There are some minor quibbles with the book. Theseconcern the variable quality of illustrations; the under-representation of continental European examples; andthe concentration on the ‘developed’ world when it isperhaps essential to view tourism and recreation in aglobal setting. That said, these points should not be seenas particularly limiting the value of the work, wherethroughout, useful case study examples are used toillustrate and develop some of the principal themes.

In this respect, the authors have a clear commercial eyeto the market in that the book largely succeeds on variouslevels, either as a valuable reference source or a coursetext. In essence, it is an excellent text that deserves a placeon every geographer’s bookshelf, whether they areinterested in tourism and recreation or not, and on everytourism and recreation professional’s bookshelf whetherthey are interested in geography or not!

Whilst it effectively charts the role of geographicalwork in tourism and recreation, this book is more thanjust a review of research. The authors manage tocontextualise the declining enrolment in undergraduate

geography with the rapid growth in ‘business, manage-ment and vocationalism’ focused tourism, recreationand other courses. At the same time they forcefullyargue that geographers, and geographical perspectivesand approaches, have much to offer the research andpractitioner community in tourism and recreation.

References

Law, C. M. (1993). Urban tourism: Attracting visitors to large cities.

London: Mansell.

Mathieson, A., & Wall, G. (1982). Tourism: Economic, physical and

social aspects. Harlow: Longman.

Shaw, G., & Williams, A. M. (2002). Critical issues in tourism: A

geographical perspective (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

Rick BallCentre for Economic and Social Regeneration,

Department of Geography, Staffordshire University,College Road, ST4 2DE Stoke on Trent, Staffs, UK

E-mail address: r.m.ball@staffs.ac.uk

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Tourism in Latin AmericaL. Lumsdon and J. Swift; Continuum. London, 2001,d25; ISBN 082645149

Latin America is one of the most diverse regions in theworld. It comprises a rich mosaic of histories, environ-ments and cultures that give rise to extraordinary depthand diversity of tourism products and experiences.Traditional and contemporary attitudes and values playedout in political, economic and social spheres have meantthat tourism has developed in remarkably different waysin different countries. As a result, tourism in LatinAmerica is a montage of traditional and contemporaryproducts and experiences, of market forces and centralgovernment planning, and of aggressive promotion andserendipity. Perhaps because of this complexity, holisticattempts to capture an understanding of tourism in LatinAmerica have not generally been forthcoming.

Tourism in Latin America is an introductory text,principally aimed at students of tourism and hospitalityalthough the authors claim that it may also provide auseful introduction for a variety of other students. Thebook has three principal aims:

1. To offer an introductory but nevertheless compre-hensive text about a region which is developingtourism for a global market.

2. To introduce the core principles which underpin thebusiness of tourism and to apply them to tourism inLatin America.

3. To discuss a range of major issues affecting tourismdevelopment, and in particular, the impacts of tourism.

In addressing these aims, the book is divided into threeparts. The first is an overview of Latin America and adiscussion of the range of contextual factors that haveshaped the development of tourism in the region. Thesecond part is a discussion of the ‘tourism offering’, aterm coined by the authors as a result of theirdissatisfaction with widespread terms such as productand experience (p. 59). The third part examines keyimpacts in the development of tourism in Latin America.

In the authors’ words, ‘the book sets out to explorethe tourism offering of Latin America and to look at thefuture potential of this vast continent. Whilst notintended to be a geographic study, nor an anthropolo-gical survey, political overview, or cultural analysis, itdraws on a wide range of interdisciplinary research inorder to provide an overview of Latin America’ (p.ix).Put simply, the authors tell us what the book is not. It isnot a geographic analysis, nor is it an anthropological,political or cultural expose of Latin American tourism.Relying on the descriptor ‘interdisciplinary’ relieves theauthors of having to examine more closely what sort ofliterature was relied upon and the contribution of thebook beyond that of description. In this sense, ‘inter-disciplinary’ is a throw away line. A grab bag ofliterature is used, sometimes quite selectively, to supporta certain position or argument. Perhaps more attentionto the contributions of the different disciplines and fieldsof studies relied upon, and their interrelationships,would enable the authors to develop a tighter structureto the book and to identify its contribution beyondsimple description of tourism in the region.

Book reviews / Tourism Management 24 (2003) 227–235234

Tourism in Latin America is an integrated text (p.ix).The authors have elected to deal with Latin America asa region and not on a country-by-country basis. Thisdecision creates significant challenges for the authorsgiven that Latin America is, arguably, one of the richestand most diverse regions in the world, culturally,socially, politically and environmentally. Generalisa-tions can cause problems, and in many instances, theauthors are careful to acknowledge that their general-isations are not applicable to certain countries.

Whilst the book makes a genuine attempt at integrat-ing the vastly different tourism contexts of each county,there are some concerns with the approach. First, there isa superficial and somewhat selective use of tourismliterature, and a notable absence of reference to literaturethat deals, in more profound ways with, for example, thecomplexities of attractions and attraction complexes,‘otherness’ and sense of place, and institutional arrange-ments for tourism. Given the lack of English languageliterature about Latin American tourism, the opportunityexists to present a book that is an insightful reflectionupon rich body of English language literature emergingabout tourism theory and practice and its application toLatin America. However, there is little meaningfulengagement with tourism literature other than case studymaterial. In an introductory text, at least some engage-ment with the complexities of tourism literature is useful,and arguably, essential, if the interest and curiosity of thestudent is to be stimulated.

Secondly, at times the book hovers between being anintroductory tourism text and a thinly disguised descrip-tion of the authors’ travel in the region. In some instancesthe book reads more like a travel guide than a text:

Designer clothing and other up-market brandedgoods are to be found in the Calle Florida in BuenosAires and the centre of Bogata. Other purchases tendto fall into the ‘handicrafts’ category, and in thisrespect, the best cities are Cuzco, Lima and Puno(Peru), Caracas (Venezuela), Asuncion (Paraguay),La Paz and Tarabaco (Bolivia).... Chile and (north-ern) Argentina tend to specialize in clothing andrugs... Leather goods, including jackets, handbagsand footwear, are to be found in Argentina... (p. 154).

Thirdly, in order to justify some observations theauthors rely on questionable research such as a survey ofinformation received and response times from LatinAmerican embassies (pp. 74–75). The real concern here isthat undergraduate students, especially those in the earlyyears, are often still developing vital skills such asindependent thinking and critical judgement. Thesestudents may take this research on face value, resultingin two main consequences: (1) it reinforces the view(especially among students from the more traditional

disciplines that service tourism) that tourism is not aserious academic endeavour, and (2) that quick and easysurveys of response times to requests for tourisminformation for example, are standard research methods.

Fourth, there is some concern over the accuracy ofcertain information. For example:

Whilst anthropologists and archaeologists have beenstudying civilisations (both past and present) forsome 200 years, it is only within the last 30–40 yearsthat culture has become a focus of interest andentertainment for the tourist’ (p. 128).

Cultural tourism in Latin America can be dividedinto two basic categories: contemporary and historical.Whilst this is an arbitrary division, it does never-theless, reflect the basic distinction between the ‘old’(pre Columbian) civilizations and the ‘new’ (post-conquest) civilizations of Latin America (p. 128).

Indeed, many historical pre-Columbian attractions andevents have been adapted for contemporary appeal makingthis distinction meaningless. Museums can be both historicalattractions while the architecture can have contemporaryattraction. Traditional events have been modified to expandcontemporary appeal, often at the expense of the originalsignificance. Broad simplified classifications such as these arenot only open to debate, but can mislead undergraduatestudents, some of whom have a frustrating tendency toaccept literature unquestioningly.

In sum, Tourism in Latin America provides someinsight into the development of tourism in this diverseand colourful region. The authors make broad conclu-sions regarding the challenges faced by Latin Americancountries in developing tourism to attract the increas-ingly discerning, quality conscious and environmentallyaware tourism markets. However, one should be awarethat the authors are describing tourism in Latin Americathrough a looking glass. Rarely do we get a sense ofwhat it is like to be engaged in tourism development inthis extraordinarily complex region. Students would dowell to supplement this book with other criticalliterature, such as Chomsky and Dieterich (1999), toaddress this imbalance.

References

Chomsky, N., & Dieterich, H. (1999) Latin America: From Coloniza-

tion to Globalization. Noam Chomsky in conversation with Heinz

Dieterich. Melbourne and New York: Ocean University Press.

Dianne DredgeSchool of Environmental Planning, Griffith University,

Nathan, QLD 4111, AustraliaE-mail address: ddredge@ozemail.com.au

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