ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book provides an invaluable contribution and a rare opportunity to draw from the tourism academic research to shape policies and change the industry from a historical perspective as well as contemporary outlook. It highlights the actual as well as potential role of tourism academics to the tourism industry. Rhetoric refers to what is spoken and written primarily by tourism academics. In contrast, reality refers to what actually occurs in practical planning initiatives. For a variety of reasons, it is not desirable that such a gap should exist. The book addresses this gap and the differences between what is written about tourism planning by academics and the conditions which dictate how planning occurs. It describes contemporary neo-liberalism and public policies, which are dominated by corporatist ideologies and have been met by new regionalism and localism, which, in turn, shape the policy landscape.
