Critical Issues in Heritage Tourism: from Problems to Possibilities

This talk is an overview and open discussion of the book Heritage Tourism (Cambridge University Press 2021). The book is situated in the nexus between critical heritage studies and critical tourism studies. It examines the hegemonic power of heritage tourism and its consequences, the spectre of nationalism and colonialism in heritage-making, particularly for minorities and indigenous peoples, and the paradox of heritage tourism's role in combating these issues. The talk will address a range of approaches and challenges of empowerment and community engagement within the context of heritage tourism. It also will show that heritage tourism can develop as a form of co-creation - a mechanism for community-centred governance that integrates recognition and interpretation to promote dialogue, equity and diversity. 

Yujie ZHU is an associate professor at the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies at the Australian National University in Australia. 
He is currently a visiting fellow at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. Yujie obtained his Ph.D. in anthropology from Heidelberg University, Germany. His research focuses on the cultural politics of the past within diverse heritage, memory and tourism spaces. He is the author and editor of 8 books, including recent monograph China’s Heritage through History (Routledge, 2024), Heritage Tourism (Cambridge, 2021), Heritage Politics in China (Routledge, 2020), and Heritage and Romantic Consumption in China (Amsterdam, 2018). He served as the vice-president of the International Association of Critical Heritage Studies (2014-2020) and Deputy-chair of Anthropology Tourism Committee of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (2013-2021). 

The conference will take place at EIREST Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (21 Rue Broca, 75005 Paris, room B04) and on ZOOM at the following link : https://pantheonsorbonne.zoom.us/j/97751098085?pwd=WgQ16OXaTkFmvcQrI19h…;
Informations, inscriptions : maria.gravari-barbas@univ-paris1.fr