This book examines the challenges facing the development of tourism
in the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC):
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). This region, which largely comprises the Arabian
Peninsula, possesses some of the fastest growing economies in the
world and is remarkably unique. It shares similar associations and
affinities: tribal histories, royal kinship, political
associations, Bedu cultural roots, Islamic heritage, rapid
urbanization, oil wealth, rentier dynamics, state capitalist
structures, migrant labour, economic diversification policies and
institutional restructuring. Therefore, this volume takes the study
of tourism away from its normative unit of analysis, where tourism
in the region is being examined within the context of the Middle
East and the wider Islamic and Arab world, towards an enquiry
focusing on a specific geo-political territory and socially defined
region. Although international tourism development in the region
embodies a range of challenges, complexities and conflicts, which
are deeply contextualized in this volume, the approach overall does
not endorse the normative 'Gulf bashing' position that has
predominated within the critical enquiries in the region. It
presents a forward-looking and realistic assessment of
international tourism development, examining development
potentialities and constructive ways forward for GCC states and the
region as a whole. This edited volume provides a real attempt to
examine critically ways in which tourism and its development
intersect with the socio-cultural, economic, political,
environmental and industrial change that is taking place in the
region. By doing so, the book provides a theoretically engaged
analysis of the social transformations and discourses that shape
our contemporary understanding of tourism development within the
GCC region. Moreover, it deciphers tourism development's role
within the context of the GCC states undergoing rapid
transformation, urbanization, ultra-modernization,
internationalization and globalization. In addition to
state-specific illustrations and destination case studies, the work
provides insights into relatable themes associated with
international tourism development in the region, such as tourism's
relationship with religion, heritage and identity, the environment
and sustainability, mobility and cross-border movements, the
transport industry, image production and destination branding,
mega-development and political stability and instability. The book
combines theory with diverse case study illustrations, drawing on
disciplinary knowledge from such fields as sociology, political
economy and social geography. This timely and original contribution
is essential reading for students, researchers and academics in the
field of tourism studies and related subject areas, along with
those who have regional interests in Middle East studies, including
Gulf and Arabian Peninsula studies.
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