While reading this anthology, an association with Albert Camus’ novel L’Étranger (1986) inevitably comes to my mind, in which the protagonist Meursault is judged by his surroundings and ultimately rendered as a stranger within his own society. His otherness does not emerge from an explicit difference but is produced through institutional practices and societal norms. In the end, Meursault accepts his isolation without any prospect of redemption. Although this seminal work of existentialism is not about tourism, the theme of othering that it deals with seems more relevant than ever against the backdrop of current social developments. In a time when rule-based orders are losing stability (Newman and Visoka, 2023), new (tourism-related) geopolitical imaginaries and power constellations prevail (Iaquinto et al., 2024) and national boundaries are once again gaining prominence, notions of us and the others in terms of in-group and out-group dynamics are increasingly coming into focus also in tourism (Chien et al., 2024; Nørfelt et al., 2020; Vogler, 2025).
Tourism is about encounters, about experiencing differences, about discovering new things, about meeting and interacting with others, with strangers, about finding the unknown in the familiar and the familiar in the unknown. It does not matter whether these are other people, material objects or non-human beings. This interpretation of tourism emerges alongside the social changes described above and is evident in a growing sensitivity to more-than-human geographies, reflecting broader posthumanist debates that challenge the duality between human and non-human worlds (Greenhough, 2014). Posthumanist approaches focus not only on material infrastructures but also on biotic and ecological entities as active actors in shaping tourism (Tomassini, 2022). Against this backdrop, the anthology “Otherness, Othering and Space in Tourism Futures” edited by Lucia Tomassini, offers a refreshing and timely perspective by stepping precisely into the intersection of processes of othering, posthumanist thought and future-oriented tourism research using a relational and multidimensional perspective on space based on Massey (2005).
The book is composed of 15 chapters, framed by an introduction and a concluding chapter by the editor. The anthology is structured into three main parts: Part 1, “Theoretical Perspectives on Otherness, Processes of Othering and Space in Contemporary Tourism and its future development”, lays the conceptual basis by engaging with critical, posthuman and ethical theoretical perspectives. The second part, “Navigating Spatial Entanglements with the ‘Other’ and implications for tourism futures”, shifts the focus towards spatial practices, exploring how encounters with human and non-human others are co-produced in diverse tourism settings. The third part, “Views and Insights from Independent Researchers and Practitioners”, brings together heterogeneous contributions that should bridge theory and practice. Across all parts, the contributions adopt a broad range of conceptual, methodological and empirical approaches, reflecting the plurality of perspectives through which otherness and othering can be researched in tourism. Rather than discussing each contribution individually, I highlight three papers that are, in my point of view, particularly illustrative of this anthology.
Lapointe et al. (chapter 5) reveal a core theme of the book in using assemblage theory to conceptualise maple trees as more-than-human actors within the Canadian tourism industry. In their paper, which can itself be read as an assemblage due to its different methodological approaches (p. 59), they show how the maple tree is subjected to processes of othering: through romanticisation, it is transformed into a scenic backdrop and detached from its industrial reality. Accordingly, the spatial distribution of sugar shacks no longer coincides with sites of production.
Using a posthumanist perspective, Hoarau-Heemstra and Ryan, in chapter 8, investigate underwater photography as a contribution to a regenerative marine tourism future. They conceptualise marine life as “non-human otherness inhabiting the underwater space” (p. 109) and examine encounters between underwater photographers and the marine environment. They conduct a qualitative study based on unstructured interviews with dive operators, dive instructors and underwater photographers, as well as document analysis (such as photos and social media posts) in two marine protected areas in Norway and Cuba. They apply scenario planning to explore possible regenerative tourism futures and discuss signals and signposts of change (e.g. development of ethical guidelines for underwater photographers). Finally, they discuss the role of sharing underwater photos as a powerful tool that helps to understand that nature is no longer seen as an object but as a partner. From this perspective, underwater photography can promote a greater sense of responsibility towards the marine environment.
Finally, Gainsforth, in chapter 11, provides a critical perspective on urban tourism and processes of othering in Italian cultural cities. She argues that in Italian cultural cities such as Venice, Bologna and Naples, neoliberal urban policies are leading to cities being increasingly understood as spaces for investment. Short-term rentals, eventisation and urban development geared towards tourist demand are deliberately shaping urban space for temporary city users. Othering dynamics are understood as temporary city dwellers such as tourists or digital nomads are considered economically valuable and desirable, while permanent residents are structurally marginalised. They bear the burden of rising rents, infrastructural pressures and social costs but benefit less from tourism revenues. In a utopian scenario she advocates for an urban policy that strives for “urban liveability, social justice and ecological balance” (p. 168).
Noteworthy for the book is the recurring use of utopian and dystopian scenarios in almost each chapter, which underscore that the futures of more-than-human tourism geographies are not predetermined but remain open and subject to our choices. Furthermore, a particularly compelling and academically rigorous framing device of the edited volume is its engagement with Calvino's Six Memos for the Next Millennium (1988), which Tomassini employs in the concluding 15th chapter to synthesise and position the contributions included in the book. By linking the individual chapters to future turning points, such as the political and economic importance of tourism, tourism footprints and transformational technologies, the anthology achieves a coherent structure. This approach not only provides an insightful conceptual framework but also offers readers an easy entry point into the chapters, alongside a reflective and theoretically informed synthesis of the book's central themes.
Although the anthology concludes with a section explicitly devoted to perspectives from independent researchers and practitioners, the volume remains primarily oriented towards an academic readership. Lecturers, students and practitioners may find some of the theoretical debates difficult to translate into teaching or applied contexts. Greater attention to pedagogical or practice-oriented implications could have enhanced the accessibility and broader impact of the book. Overall, however, the book can be strongly recommended to scholars engaged with questions of otherness and othering in tourism, to those adopting critical perspectives on tourism and power relations and to researchers working from posthumanist and more-than-human viewpoints.
