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Tourism and Entrepreneurialism in Southeast Asian Cities
Author(s) -
Gillen Jamie
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
geography compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.587
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 1749-8198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-8198.2010.00322.x
Subject(s) - tourism , multiculturalism , harmony (color) , economic geography , politics , southeast asia , economy , population , state (computer science) , geography , political science , political economy , economic growth , sociology , ethnology , economics , art , demography , archaeology , algorithm , computer science , law , visual arts
This study reviews recent literatures related to entrepreneurship in the Southeast Asian urban tourism sector. The study is divided into three sections. The first section concerns urban identity. I outline recent debates surrounding the disparity between tourist stereotypes of the region’s cities and discursive attempts by the local governments to counter them. I argue that the twin themes of harmony and convergence are used by Southeast Asia’s urban governments to promote their cities as appealing, safe, and multicultural places to visit. In the second section, I present an alternative approach to traditional understandings of state–society relations in the region. Instead of explaining local resistances to a predatory state, I highlight recent research that favors a relational, cooperative reading of the production of the tourism industry in Southeast Asia. Lastly, I introduce the political implications for urban tourism growth, focusing on the desires of the Southeast Asian urban population to use tourism as a tool to expedite their political goals.