Tourism, Identity and Recent Innovations: Case-studies in Tourism Research

The introduction to this special issue draws together certain themes in tourism studies which emerge in the four papers and then, in a postscript, turns to the examination of a major conceptual concern in the study of tourism development. The four papers provide valuable empirical case-study material, three on Malaysia (the Kelau homestay programme in Kedah; the Kapitan Keling Mosque as a tourist focus and presentation of Indian Muslim culture in George Town, Penang; then the ethnic-based Murut Tahol ecotourism project in Sabah and finally a theme park based on the film Alexander the Great, scenes of which were shot on location in Ubon Ratchathani, north-east Thailand); and in the postscript there is a consideration of various expressions of popular culture in Japan, including ‘flash mobs’, performance art events, anime, and fictional pop star concerts and their capacity to attract touristrelated visits to sites of media-generated interest. In their different ways the papers are concerned with the relationships between emerging tourisms, touristic encounters and interactions, cultural expressions and representations of identity.