Local residents’ pride, tourists’ playground: the misrepresentation and exclusion of local residents in tourism

Lesego Senyana Stone and Gyan P. Nyaupane

Current Issues in Tourism, 2020, vol. 23, issue 11, 1426-1442

Abstract: In most studies, Africans and other local residents in the Global South are often considered merely as hosts, and as a result, they are often misrepresented in shaping tourism in their own countries. Using Botswana as an example, this paper explores issues of the prevailing colonialist notion and perception that non-Westerners are ‘non-travellers’. This study utilizes an interpretive research paradigm; 72 interviews with local residents and tourism marketers were conducted. Additionally, a content analysis of tourism promotion materials was carried out. The study indicates a misrepresentation and exclusion of local residents in tourism, and consequently the promotion of a Western gaze. Furthermore, tourism promotions perpetuate stereotypes, space confinements, and the false depiction of the country to satisfy Western tourists. Local residents perceive promotions as being incomplete in their portrayal of the country while marketers view protected areas as spaces for Westerners. Results call for the inclusion of local residents in the creation of the country’s image and more awareness and education for both local residents and marketers.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13683500.2019.1615870 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rcitxx:v:23:y:2020:i:11:p:1426-1442

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rcit20

DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2019.1615870

Access Statistics for this article

Current Issues in Tourism is currently edited by Jennifer Tunstall

More articles in Current Issues in Tourism from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().