: A Synthesis	163
	Introduction	163
	Towards a Synthesis	164
	Culture and Experience of Urban Tourism	168
	A Research Agenda for Urban Tourism	174
	Conclusion	187
8	Conclusion	190
	Conceptualising Urban Tourism	190
	Urban Tourism Research	192
	Urban Tourism Practice	193
	Urban Tourism Praxis	195
	References	197
	Index	225

Editorial Reviews

""I have been very concerned about the absence of quality theoretical work on the topic of urban tourism. I believe that Martin Selby has made significant inroads towards rectifying this situation."" -- Dimitri Ioannides, SW Missouri State University

From the Publisher