ABSTRACT
Despite a lack of conceptual consensus on tourism, researchers agree that international tourism is empirically related to two ideal types: on the one hand, ‘mass tourism’ is commercial, seasonal and typically located along coastal areas; it involves a high volume of tourists who generally adhere to their own cultural norms; and it relies upon high-density and standardized accommodation to produce a homogenized product and experience. On the other hand, is the post-1980s growth in ‘alternative tourism’, a term that encompasses a range of planning strategies (e.g., ecological, culturally responsible, or sustainable) that purport to offer benign alternatives to the political economic, cultural and environmental problems associated with mass tourism.
