The moralisation of tourism : sun, sand ... and saving the world?

Tourism is no longer an innocent pleasure, but has been reinterpreted as damaging to cultures and to the environment. 'New' forms of tourism, such as ecotourism, alternative tourism, community tourism and ethical tourism, have been presented as morally superior alternatives to the package holiday.

Ironically though, even advocates of the new, ethical tourism brands are increasingly subject to criticisms, not dissimilar to those that they themselves level against package holidays.

Jim Butcher puts today's critique of tourism in historical context.

He identifies the emergence of a distinctly moral conception of modern tourism and a 'New Moral Tourist', assessing the effect this has on the holiday-maker, and the impact it has on the host societies in terms of development opportunities.

In the process he challenges assumptions that the package tourism boom has been destructive and that new forms of tourism are somehow more ethical and less damaging to host communities and environments. Using a host of international examples from the industry, the media and non-governmental organisations, The Moralisation of Tourism examines what the advocates of 'new tourism' see as being wrong with mass tourism, looks critically at the claims made for the new alternatives and makes a case for guilt-free holidays.