Thinking against "empty shells" in tourism development projects

Abstract

Tourism is a sophisticated creation of capitalist practices and a development vehicle both in less developed and in industrialised countries. This article, written in the style of an academic essay, contributes to the field by identifying two main tourism development strategies used to cope with globalisation and modernisation, and it presents an analytical model through which to frame them. Most tourism projects rely on an increasing number of tourists and think towards the outside; to satisfy tourists, local offerings must adapt constantly to their shifting needs and desires. This tourism development strategy breaches continuities in the cultural production of meanings within local communities. However, there are some examples of touristic developments which think against this strategy and look towards the inside, as described in this article.