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Below are sessions and papers from the online Preliminary Program for the AAG Los Angeles 2013 meeting, as of 13 February 2013. The original calls for Abstracts for RTS sponsored sessions at at the bottom of this page.

PAPER SESSIONS sponsored by the Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Specialty Group

• Affect and Dissonant Pasts: Power and Politics, Collision and Collusion
• Bargaining with Distant Places: Historical and Cultural Aspects of Real and Virtual Travel
• Down and Out in Parks and Protected Areas: Social, Cultural, and Historical Approaches
• Leisure, Tourism, and Political Ecology
• Lifestyle Migrants & Destination Communities
• Methodologies in Social Memory and/or Heritage Tourism Research I
• Methodologies in Social Memory and/or Heritage Tourism Research II
• Opportunities for Rural Tourism
• Re-framing Sustainable Tourism
• Re-framing Sustainable Tourism II
• Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Specialty Group Business Meeting
• Sustainable Tourism and Resilient Tourism
• THE PHENOMENON OF ETHNIC TOURISM IN EUROPE
• Tourism as Development in Asia - Session 1
• Tourism as Development in Asia - session 2
• Tourism Geography and Evolutionary Research I
• Tourism Geography and Evolutionary Research II
• Tourism Geography and Evolutionary Research III
• Tourism: In search of heritage
• Travel, Visitation, and Transportation in the Parks
• Traveling for a Cause: Critical Examinations of Volunteer Tourism and Social Justice I
• Traveling for a Cause: Critical Examinations of Volunteer Tourism and Social Justice II
• Traveling for a Cause: Critical Examinations of Volunteer Tourism and Social Justice III

Papers with the Keyword: TOURISM

Papers with the Keyword: RECREATION

Papers with the Keyword: SPORTS

"What was that all about?" Critical reflections on London 2012, the media and the mega-event.

Interactive geovisual analytical toolkit for team sports

The Olympic project for Rio de Janeiro: mercantilization of urban space, accumulation by dispossession and uneven development

Papers with the Keyword: LEISURE

(3) Tourism Geography and Evolutionary Research

Recent developments in evolutionary economic geography (Boschma & Martin, 2010) are receiving increasing interest from tourism geographers. Aspects of path dependence, micro-firm survival, resort evolution, and regional development policy have been addressed in empirical studies of the tourism economy, dating back to the seminal concept of Richard Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle (Brouder & Eriksson, 2012; Butler, 1980; Ivars Baidal, 2004; Papatheodorou, 2004). However, theoretical discussion on the principles of evolutionary notions of economic change within tourism has been limited. Yet the possibility to explain macro-level trends while allowing for micro-level agency resulting in varying outcomes across the space economy is of central interest to the theoretical development of tourism geography. This session highlights the possibilities for tourism researchers to take on new perspectives to regional restructuring and also opens space for evolutionary scholars interested in low-technology, service sectors, with tourism being a pertinent case.

This call invites papers on evolutionary approaches within tourism geography. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• role of policy in economic evolution
• regional branching and structural change
• path dependence and new path creation
• learning in networks and cluster development
• role of entrepreneurship in economic change
  

Enquiries are welcome to the Session Organizers:

• Americas; Asia; & Oceania:Alison Gill, Simon Fraser University agill@sfu.ca -or- Patrick Brouder, Umeå University patrick.brouder@geography.umu.se
  
• Africa; Europe; & Middle East: Salvador Anton-Clavé, Rovira i Virgili University Salvador.anton@urv.cat -or- Julie Wilson, Rovira i Virgili University julie.wilson@urv.cat

(4) Methodologies in Social Memory and Heritage Tourism Research

The examination of social memory and heritage tourism has grown considerably over the past few decades, both inside and outside the field of geography. Methodological innovation and reflection have accompanied theoretical advances in the study of memory and heritage tourism.  Scholars continue to uncover new data sources and new methods (qualitative and quantitative) for analyzing the process and politics of remembering and touring the past through place.  Despite the increasing volume of research on these topics, there remains much scholarship to be completed and there is a need to create a forum for sharing methodological ideas in light of the ongoing re-conceptualization of what constitutes data and method in cultural and historical geography. We invite participation in a paper session for AAG 2013 that highlights the development and use of new, innovative methodologies; revisits and refines more established methodologies; and carries out a broader discussion of the role of methodology in the study of social memory and/or heritage tourism.  Papers might approach methods and methodology from a variety of perspectives and we are open to work that examines social memory both inside and outside the context of heritage tourism.  Possible paper topics include but are not restricted to:

• primary data collection
• new access to secondary data
• new analysis of existing data
• new scales of analysis
• pictures and photos as data
• archival data
• video as data
• mining internet data
• from paper to electronic data
• traditional methods, unique analysis
• and many more….

Session Organizers:
- David Butler, The University of Southern Mississippi;
- Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee-Knoxville;
- Perry Carter, Texas Tech University;
- Arnold Modlin, Norfolk State University

Contact: David Butler at David.Butler@usm.edu if you are interested in participating in this session

(5) Transportation and “America’s Best Idea”: Travel and Mobility in National Parks and Protected Areas

National parks and other federal lands receive tremendous visitation, almost exclusively by car. The ‘dual mandate’ under which national parks are managed requires that providing access to the scenic and historic features of America’s national parks must be balanced by environmental protections for those features. Travel to and within national parks and similar lands has become a matter of increasing concern for environmental, public health, and social equity reasons. This session will examine such topics as recreational travel to national parks and other protected public areas within cities or in wilderness. Given the subject of the session(s), possible topics of interest might include, but are not limited to: 

• Transportation equity and accessibility to public lands
• Alternative transportation systems, issues, modeling and policy 
• Visitor movement, mobility, and travel experience within parks
• Environmental consequences of roads and other transportation projects in protected areas
• Congestion, overcrowding, visitor impacts, and sustainability
• Cultural landscapes of transportation and mobility
• Geography of the Appalachian Trail and other recreational trails 
  

Send an abstract of no more than 250 words and your personal identification number (received from the AAG after applying online atwww.aag.org ) to one of the organizers by October 19, 2012. Organizers:
- Joe Weber, Department of Geography, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 - weber2@bama.ua.edu - phone: 205-348-0086
- Selima Sultana, Department of Geography, University of North Carolina - Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27402 - s_sultan@uncg.edu - phone: 336-334-3895

Session sponsored by: The Transport Geography Specialty Group (TGSG) & The Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Specialty Group (RTS)

(6) Tourism as Development in Asia

According to the UN World Tourism Organization (2012), the largest growth in tourism over the coming decade is expected to take place in the Asia-Pacific region, where arrivals are forecasted to increase from 204 million in 2010 to 535 million by 2030. As one of the world’s largest industries that generates millions of jobs globally, tourism is often heralded as a means for economic development and poverty alleviation. However, its influence on host destinations and their surrounding natural environment is complex and remains a subject of contentious and continuous debate. How can tourism positively impact the livelihoods of those who need it most? Does this booming sector offer hope or hindrance for marginalized peoples in Asian countries?

This session will examine tourism as a development strategy within the context of developing and developed nations in Asia. Possible topics of interest may include, but are not limited to:

-        Urban and rural economic development
-        Local development and community empowerment
-        Sustainable tourism (including responsible, pro-poor, and alternative tourism; ecotourism)
-        Sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing
-        Protected areas and resource management
-        Political economy of tourism development
-        Backpacker tourism
-        Entrepreneurship and regional development
-        Cultural and heritage tourism
-        Cross-cultural learning and education

Enquiries are welcome. Please submit abstracts (no more than 250 words) to the session organizers no later than October 15. Session organizers:
- Heidi Karst, University of Waterloo, hkarst@uwaterloo.ca
- Li Yang, Western Michigan University, li.1.yang@wmich.edu

Reference: United Nations World Tourism Organization [UNWTO] (2012). Tourism Highlights. Madrid: UNWTO.

(7) The Phenomenon of Ethnic Tourism in Europe

This is the call for papers that address the developing niche market of ethnic tourism, or what is also referred to as roots tourism, genealogical tourism or diaspora tourism. The phenomenon consists of return visits by emigrants (and/or their descendants) to the country of their ancestors. Due to specific characteristics, researchers have designated this type of tourism as a separate segment under the topic of heritage tourism. Due to the fact that almost every European country has its diaspora living outside of the country's borders, the potential for expansion of this type of tourism is great.

The organizer of this session is especially interested in papers that focus on good/bad practice examples in the field of European ethnic tourism, explore the economic and social impacts of ethnic or roots tourism on receiving countries (or families), or identify and discuss the types of destinations (families, home towns, religious places, cultural/historic sites) that attract this specific type of tourist population.

Deadline: September 21, 2012 - Please send proposed titles and abstracts of up to 250 words to: Miha Koderman, PhD, Department of Geography, Faculty of humanities, University of Primorska, Slovenia, (miha.koderman@fhs.upr.si)

(8) Tourism Geographies Session: Sustainable Tourism and Resilient Tourism

Resilience has become increasingly signifcant as a way of adressing the urgent needs of communities in today's rapidly changing world. While some consider resilience as a feature of sustainability, other consider it as a major departure. The latter argument, for example, sees sustainability as trying to prevents climate change, and resilience as trying to adapt to changes. In addition, resilience has two major approaches. The first, and better known, approach has a focus on large catastrophic events, such as a tsunami or economic crash. An alternative approach seeks to understand how people and communities deal with slow, gradual changes over time, such as rises in sea level or changing job markets. The latter approach has been referred to as evolutionary resilience, persistent resilience, and transitional resilience (among other terms). This has significant ties to sustainable community development to the degree that each has a focus on capacity building and institutional learning.

This session explores all of these perspectives in the context of tourism communities. Papers are welcome that expand our understanding of sustainable tourism and of tourism and resilience, both at the large scale disaster level, and as the day-to-day survival level. Papers that interface between the two concepts of sustainability and resilience are also welcome, though not required. Let me know if you have any questions about this session.

Please submit abstracts to the session organizer, Alan A. Lew, Northern Arizona University, <alan.lew@nau.edu>, no later than October 17. (See full abstract submission instructions at the top of this webpage.)

This session is cosponsored by the Tourism Geographies journal and the Tourism Commission of the International Geographical Union.

(9) Traveling for a Cause: Alternative Tourism, Consumption and Transnational Social Movements

This panel critically explores the intersection of alternative tourism, consumption and transnational social movements. Consumer movements such as fair trade, organic agriculture and food sovereignty are illustrative of the broader expansion of the new moral economies. These movements are increasingly represented within tourism where pro-poor, agricultural tourism and responsible tourism agendas are now commonplace. As a unique commodity within this expansion, tourism facilitates the opportunity to bring together the producers (host community members and tourism practitioners) and consumers (tourists).  This panel builds on recent research that highlights the potential role of tourism to contribute to consciousness-raising among its participants and to be a platform from which local communities can recruit support for social movement participation.

We seek papers that theoretically and empirically examine this dynamic interplay between alternative tourism and the broader expansion of the new moral economies as well as the potential role of alternative tourism experiences to facilitate both new knowledge production and new challenges to realizing broader social justice agendas. Key topics for this panel may include the intersection of lifestyle and social movements (e.g. WWOOFing), social movement discourses in tourism (e.g. fair trade tourism), power relations within tourism encounters, host community based social movements, the commodification of social movement agendas in tourism (e.g. slum tours) and the expansion of the logics of neoliberalism through alternative tourism consumption (e.g. volunteer tourism).

If you are interested in joining this panel, please contact Mary Mostafanezhad <mary.mostafanezhad@otago.ac.nz>, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

(10) Volunteer Tourism

Co-organized by Harng Luh, Sin (University of Colorado at Boulder and National University of Singapore) and Tim Oakes (University of Colorado at Boulder)

The recent decades has seen a rise in what is called ‘volunteer tourism’ or ‘voluntourism’ – travelers helping out while having fun, or do-gooders on vacation. Central to the rhetoric in volunteer tourism is the idea that tourism ventures can and should bring about positive impacts to host destinations, and with strong overtones of 'social', 'justice', 'pro-poor', 'green', and 'eco' tourism, volunteer tourism has the capacity to make a direct and tangible improvement to host communities or the natural environment in tourism destinations. From what started off as a niche sector taken up by only few tourists, volunteer tourism is now increasingly available and popular amongst everyday tourists in different parts of the world.

Yet alongside enthusiastic and positive statements on the great potentials that volunteer tourism has in addressing poverty and environmental damage, are also pessimistic and cynical assessments of the “dark side of volunteer tourism”, suggesting that it is nothing but a “a morally seductive adaptation of modern mass tourism” (MacKinnon, 2009). At the same time, volunteer tourism (especially those that involve work in orphanages) is related to criticisms towards 'slum tourism' and the associated ills of voyeurism on poverty, despair and suffering.

Positioned against larger trends such as ethical consumerism in tourism, religious mission travel, work and study immersion programs, and academic fieldwork as ‘volunteer tourism’, this session therefore invites papers considering the various implications of travel based on supposed benefits to social, charitable or environmental causes, and invites critical scholarship to discuss the research agenda in this emerging field.

Submissions: Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words along with a short author(s) bibliography by email to Harng Luh, Sin (hlsin@nus.edu.sg) before 30 September 2012.

(11) Leisure, Tourism, and Political Ecology

During the last decade there has been something of a surge in texts broadening the scope of tourism and leisure studies through engagements with tourism and political economy (Bianchi 2009, Mosedale 2011, Williams 2004), how exertions of power permeate tourism (MacLeod & Carrier 2010, Church & Coles 2007), and so forth. While these share some common influences with influential Political Ecology texts there has to date still been very few texts striving to engage with issues concerned with tourism and leisure explicitly in relation to this nowadays rather broad field. Though leisurely consumption plays a key role in today’s capitalist economy, and given the strategic and economic value of ecological discourses together with the increasing use of the concept of sustainability, many important issues remain surprisingly under-theorized. With some notable exceptions tourist and leisure scholars have neglected the vantage points that might open up through engagements with Political Ecology. Conversely, scholars working to develop our understanding of political ecologies have during the last decade engaged with issues ranging from forestry in the global south to cutting edge research on molecular biology, but have seldom considered the roles of various leisure activities in shaping socio-ecologies worldwide.

We do not in any way think this represents a tension or unbridgeable gap. Rather we see this as an opportunity to exchange key insights from two, heuristically and loosely defined, research fields to perhaps reach a fuller understanding of the socio-ecologies of leisure and tourism. Therefore we invite theoretically and empirically informed papers which strive to scrutinize aspects of leisure, tourism and political ecology. Examples of possible topics include but are certainly not limited to the following:

• The ways analyzes of the political ecologies of various production processes can inform our understanding of touristic experiences as commodities and vice versa.

• Discursive constructions of Nature, production of socio-natures, and tourism.

• Nature and national identity in tourism planning.

• (Biodiversity) conservation policy and tourism development.

• Land degradation, socio-ecological transformation and the production of leisure landscapes.

• The notion of hybridity in understanding various tourist practices and the political implications of shedding light on non-human nature.

If you are interested in presenting a paper in the session send an abstract of no more than 250 words to Erik Jönsson erik.jonsson@keg.lu.se) and Linda Boukhris (lindaboukhris@voila.fr) no later than Friday, October 19, 2012.

(12) Re-framing Sustainable Tourism

The term sustainable tourism has been in existence since the late 1980’s and since that time, debates in the field have been challenged by varying notions of what sustainable tourism is and to what purposes does it serve. In a world that is increasingly globalized and interconnected, contentious and complex, is sustainable tourism limited to small firms located in rural environments, or does the concept have broader applicability. Technology, environmental issues and global- local interactions have changed enormously in the last 25 years thus necessitating an evaluation of the concept as an organizing tool for research and practice. As such, academics and others continue to re-define and reframe issues of sustainable tourism in interesting and innovative ways. This session proposes to highlight some of those ways in which sustainable tourism is being re-framed to include among other things:

• Its place in complex social-ecological systems
• Challenges to assumptions treated as facts
• An increasing focus on justice and governance
• The relevancy of the notion of resiliency to sustainable tourism
• The politics of sustainable tourism
• More nuanced understandings of scale and sustainable tourism
• Managing and planning sustainable tourism

We invite both empirical research and critical essays on the idea of Reframing Sustainable Tourism. Authors of abstracts chosen for this session will be asked to develop a paper for possible inclusion in a special issue of the journal Sustainability and as a chapter in an upcoming edited volume on re-framing sustainable tourism.

Please send abstracts and PINs for inclusion in the session no later than October 24th

Keith Bosak, Associate Professor of Nature-Based Tourism, The University of Montana, Keith.bosak@umontana.edu

(13) Down and Out in Parks and Protected Areas: Social, Cultural, and Historical Approaches

This organized paper session will highlight social, cultural, and historical approaches to studying parks and protected areas in the United States. Topics will includes demographic diversity in Yellowstone National Park, historical tourism and outdoor recreation in western US national parks, US Forest Service fire policy and US public land management, and conflicts between wilderness and sustainable agriculture management issues in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Chair and Organizer: Yolonda Youngs, Ph.D., Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID
younyolo@isu.edu