Tolkach, Denis (2021) Sustainable tourism cannot be harmonised. Annals of Tourism Research, 86. 103101.

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Abstract

The international tourism research body overwhelmingly relies on Anglo-Western concepts. Although, the contribution of non-Anglo-Western scholars and concepts has increased dramatically in recent years, further progress is needed in adopting concepts from cultures other than Anglo-Western to alleviate the dominance of Western paradigms in the field. Thus, Weaver et al. (2020) present a timely and valuable experiment in the synthesis of ideas from East and West in an attempt to endogenise sustainable tourism. The study injects certain Chinese cultural norms and expectations into Weaver's (2014) concept of “enlightened mass tourism”. Weaver et al. (2020) might merely aim at using China as a context for a proof-of-concept, however the framing of the paper around overcoming Western dominance suggests the power relations within the concept and the context proposed should be also addressed. Arguably, the paper does not confront the dominant modes of tourism production and consumption, nor the dominant narratives in the context of China. Thus, Weaver et al. (2020) merits a commentary that critiques hegemonies within the proposed concept of enlightened mass tourism and within the context of China, including cultural values and the Xi Jinping thought.

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