Conflicts, religion and culture in tourism

Journal of Heritage Tourism ISSN: 1743-873X (Print) 1747-6631 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjht20 Conflicts, religion and culture in tourism Cristina Jönsson To cite this article: Cristina Jönsson (2018): Conflicts, religion and culture in tourism, Journal of Heritage Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/1743873X.2018.1496610 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2018.1496610 Published online: 18 Jul 2018. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 5 View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjht20 JOURNAL OF HERITAGE TOURISM BOOK REVIEW Conflicts, religion and culture in tourism, edited by Razaq Raj and Kevin Griffin, Oxford, UK, CABI, 2017, 186 pp., US$126.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9781786390646 Culture plays an important role in tourism and it is therefore not surprising that academic study of culture and tourism has long focused on its impacts. The increasing linkages and interconnections between religious tourism and secular spaces on the global stage are timely assessed in this book. It examines how religion plays a fundamental part in cross-cultural conflict resolution and dialogue amongst people. It is a much-needed addition to the book series on religious tourism and pilgrimage as well as to the literature on culture and tourism. This volume is a compendium of independently researched studies by scholars in the area of religion and culture in tourism. It is perhaps the first book to explore the symbiotic relationship between tourism and pilgrimage and examining how this relationship could be used to improve cultural relations. It also illustrates how faith and activism respond to coexistence and peace-making challenges within and among cultures. The aim of the book is to, in 14 chapters, bring together global ideas and perspectives on the contribution of religious traditions, conflicts, and challenges to tourism in various geographical locations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A diverse set of empirical research and perspectives are applied to the contemporary case studies in this book. Its content permits further knowledge building about the impacts of conflicts, faith, and culture and certainly fills a gap in tourism literature. It examines the range of themes such as conflict, religion, and culture in relation to tourism. The range of issues that can impact tourism and its attractions in this volume highlight the multifaceted nature of conflicts and religion. For example, many wars, conflicts, and terror attacks have caused great damage to physical environments of religious sites. This has an impact on culture and in turn on tourism attractions. The book clearly demonstrates that there is yet much research needed on the relationship between conflicts, religion, culture, and tourism. It argues that there has been a lack of coordinated approaches to management of religious sites to meet the needs of visitors and to provide a safe and secure environment for religious travelers. Yet there is little empirical evidence on the extent to which these impacts are realized by different religious places in different settings. This volume fills the gap by exploring the establishment of global standards to help avoid conflict at religious sites at tourism destinations. This is clearly justified by the editors’ view that the diversity of motivations for visiting religious and sacred sites creates a potential for conflict between host communities and visitors. Perhaps a couple of chapters focusing on sacred and religious sites consumed for tourism purpose offers a valuable addition to the extant literature. The introduction, written by the editors, gives a brief introduction to conflicts, religion, and culture in tourism and the theory of religious tourism. However, a fair amount of this chapter is made up of simple summaries. Many of the empirical studies reported are thematically linked. Some of the themes covered include religious tourism and conflict, religious tolerance, pilgrimage, visiting graves and tombs, and Halal and Kosher tourism. Anyone interested in developing further research in cultural and religious tourism, as well as culture and religion as tourism attractions, will find useful themes in this book. No other academic book in the subject area of tourism has been published on the specific topics on conflicts, religion, and culture. So this book is a welcomed addition to the literature on the potential of conflicts and religion to contribute to the development and management of cultural tourism. Concluding remarks would have added nicely to this book. Instead, the last chapter is made up of discussion points for each chapter. Although, this is a useful chapter that presents a range of interesting issues for future research. 2 BOOK REVIEW Written for scholars of destination and tourism attractions management, culture and tourism, it provides thought-provoking and stimulating account of the increasing linkages and interconnections between religious tourism and secular spaces on a global stage. Tourism destination and attractions managers, decision makers and the voluntary sector will no doubt find this volume useful. It also makes a good teaching text for both undergraduate and postgraduate students and a student of tourism management will no doubt find this book useful and interesting. Cristina Jönsson The University of the West Indies [email protected] © 2018 Cristina Jönsson https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2018.1496610