Project be funded by

Chronic Emergencies and Ecosocial Transformations in Touristified Coastal Spaces (PID2022-137648OB-C21). Funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”.

Call for abstracts to the session entitled "Critical geographies of tourism".
Organized by the panelists: Ivan Murray, Asunción Blanco-Romero2 & Macià Blázquez-Salom
Session in the 35th International Geographical Congress 2024 (24-30 August, Dublin, Ireland).


The critical geographies of tourism present a turning point after the publication of Stephen Britton's well-known article in 1991. From that moment on, scientific production on the critical geographies of tourism has increased significantly. This scientific development has deployed a critical look at tourism from multiple perspectives and approaches, especially after two recent episodes of crisis. The 2008 crisis was solved in favour of maintaining the capitalist system, among others, through a deepening of tourism industry. The COVID-19 crisis is the most recent one and led, among others, to the paralysis of tourist activity. Based on this experience and in view of the looming crises, we understand that it is necessary to address critically the scientific analysis of these new scenarios:

  • State of the art of critical tourism geographies beyond the academic literature in English.
  • Tourism commodification of nature.
  • Corporate power and financialization.
  • Inequality, social class analysis and different forms of tourist consumption.
  • Biophysical throughput of the tourism industry.
  • Transformation of tourist mobility in crisis contexts.
  • Carbon footprint of tourism.
  • Climate change, climatic shelter and tourism.
  • Local empowerment, movements to defend citizens' rights and fair governance.
  • Tourism and gender.
  • Labour in the tourism industry.
  • Social and Solidarity Tourist Economy.
  • Public policies for the ecosocial transformation of tourism.
  • Postcapitalist spaces of hope.
  • Leisure and recreation to replace tourist activity.
  • Education, teaching and awareness at the service of alternative tourism consumption.

This session is supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ERDF "A way of making Europe" (projects PID2022-137648OB-C21 & PID2020-114186RB-C21) and the journal Tourism Geographies.