Abstract

For many years Ireland has been a popular tourist destination and tourism has been one of the most significant social, economic and cultural forces in Irish society. Irish Tourism: Image, Culture and Identity engages with major national and international debates on contemporary tourism through cutting-edge research. The book explores the multi-faceted nature of this important phenomenon, drawing on current work in sociology, cultural studies, ethnography, and language studies. For those who theorise about tourism and those who make practical day-to-day decisions on tourism policy, Irish Tourism will provide invaluable insights into historical and contemporary tourist representations, practices and impacts. In addressing issues such as the relationship between the local and the global in tourist settings, the construction of tourist imagery and products, and the development of tourism policy, contributors to Irish Tourism offer an innovative and critical analysis of the impact of global tourism on a small country. This book will be indispensable reading for students and scholars in Tourism Studies and Irish Studies and will also be essential for students of sociology, cultural studies, geography, languages and anthropology.

Michael Cronin is Associate Professor in the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies and Dean of the Joint Faculty of Humanities, Dublin City University. He is author of Across the Lines: Travel, Language and Translation (Cork University Press, 2000) and Translating Ireland: Translation, Languages, Identities (Cork University Press, 1996). He is co-editor of Reinventing Ireland: Culture, Society and the Global Economy (Pluto Press, 2002) and Tourism in Ireland: A Critical Analysis (Cork University Press, 1993). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Tourism and Cultural Change and a member of the International Editorial Board of Language and Intercultural Communication.

Barbara O’Connor is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Communications, Dublin City University. She has published widely on Irish tourism and other aspects of Irish popular culture including media audiences/consumption and popular dance. She is co-editor of Gender in Irish Society (Galway University Press, 1987), Tourism in Ireland: A Critical Analysis (Cork University Press, 1993) and Media Audiences in Ireland: Power and Cultural Identity (University College Dublin Press, 1997).