Tourism generating hope: theories and practices in Critical Sustainable Tourism

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K13142
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Tourism Studies
• Research Institution: Wakayama University
• Principal Investigator: Kato Kumi 和歌山大学, 観光学部, 教授 (30511365)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: Sustainability

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Importance of resilience within the sustainability theory was constructed in this research, especially in relation to the process of empowerment in conflicts and disaster. Study was conducted in Fukushima, Indonesia and Cambodia. It was concluded that tourism can provide a holistic insight and power to bring about social changes, which for communities a form of social activism. There, communities’ creative insights, social cohesion, and cooperation is a key. Here, reconstruction from conflicting and difficult situations was the focus, which showed such process is a long-term process towards building a more sustainable society. This provides an important guideline for the role of tourism in its social, cultural and environmental contribution.

Free Research Field

Sustainable Tourism

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

Journal of Sustainable Tourism では特にジェンダ平等の意義について論じた。調査の結果はコミュニティエンタープライズ（若者・女性のエンパワメント、リーダーシップ、スキル習得）、それによるツーリズム事業の企画、運営、それを通じてのコミュニティへの社会、経済的貢献という形が構築されることがわかった。また、歴史的、文化的共有遺産の維持、復興はコミュニティの力（レジリエンス）の強化に欠かせないことは、被災地復興において特に明らかであった。