Ecotourism: A Colonial Legacy?

摘要: The argument that modern tourism frequently functions as a form of neo-colonial enterprise is by now commonplace. John Frow has explored the ways in which sells commodified relation to an ontological Other - be it natural environment, species wildlife, or foreign culture. This relationship, often manifest ritualised practices such sight-seeing and souvenir-collecting, secured via aestheticisation various physical cultural features tourist destination commercialisation immaterial resources hospitality. tourist's position consumer assumes priori access sufficient capital purchase encounter with Otherness; hence, follows most tourists come from relatively affluent societies while Others Western modernity who are called upon supply requisite quotient exotica for collective gaze. As new leisure activity at least under its current nomenclature ecotourism sought define itself opposition kind mass Frow's analysis implicitly decries. In purer forms, even premised on behaviours subject-object relations designed break relentless cycle inequality commoditisation perpetuates. paper examines discursive tensions between ecotourism's stated claim environmental responsibility simultaneous imperative provide predominantly clients authentic wilderness experience. By reading some key visual images narrative tropes associated alongside their counterparts colonial discourses travel writing, I hope establish connections might historicise rhetorical well basis anti-colonial critique field.