ABCDE SWEDEN MAY 30-JUNE 2, 2010 PARALLEL SESSION PROPOSAL Part 1: Primary Proposal Information

1.

Title of the proposed parallel session: TOURISM: DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES

2. Organizer of Parallel Session*: 3. Name: DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM MANAGEMENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN
MISSISSIPPI, USA Affiliation: FUNDED BY THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Contact information (including telephone & email): Babu P George, PhD Assistant Professor & Scholarly Development Chair Department of Tourism Management 118 College Drive, Box 5276 University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS-39406, USA Email: babu.george@usm.edu *Please note: Individuals and institutions are welcome to submit proposals; and session organizers can be speakers/discussants at their own session.

4.

Parallel Session Speakers (The host country will pay (airfare/hotel/subsistence) for a maximum of three (3) speakers/discussants per parallel session). Additional speakers/discussants will be self-paid. (Please include name, affiliation, and contact information for each speaker/discussant.) Session Coordinator: 1. Babu P George, PhD Department of Tourism Management University of Southern Mississippi, USA Email: babu.george@usm.edu Speakers / Discussants: 2. Tony L Henthorne, PhD

Department of Tourism and Convention Administration University of Nevada, USA Email: tony.henthorne@unlv.edu 3. Jerome Agrusa, PhD School of Travel Industry Management Hawai Pacific University, USA Email: jagrusa@hpu.edu 4. Robert Inbakaran, PhD Faculty of Business and Government University of Canberra, Australia Email: robert.inbakaran@canberra.edu.au 5. Sreekumar Ancheri, PhD Tourism Studies Group Goa University, India Email: sree@unigoa.ac.in 6. Alexandru Nedelea, PhD Department of Economy and Tourism Stefan cel Mare University, Romania Email: alexandrun@seap.usv.ro (More names shall be provided if necessary) Part 2: Parallel Session Outline

5.

Please attach a brief outline (maximum 2 pages) of the proposed parallel session. The proposed session titled Tourism: Developmental Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities will address a whole gamut of issues related to tourism and development. Tourism is often highlighted as the ideal solution for the economic development of many nations. Tourism can also bring in a lot of socio-cultural, environmental, and technological benefits to the destination communities. Time and again, tourism is proposed as a panacea for international understanding and lasting global peace. But, of late, the gap between theory and practice has become increasingly evident. In many instances, studies have revealed that tourism is merely one more tool in the arsenal of capitalistic exploitative forces. Even those deliberate attempts to green the tourism industry and to make it sustainable seem to fail miserably. Even though globalization has begun to impact tourism much before it impacted many other industries, scholarly investigations of those impacts have been very limited. It is imperative that we take a holistic view of the various developmental issues, challenges, and opportunities related to tourism. The proposed session will discuss the following, inter alia:

Economic development through tourism

Tourism under WTO-GATS and other trade regimes Fair trade in tourism Community based and pro-poor tourism Sustainable development of tourism Tourism in the new world order Public policy for tourism Socio-cultural costs and benefits of tourism Tourism and international understanding Commodification, colonialism, culture, and tourism Tourism and terrorism Local capacity development initiatives for tourism Tourism development in the third world The haves and have nots in the tourism system Global and local interactions in tourism Role of financial institutions such as World Bank and IMF in tourism development

The proposed session is expected to have participants from across the world. If possible, virtual conferencing option shall be offered for the benefit of offstation participants.

Date: 29 January 2010 Place: Hattiesburg, MS, USA George) (Babu P