Are you looking for a new podcast episode to listen? Perhaps something 'slow and low...is the way to go' kind of episode that is soothing to the ear interspersed with nuggets of knowledge and opportunity to learn something new? Well, I have sometime to offer to you. Check out my session on the Tourism Geographies … Continue reading Live and On Air: a podcast discussion on the #Yearof Return2019 paper
We come full circle. What an intense whirlwind of fieldwork in the rainy sunny city of Lisboa. I didn’t manage to tick-off the top 10 or top 20 or even the top 5 of things to do, see and experience in Lisbon. Perhaps I might have ticked-off some of the bucket list items without even … Continue reading Lisbon Letters V: Obrigado and see you again!
I had a rather early start for Day 4 of fieldwork. I was beginning to feel the intensity from the preceeding days of participant observation, interviews and conversations. I wished I could chill in bed for a while longer but that was not an option. My plan of attending an Easter Sunday Church service in … Continue reading Lisbon Letters IV: the arrival at the beginning of the end.
Day 3 of fieldwork started with rain but thankfully it did not persist for the whole morning. I had 2 main itinerary points on the agenda for the day: 1) a visit to Belém and; 2) participant observation on a 4-hour walking tour. Belém: The bus journey into Belém was quite an experience given how … Continue reading Lisbon Letters III: I came, I saw, I discovered…Akwasikrom
The second day of fieldwork started off with a bright sunny promise but alas it did not last long before it started pouring. I did at least manage to caught some sunshine in the morning as I wandered around with no particular itinerary. One of the things I enjoyed doing in a new city is … Continue reading Lisbon Letters II: off the beaten track to find memorial absences
On Maudy Thursday, I made my way from Wageningen via Amsterdam to Lisbon where I will be spending this Easter weekend on a research fieldwork. It's a rather packed scheduled in this short window. I arrived to town late morning to a rather wet and rainy welcome but I had no time to pity myself. … Continue reading Lisbon letters: bem-vindo to a rainy day of fieldwork
This call for papers seeks contributions addressing the role of tourism policies in achieving sustainable development in Brazil, and invites interdisciplinary perspectives. The focus is on tourism policy and planning in Brazil, highlighting the country's diverse environmental and socio-cultural landscape. It discusses the challenges and prospects for sustainable development, especially in light of the impact of tourism on economic, environmental, and social aspects. The content emphasizes the need for incorporating sustainability into tourism policy, planning, and development in Brazil. It also invites research on various topics related to tourism, including indigenous tourism, heritage tourism, and community-based tourism. The submission details and key dates for the special issue publication are also provided.
We (Nuhu Ismail, Ana Aceska and myself) are delighted to share with you our co-authored paper that has just been published in the journal Cities. This is the second publication coming out of Nuhu's PhD project/thesis that was successfully defended in March 2023. In this paper, we argue against ahistorical explanations of contemporary urban informal … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] The making of urban informal settlements: Critical junctures and path dependency in governing Abuja, Nigeria
From conceptualisation to seeing the light of publication, this paper has taken us over 5 years to get to this finish line. Through various iterations, submissions and rejections we pressed on. At many points along the road I was ready to throw in the towel and count our sunken costs. I am grateful to my co-author … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] Disabilities, functionings and capabilities: the capability approach in accessible tourism
It took a while to cook this to the right taste but it is well done now....we are delighted to invite you to savour and enjoy this freshly baked off the hot press research article that has been published in the Tourism Geographies journal. This article forms part of the outputs from my ongoing NWO … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] Commemoration and commodification: slavery heritage, Black travel and the #YearofReturn2019 in Ghana
In this third instalment of the Natal Notes, I want to briefly reflect on the first half of my 2nd week stay at the Department of Tourism of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) in Natal, Brazil. I title this reflection as 'the worldmaking possibilities of liminal spaces in academia'. This is … Continue reading Natal Notes III: The worldmaking possibilities of liminal spaces in academia
After two days of intensive teaching we headed out in the early hours of last Wednesday for another 2 days of intensive fieldwork in Recife and Olinda + 1 day in Natal afterwards. A largely enjoyable 4 hour road trip on highway BR-101 brought us to the old centre of Recife. I learned that highway … Continue reading Natal Notes II: The joyful hard work of fieldwork adventures in Recife, Olinda and Natal
For the next two weeks, I have the privilege of being a visiting professor at the Department of Tourism of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Natal, Brazil. Among other things, I am teaching on a course on critical tourism studies, undertaking research fieldwork, delivering a keynote at a conference here and … Continue reading Natal Notes: Olá, bem-vindo to Brazil
This past weekend, I have been on a scoping research visit to Berlin exploring the transformative memory work of tourism in relation to slavery and colonial heritage. It was exciting for me heading to Berlin after 12 years. My first visit to Berlin was in 2012 as part of a study trip during my Erasmus … Continue reading Das Afrikanische Viertel and colonial traces in Berlin: a fieldwork report
There has been a feature article on my research in the Resource Magazine of Wageningen University & Research. I had an very enjoyable conversation with Marieke Enter the journalist. She has written a very wonderful piece that captures our conversation and my research well. You can read the article on the Resource website through this … Continue reading [Featured magazine article] New perspective thanks to slavery tourism
You've seen the video abstract...now you can read the full paper 😉 https://youtu.be/CxD8l6OxWc0 I'm absolutely delighted again to share with you my research article which has been published as #openaccess in the Annals of Tourism Research. You can freely read and freely download a copy of the paper through this link (or download directly below): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738323000634 … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] The embodied absence of the past: Slavery heritage and the transformative memory work of tourism
I'm glad to share the news of a new research paper that has been published in the journal Tourism Geographies about the important role of politicians and political trigger events in shaping tourism policy and destination development trajectories. This paper is co-authored with, and based on the research of my former MSc thesis student Melese … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] The state, political trigger events and path creation in tourism destination in Ethiopia
It is my absolute great delight to share with you news of my upcoming research publication in the Annals of Tourism Research journal. After more than a year of the review process, the first substantive paper from my NWO Veni research project is about to be published. I had this extended video abstract made to … Continue reading [Publication (video) ALERT!] A visual explainer of the embodied absence of the past
Last week Monday, I had an interview with Ewout Klei of the de Kanttekening media. It was an enjoyable conversation sharing some insights about my ongoing NWO (Dutch Research Council) funded research project on 'Slavery heritage tourism in Ghana-Suriname-Netherlands'. We also touched on my upcoming KNAW - Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen conference on 'Tourism, … Continue reading Featured interview: slavery heritage tourism in Ghana
I am delighted to have been awarded a Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Early Career Partnership Grant. With this grant award I can organise the upcoming the international "Tourism, memory and heritage" conference on 1 - 2 June 2023 in Amsterdam in relation to my ongoing Veni research project More info about … Continue reading Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Early Career Partnership Grant Award
Encountering the tangible outcome of one's work is always a delight. I was therefore delighted when I got a hold of the physical copy of book on Cultural Heritage and Tourism in Africa through the post. In this book, I co-wrote a chapter on African Diasporan Tourism with my wonderful co-author Professor Ishmael Mensah based … Continue reading [New book chapter published!] African Diaspora Tourism: Concepts, Issues and Prospects beyond Slavery-oriented Heritage
Roses are red, violets are blue, and I know I am late with this joke...but we are delighted to invite you to participate in the conference on Tourism, memory and heritage in Amsterdam, 1-2 June 2023 🙂 Details below.... Tourism, memory and heritage geographies of cultural production, cultural memory and commemoration 1-2 June 2023 Amsterdam, The Netherlands Call … Continue reading “Tourism, Memory and Heritage” Conference in Amsterdam, 1-2 June 2023 – call for participation
I was in Amsterdam last week for the Black Heritage Amsterdam Tours with students and colleagues. This tour was arranged for our GEO course on Tourist Experience by my colleague Karolina Doughty and it was also an opportunity for me to do fieldwork for my Veni research project. It was while we were on the … Continue reading Scenes from the colonial past: The Maasdamme Collection Exhibition at the Amsterdam Museum
Sound the trumpets! Beat up the drums!! Get on the dance floor!!! Pour out the drinks!!!! Raise a toast and shout the cheers!!!! Today 11 January 2023 is the 10 years birthday anniversary of Adamfo Ghana. Adamfo Ghana is an organisation dedicated to A better future for street connected children in Ghana. Looking back on … Continue reading Sound the trumpets!: Adamfo Ghana is 10 years old today
What constitutes African (digital) heritage? Who assigns heritage values to (im)material cultural elements of the past, present and future? Who maintains and conserves these cultural elements and for which (shared) purposes? To what extent do African state actors and individual cultural entreprenuers work together-apart in activating heritage memories at home and in the diaspora? These … Continue reading Upcoming Workshop: “African (Digital) Heritage” at the Univesity of Bayreuth, 18 – 19 January 2023
On the day that the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte officially apologised for the Netherlands' slavery past on Monday 19 December, a news feature of my Veni research project was published by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). Below you find screenshots of the article...you can read the full news article through the links English version: … Continue reading ‘Tourism brings a dark past closer by’
This is the second 'save the date' annoucement for the 1-2 June 2023 research gathering in Amsterdam in the context of my ongoing Veni research project. Six months on from the first annoucement and as the research project has evolved, the remit of the planned event has also evolved ever so slightly. The starting point … Continue reading “Tourism, Memory and Heritage” Conference, 1 – 2 June 2023 in Amsterdam (Save the date annoucement II)
Save the date! 365 days left for this exciting symposium I am convening on “Tourism and slavery heritage: geographies of cultural productions, cultural memory and commemoration” as part of my NWO Veni project. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqDQQAuSDl0 This will be an international symposium exploring the ways in which tourism in its diverse cultural practices and performances transforms and … Continue reading Save the date: ‘Tourism and slavery heritage’ international symposium (1-2 June 2023)
Here we go.....an outcome of 3 years of work from research idea conception at the start of 2019 through to execution, analysis, writing, rewriting, submission, revisions, revisions, more revisions until final acceptance in the first quarter of 2022. We started on this project while I was still based in Sheffield so it's great that it … Continue reading [New paper, 50 Free copies] Mind the gap: a systematic review of the knowledge contribution claims in adventure tourism research
Finally, I had the premiere of this short edumentary video that provides an overview of my Veni research project. The video was made in August 2021 but COVID-19 related restrictions meant that we've had to keep postpone the date of the Tourism@WUR event during which I wanted to premiere the video. In the end we … Continue reading Premiere of Veni research project edumentary video
Mama You gave me life You were here You left a mark Here in my heart You loved You were loved You held me I will hold you Here in my heart Mama You breathed Now no more You saw Now no more You danced Now no more You smiled Now no more You laughed … Continue reading Here in my heart: an ode to my mother
During this past summer I was in Ghana for fieldwork as part of my VENI research project. It was such a rewarding and challenging time in the field. I made copious observational notes and wrote my reflections on a daily basis during this time. However, since returning to the Netherlands and given the hectic start … Continue reading Lift every voice and sing: sound, emotion and affect in the fieldwork encounter
We finally found a home for this manuscript after almost throwing it in the bin at some point. The journey of this manuscript has been perhaps too long and understandably our love in this pet project began to wane. Thanks to my co-author Chris Mensah at Ho Technical University, Ghana for persisting when I wanted … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] Tourism and Hospitality Research in the Peripheries: Thematic Focus and a Research Agenda from Ghana
A week ago on Friday 3 September, I had the honour and privilege of speaking at the opening of the MA programme in Development Studies and the Mundus MA in Public Policy at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in the Hague, The Netherlands. It was an honour because the ISS is my alma … Continue reading “If it must be done, it must be done well..”: my talk at the opening of the academic year at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in the Hague.
Are you interested in diaspora issues? Is the migration-development nexus an area of interest? Do you wonder about the contribution made by diaspora groups to their home countries? How about the question of the entreprenuerial drive of diaspora groups both in their host countries and in their countries of origin? Perhaps you are interested in … Continue reading Register now and catch me on Zoom! Diaporas, youth entreprenuership and heritage tourism
In line with taking time to enjoy the rejections and acceptance in academic publishing life, I am happy to share the news of my book chapter which is currently in print in a volume on 'Tourism, Change and the Global South' edited by Jarkko and Jayne. This chapter has had a long incubation period starting … Continue reading New book chapter in print: Images, instruments and the governance capacity of local governments in tourism development planning
Here we are again on this date of 1 April which is fast becoming a memorable and important marker for me in many ways. It has been only two years ago that we made a family relocation from the UK to the Netherlands and I officially started the position of a Lectuer in Cultural Geography … Continue reading Veni project is starting today: Slavery, Heritage and Tourism in the Ghana-Suriname-Netherlands Triangle
See what came through the post 🙂 It has taken quite some time since I said Look out, the book proofs are in: Sustainable Tourism Policy and Planning in Africa But now it's in and I'm glad to receive my author's physical hardcopy of this book. More details about the book can be found here https://www.routledge.com/Sustainable-Tourism-Policy-and-Planning-in-Africa/Adu-Ampong-Kimbu/p/book/9780367480509 … Continue reading The book is in my hands:”Sustainable Tourism Policy and Planning in Africa”
Happy New Year and the very best wishes for 2021! You are warmly invited to join the editors and contributors of the Routledge Handbook of Tourism in Africa for a virtual online launch of this handbook on Wednesday 13 January 2021, 10.00 - 11.30 GMT/11.00 - 12.30 CET. This virtual online event will be taking … Continue reading Invitation: virtual book launch of the Routledge Handbook of Tourism in Africa
Dear Reader, Thank you for reading my blog posts throughout the year. Afehyia pa oooo.....Merry Christmas.....Fijne Kerstdagen. I wish you and your loved ones, a restful and delightful holiday season in person or virtually. Enjoy this wonderful Ghanaian 5 days of Christmas The Kontomire Song.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba2H90FDkHI&ab_channel=KwanPaGH
Our manuscript that got accepted last month has now been published online on the Annals of Tourism Research website. This is my early Christmas present through Elsevier offering 50 days of free access to this article. You can use this link to view and also download a free PDF copy of the article. Download a … Continue reading 50 days FREE article access & download! …Exploring tourism impacts through participant-generated images
Finally, the baby has been delivered live and coloured with black&white patches. Oh, it smells nice and feels good to have a physical copy of the Routledge Handbook of Tourism in Africa in my hands. Part of the whole process of co-editing this voluminous handbook has been shared on this blog including when the manuscript … Continue reading Baby delivered: the smell of a printed book!
As part of the Studium Generale's series 'Racism', I will be delivering a live lecture on Tuesday 8 December, 20.00. In this lecture I will be exploring how the fluid everyday practices and performances of tourism at slavery-related heritage sites stimulate plural public memories and dialogue thereby challenging established narratives of the past, racial identites … Continue reading Slavery Heritage Tourism: places of remembrance and spaces of dialogue – a Studium Generale Lecture
We are coming up to almost a year since COVID-19 brought a lockdown of tourism activity across the world. How did this lockdown affect the tourism industry in Africa? How did entreprenuers, businesses, operators and managers adapt to this sudden stop of a very important economic activity? What are the stories of resilience, innovation and … Continue reading Invitation: ATLAS Africa Webinar (The Impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry in Africa)
I feel at once ecstatic, jubilant and humbled with a keen sense of my extreme privilege in being awarded the Dutch National Research Council (NWO) Veni grant - being 1 of 162 laurates awarded out of 1,127 applicants. This has been more than a year in the process of thinking and writing long before the … Continue reading I have a VENI! 3 year research project funded!
YES! Our manuscript after an enjoyable one round of revision (R1) has been accepted in Annals of Tourism Research @AnnTourRes This is a co-authored manuscript with Theres Winter in which we make a call for the adoption of more visual methods in tourism studies, particularly participant generated photo-elicitation approaches. Title and abstract below. Watch out … Continue reading Yes! Manuscript accepted. Get in!
Did you miss the chance to join my Black History (Achievement) Month lecture on Zoom? Well, you are in luck! The recording of the session is now ready and live so you can check it out here. Pre-reading of the lecture details and invitation can be found in this link. https://youtu.be/J3Wn752-hUU Leave your critiques, comments … Continue reading Watch and listen…video recording of my Black History (Achievement) Month lecture
Welcome to Black History Month! which is now an established part of the yearly cultural calender. First celebrated in the USA, Black History Month has for the past 30 years has been celebrated in the UK in October each year. In the Netherlands, Black History Month has been celebrated since 2010 and in 2016 onward … Continue reading Black History (Achievement) Month: a lecture invitation
Happy Birthday! to my lovely wife, Marre...I just want to wish you a happy birthday and to say thank you. Thank you for who you are - kind, loving, compassionate, thoughtful and a thousand many other adjectives of that can describe your amazing personality
It is one thing for me to study #slavery and #colonial #heritage #tourism (#tours) in other places, but it is quite another to be involved in designing and developing a similar tour in my own city. Exactly a week ago, I had the privilege of participating in the first Decolonial Walking Tour Wageningen that was … Continue reading In action: knowledge utilisation, research impact and problem-based learning
Emmanuel Akwasi Adu-Ampong 