Ecotourism Discourses in Bhutan
I recently co-authored the paper “Ecotourism Discourses in Bhutan: contested perceptions and values” , which was published in Tourism Geographies. This paper explores ecotourism beyond traditional analyses that frame the sector as a material and economic practice, in order to address it as a discursive process that reshapes cultural values and perceptions. I adopt a case study approach in which three ecotourism destinations in Bhutan are investigated showing how socio-cultural and human-nature relations are reshaped through engagement with ecotourism. These new relations are attributed to an underlying neoliberal logic that drives the ecotourism sector, a logic that contrasts local societal values. The paper employs Ingold’s (2000) dwelling as a primary theoretical approach and also engages with environmentality as conceptualized by Agrawal (2005).
Agrawal, A. (2005). Environmentality: Technologies of Government and the Making of Subjects. London: Duke University Press.
Ingold, T. (2000). The Perception of the Environment: Essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. London: Routledge.
Montes, J. and Kafley, B. (2019). Ecotourism discourses in Bhutan: contested perceptions and values. Tourism Geographies, DOI: 10.1080/14616688.2019.1618905.