Tourism and National Identities is part of a Routledge series focused broadly on the geographies of leisure, tourism and mobility. This edited volume accomplishes the aim of the series by addressing the important role national identity plays in tourism throughout the world. The text is divided into three parts, each of which uses case studies to grapple with different aspects of identity. The sections include “Identity and image”, “Culture and community” and “Heritage and history”.
In the first section of the book the contributing authors address the relationship between destination image and national identity. Covered in this section are the depiction of Washington, District of Columbia on travel web sites (Chapter 2), the branding of Ireland (Chapter 3), identity construction in Hungary (Chapter 4), the influence of films on the national image of New Zealand (Chapter 5), and the significance of the horse to Australian national identity (Chapter 6). Each chapter addresses how national image is created and marketed by tourism agencies. Predictably, countries with distinct national images such as Ireland and New Zealand are included in this section. The authors of these chapters discuss the influence of popular culture on national image (i.e. the international celebration of St. Patrick's Day and the representation of New Zealand in the Lord of the Rings). While these chapters are noteworthy, the significant contribution to this section is Melanie Smith and Laszlo Puczko's discussion of Hungary in Chapter 4. Smith and Puczko address the complexities of identity formation in a country with a less recognized national image. In doing so, they take into account the convergence of multiple levels of identity (i.e. local, national, European, global, etc.) and Hungary's challenges in regards to identity development post-socialism.
The second section of the book specifically addresses national identity among groups of people. Discussed are a Pakistani community in the UK (Chapter 7), the promotion of China's national identity in the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Chapter 8), tourism and national identity in the Kyrgtz Republic (Chapter 9), national identity and Canada Day (Chapter 10), and the relationship between national identity and novelty world championship events (Chapter 11). In this section, Elspeth Frew's analysis of small scale novelty championship events is especially interesting. Included in Frew's discussion are the World Wife Carrying Championship, Bog Snorkeling Championship, and Black Pudding Throwing Championship. These events are important to national identity because they reflect the culture and region where they take place. For example, the World Black Pudding Throwing Championship reflects the historic rivalry between the English counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Within this section the juxtaposition of small scale novelty championship events, the national celebration of Canada Day, and the international celebration of the Olympics helps to illustrate how national identity forms at varying levels.
The last section of this volume considers the influence of history and culture on national identity. By focusing on tourism related to specific histories connected by time and place, this chapter covers national identity as it relates to outlaws in the USA, Australia and New Zealand (Chapter 12), the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Vietnam (Chapter 13), battlefield tourism in Australia (Chapter 14), feelings of national identity among those living on the Chatham Islands (Chapter 15) and the visitation of historic Australian prisons (Chapter 16). Noteworthy within this section is the discussion in Chapter 12 regarding the packaging and presentation of outlaws and its close relationship to national identity. Focusing on the regional representation of five famous outlaws, the authors of this chapter address how outlaws (such as Billy the Kid in the USA) are easily accepted by some, while others dismiss them as merely criminals. The authors comment, “Such individuals are seemingly the antithesis of the nation, but paradoxically become symbolic of national identity” (p. 151). This paradox is helpful to understand when considering the complexities related to national identity and tourism.
Overall, the sheer variety of content within this volume marks it as noteworthy. Interdisciplinary and international in approach, the contributing authors address the intersection between identity and tourism at varying angles. The numerous forms of tourism included in the text are one way the book's diversity contributes to a better understanding of the intersection between national identity and tourism. Included are the more common capital city tourism (Chapter 2), event tourism (Chapter 10), and museum tourism (Chapter 13) as well as the more obscure, unusual sport/game tourism (Chapter 11) and dark tourism (Chapter 16). The benefit of this diversity is that it highlights the ways in which national identity can be infused into differing tourism practices.
As a result of the book's diversity, multiple threads run throughout the three sections of the volume. While the editors do well introducing and concluding the text, summaries at the end of each section would have helped readers to further comprehend the complexities of national identity. For example, within the first section of the volume alone, the editors could have highlighted how national image can be difficult to establish (as in the case of Hungary) or hard to manage (as the case with Ireland and New Zealand). While the chapters do speak for themselves, this extra step beyond conventional editorial responsibilities would have helped to illustrate the complexity of national identity. In addition to this commentary, it would have been beneficial to see more discussion regarding globalization among the book's individual authors. While the impact of globalization on identity formation is addressed in some chapters, for the most part this important topic was left out of the volume. Taking these suggestion into account, the text did well taking on the enormous task of discussing national identity from a multitude of angles.
As a performance studies scholar, I was particularly impressed by Chantal Laws and Rob Ferguson's use of performance, embodied practice and performativity in Chapter 10. These authors use performance as an analytic tool to discuss the traditional pancake breakfast that takes place at most Canada Day celebrations. At this breakfast Canadians sit together and enjoy pancakes with maple syrup. In the author's close reading of event, the embodied practice of sitting with fellow countrymen during the national holiday takes on additional meanings. This performance of Canadianness reinforces national identity among participants at the event and it is only through these embodied acts that the author comments “participants truly successfully understand what the event is about and negotiate their role within it by unconsciously, instinctively deciphering the culturally coded meanings attached” (p. 129).
While Laws and Ferguson are unique in their use of performance to discuss national identity within this volume, other chapters could also benefit from engaging critical globalization studies with a performance studies perspective. In particular, Chapter 8’s Fang Meng and Xiang Li could have benefited from reading the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as performance. International celebrations such as the Olympics communicate Chineseness to the world and among the Chinese themselves. This self-presentation of national identity at the games comes not only from those hosting the event, but exists among participants from other countries that attend the event as well. From the extravagate and lavish celebrations that takes place during the Olympics to the more mundane pancake breakfast at Canada Day, performance studies assists in interpreting and drawing meaning from embodied activity. Examples such as Canada Day celebrations and the Olympics show how performance studies helps to illuminate cultural practices across cultures and assists in understanding the importance and meaning of the events.
This book is intended primarily for the academic market, but accessible to stakeholders outside of the academy. Those working in the tourism industry may find this book especially helpful as a resource to consider ways to incorporate national identity into the marketing and management of tourism products. Likewise, tourists could benefit from the deeper understanding of the connection between national identity and various tourist destinations. Wei-Jue Huang and Carla A. Santos highlight this mutual benefit in Chapter 2 with their discussion of the marketing of Washington, District of Columbia. The authors in this chapter make a valid point that national identity can be incorporated into tourism marketing as a way to stress the uniqueness of a place and attract tourists as well as reinforce the national identity of domestic travelers. This point resonates throughout the volume.
Tourism and National Identities stands out as the first volume to focus exclusively on the relationship between tourism and national identities. The text is both interesting and informative due to the historical data. Through exploring the multiple ways cultural tourism, events, and celebrations contribute to national identity the chapters in this volume complement each other. Further, the introduction and conclusion appropriately tie together the diverse international perspectives in the text marking it a notable contribution to critical tourism research.
