Event organised by Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change in partnership with the Institute of Northern Studies, Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.
Globally, coastlines are arguably the most important sites for tourist activity and tourism development. The various combinations of sea and shore have become highly popular and successful attractions, and a majority of the world’s leisure tourists cling to these liminal spaces at the margins of the land. The lure of the ‘seaside’, the beach, and the resorts which have evolved to service and entertain tourists, is immensely powerful, reflecting a long standing but ever-changing relationship between humans and the oceans.
The dominance of coastal tourism within the modern period has generated a wealth of issues which this conference seeks to address, including: The patterns and trends in how tourists mobilise the resources of sea, sand and shore; Ways in which coastal communities have adapted to tourism; Environmental degradation and regeneration of coastal regions and marine ecologies; The historical forms, structures and aesthetics of ‘seaside’ resorts; Regeneration of ‘historic’ resorts; Continuing multi-national development of ‘pristine’ coastlines; Inclusivities and exclusivities in coastal resorts; Changing beach and seaside holiday ‘traditions’.
In addressing such issues this major international and multi-disciplinary conference seeks to promote dialogue across disciplinary boundaries on a global stage. We therefore welcome papers from: anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art and design history, cultural geography, cultural studies, ethnology and folklore, history, heritage studies, landscape studies, linguistics, museum studies, political science, sociology, tourism studies and urban/spatial planning.
The event will seek to draw upon ideas, cases and best practice from international scholars and help develop new understandings of the relationships between tourism and the coast. It will also provide a major networking opportunity for international scholars, policy makers and professionals.
Key themes addressed at this conference include:
· Histories of coastal tourism developments and resorts;
· Regeneration of coastal economies;
· Social and environmental impacts of coastal developments;
· Representations of seaside holidays in popular culture;
· Worker migrations to coastal sites;
· Beach behaviours and traditions;
· Myths of the sea and coastal communities;
· Coastal resort art and architecture;
· Tourist coastal colonies.
Keynote Speakers
The conference will include keynote addresses from:
Hiérnaux-Nicolás, Professor in Human Geography, Department of Sociology, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana de Iztapalapa, Mexico City, Mexico
Dr Waleed Hazbun, Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Director of the National Fairground Archive, University of Sheffield, UK
Professor Fred Gray, Professor of Continuing Education, Sussex Institute, University of Sussex, UK
to book: www.tourism-culture.com
