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Peruvian Posts III: Cusco as an imagined destination vs. Cusco as a lived destination

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Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, offered a glimpse of both its grandeur and the impact of Spanish colonization. The high altitude and chilly weather required acclimatization and I observed the combination of tourism products and experiences, Cusco's place in a network of destinations, and the intermingling of lived and imagined aspects of the city. Amidst staged tourist experiences, I encountered a large number of domestic tourists and noticed the influence of Moorish architectural style. My next adventure was the epic Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu.

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Peruvian Posts II: the missed flight and an unending unfolding airport drama lost in’Spanglish’ translation

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After attending the Memory Studies Association conference in Lima, a series of stressful and dramatic events unfolded. Missing the flight to Cusco was only the beginning, followed by a struggle to retrieve luggage and a scare about a lost backpack. However, all's well that ends well, as the backpack was found on the plane. Despite the challenges, the experience in Cusco proved to be worth it, albeit with some struggles adjusting to the high altitude and cold weather. Stay tuned for more Peruvian adventures.

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Peruvian Posts I: Lima and the Memory Studies Association 2024 Conference

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Increasingly, I have come to describe 'niche out' my research work as being focused on the geographies of slavery and colonial heritage tourism in relation to the politics of cultural memory. This niching out process required my search for more (trans-inter) disciplinary grounding for my research. It is in this light that I arrived at … Continue reading Peruvian Posts I: Lima and the Memory Studies Association 2024 Conference

[New paper, Open Access] In the potter’s hand: tourism and the everyday practices of authentic intangible cultural heritage in a pottery village

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Pottery holds enduring significance in human history. Reshaping Eleanor White's thesis into an academic article was a gratifying process. Exploring the pottery village of Margarites, Crete, the paper delves into authenticity in the context of tourism and intangible cultural heritage. It illuminates the impact of tourism on the community's perception of authenticity in ceramic crafting.

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Wageningen: my guided walking tour of the traces of the slavery and colonial past

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It is one thing to dream about it, one thing to get funding to research about it, one thing to teach about it and surely one thing to actually be the one to do it. This was a fully embodied experience for me. How could I have seen it when I first set out my … Continue reading Wageningen: my guided walking tour of the traces of the slavery and colonial past

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[New paper, Open Access] Beyond the Smile: The Infrapolitics of the Host in Volunteer Tourism

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Beyond and behind our smiles of seeing this paper published sits many years of hardwork in drafting, redrafting, writing and rewriting to get this research paper ready. It has been a great team effort and it has been a pleasure working together with Amira Benali at Aalborg University, Denmark and Ana Maria Munar at Copenhagen … Continue reading [New paper, Open Access] Beyond the Smile: The Infrapolitics of the Host in Volunteer Tourism

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Award: Emerging Scholar of Distinction

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Last week (12 - 19 May), I got to attend the invite-only Academy conference 2024 of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism in Orlando, Florida. The conference was hosted at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management of the University of Central Florida. My attendance at this invite-only conference was on the basis that … Continue reading Award: Emerging Scholar of Distinction

Lisbon Letters IV: the arrival at the beginning of the end.

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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.

Lisbon Letters III: I came, I saw, I discovered…Akwasikrom

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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

Lisbon Letters II: off the beaten track to find memorial absences

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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