Destructive creation: capital accumulation and the structural violence of tourism

Abstract

Tourism is not merely a capitalist practice but a central practice through which capitalism sustains itself. Precisely how tourism "products" become capital and the types of violence this process entails, however, has not yet been systematically theorized or investigated. Building on Noel Castree's six principles of commodification, we explore how tourism becomes capital, understood as "value in motion", and how this process not only provokes various forms of material violence but can become a form of (structural) violence in its own right. Based on research in tourism settings in Southern Africa and Latin America and general trends in international tourism, we argue that three integrated forms of structural violence to both humans and non-human natures are especially prominent, namely the systematic production of inequalities, waste and "spaces of exception". As a global industry crucially dependent on integrated material and discursive forms of value creation, we also show that these forms of structural violence are often rendered invisible through branding. We conclude that tourism uniquely combines these three forms of structural violence to enable a move from Schumpeter's famous creative destruction to "destructive creation" as a key form of violence under capitalism.

Integrating Indigenous values with capitalism through tourism: Alaskan experiences and outstanding issues

“…In her vision, Indigenous tourism workers can use the tools of representation to achieve economic gains. Bunten (2010Bunten ( , 2011 examines larger questions about the resilience of Indigenous cultures to forces of capitalistic tourism. She presents a vision of how Indigenous people can embed capitalist activities in their own values:…”

“…However, theoretical insights derived from research on Indigenous tourism (Bunten, 2008(Bunten, , 2010(Bunten, , 2011Butler & Hinch, 2007;Honey, 1999;Johnston, 2000Johnston, , 2006Notzke, 1999;Robinson, 1999;Sofield, 1993;Turner, Berkes, & Turner, 2012;Zeppel, 2006) and from research taking a radical political economy approach to tourism (Bianchi, 2009(Bianchi, , 2011Britton, 1982Britton, , 1991Mosedale, 2011;Shepherd, 2002;Weaver, 2013), on the other hand, would likely advise a cautionary approach to tourism development. These latter realms of theory contend that tourism, especially in Indigenous communities where close ties to local ecosystems have been identified by the communities as culturally essential, can lead to undesirable impacts and outcomes if processes of development are dominated by outside forces and subjected to the global economic imperative for profit maximization through socialÀecological commoditization.…”

Propuesta metodológica para valorar la calidad escénica de los paisajes del agua y su potencial como recurso turístico

“…Sin embargo, algunos autores afirman que la turistificación de un espacio natural puede conllevar su mercantilización (Büscher & Fletcher, 2016) y, por consiguiente, ser contraproducente a la propia conservación del espacio (Fletcher, 2009). Por este motivo, cuando se pone un espacio en valor es importante tener presente que la valorización turística no tiene por qué coincidir con la importancia ecológica del espacio (Gobster, Nassauer, Daniel, & Fry, 2007).…”

Rural Community‐Based Tourism and its Impact on Ecological Consciousness, Environmental Stewardship and Social Structures

“…Brondo and Brown () observed that the hybrid environmental governance models that emerged under neoliberalism create new lines of institutionalised authority. Meanwhile, Bondo demonstrated that ‘to create nature as a true commodity, people and local livelihoods dependent on specific lands, waters, and natural resources, had to be detangled and removed’ (2015: 1415), while Büscher and Fletcher () concluded that tourism can result in structural violence both to nature and human.…”