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Envisioning Eden: mobilizing

imaginaries in tourism and beyond
a
Amos S. Ron
a
Department of Tourism and Leisure Studies, Ashkelon Academic
College, Ashkelon, Israel
Published online: 13 Nov 2013.

To cite this article: Amos S. Ron (2013) Envisioning Eden: mobilizing imaginaries in
tourism and beyond, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 11:4, 334-335, DOI:
10.1080/14766825.2013.855291

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 334 Book Reviews

Envisioning Eden: mobilizing imaginaries in tourism and beyond, by Noel B. Salazar,

New York and Oxford, Berghan Books, 2010, xxvi + 224 pp., $95.00/£55.00 (hardback),
ISBN 978-1-84545-760-0

I would like to begin this review with three personal, but relevant statements: (a) I have
known Noel Salazar, the author, personally for years; (b) I have never been to Indonesia
or Tanzania and (c) I have been guiding tourists for the past 32 years, mainly Christian
pilgrims in the Holy Land.
This book is a deep exploration of tour guiding performances in Indonesia and
Tanzania. It is inspired by the author’s doctorate in anthropology entitled ‘Envisioning
Eden: A glocal ethnography of tour guiding’.
The book comprises a forward (by E.M. Bruner), a preface and seven chapters. The first
chapter introduces the reader to the relevant theoretical framework chosen by Salazar – that
of mobilities, glocalism and tourism imaginaries. In this introductory chapter, Salazar out-
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lines his methodology (‘glocal ethnography’, in his own words), and takes us on a ‘guided
tour’ of the book. In other words, he guides us through the book on guiding; thus, the book
transcends spatial and temporal limitations and we, the readers, are being prepared for our
guided tour through Indonesia and Tanzania.
The second chapter introduces Indonesia and Tanzania to the Western reader, but not
simply by describing the destinations, but rather by focusing on the role of local tour
guides in the circulation of tourism imaginaries. In the words of Salazar, ‘using a combi-
nation of glocal ethnography and discourse-centered analysis, I trace in what directions
tourism images and ideas travel, how they spread and are transformed (translated) during
circulation, and I disentangle the mechanisms that keep them on the move’ (p. 45).
The third chapter (‘seducation’) illustrates, among other things, Salazar’s linguistic
creativity by inventing this hybrid term connecting seduction and education. The chapter
focuses on the training programs of tour guides in Indonesia and Tanzania. The chapter
is important, because despite the academic abundance of research on tour guides, to the
best of my knowledge, no academic work has been written on the training programs of
tour guides. By comparison, unlike the Israeli training program which focuses on the
history, geography, etc. of the land – the Tanzanian training program also focuses on the
characteristics of the tourist, which in this case is often familiar with large mammals,
having seen the film ‘Lion King’ as children.
In Chapters 4–6, Salazar elaborates on the ethnography of tour guides, and this is in fact
the main ‘data part’ of his research. Chapter 4 deals with issues of ‘here versus there’, such
as the cosmopolitan nature of guides (pp. 78–79) and the multi-linguistic abilities of guides
(pp. 81–84). Chapter 5 discusses the history of tour guiding, and takes us back all the way to
ancient Greece, and again – this is an important contribution to the academic literature on
tour guiding, which lacks works about its history (an exception is Katz, 1985), and
compares in an intriguing way tour guiding and anthropology. Chapter 6 elaborates on
host–guest relations in the context of a guided tour. The chapter begins (p. 139) by
quoting a high school student from Tanzania, who claims that ‘We are not very different
from tourists; the only difference is that we have lions and zebras in open plains’. An inter-
esting issue which is raised by Salazar is the case of a guide who guides tourists in the
context of a religion which is different from his/hers. According to one of Salazar’s Indo-
nesian informants, ‘ … most of the guides are Muslim … Talking about a Buddhist temple,
they don’t understand the symbols. I mean, can you imagine if Catholics would show
people around Mecca and Medina?’ (p. 146). Experience in Mediterranean countries
 Book Reviews 335

suggests quite the opposite, and as one example, Feldman’s research elaborates on Jewish
guides guiding Christian pilgrims (2007). Despite the lack of sources on Muslims guiding
Christians in holy sites, I think that in Israel and Turkey, there are many examples that prove
the opposite.
Chapter 7 (‘Coming Home’) makes the connection once more between the ethnographic
data, the anthropological methodology and the theoretical framework of glocal knowledge,
tourism imaginaries and mobilities in a modern world. In the words of Salazar:

This book is not a mere case study illustrating or developing theoretical points about globaliza-
tion, transnationalism or cosmopolitanism in the context of tourism and tour guiding. Rather, it
was the ethnographic approach itself, grounded in daily life, which allowed me to tack back and
forth between data and theory, bringing them into dialogue. (p. 181)

One of the very few things that this book lacks is a serious discussion on the role strains of
tour guides in Indonesia and Tanzania. This important subject has been explored in popular
Downloaded by [Amos S. Ron] at 21:44 25 November 2013

movies (Reis et al., 2009; Shaw, Wolper, & Stuart, 1969), and to some extent by Cohen
(1985). Since this book is a deep exploration into the profession of tour guiding, I would
expect some discussion regarding common guides’ role strains such as burnout and
emotional labor.
The book is deep and very well written; Salazar’s language is rich, and by using
anthropological methodology, he has made this book interesting and relevant for
anthropologists, tourism students, tour guides, and scholars interested in Tanzania and
Indonesia.
His personal background of multiculturalism and international travel (Salazar, 2006:
pp. 320–321) is very relevant in this case. If one assumes that a PhD dissertation is a deep
reflection of the inner world of the PhD student, in this case the connection is crystal clear.

References
Cohen, E. (1985). The tourist guide – the origins, structure and dynamics of a role. Annals of Tourism
Research, 12(1), 5–29.
Feldman, J. (2007). Constructing a shared Bible Land: Jewish Israeli guiding performances for
Protestant pilgrims. American Ethnologist, 34(2), 351–374.
Katz, S. (1985). The Israeli teacher-guide: The emergence and perpetuation of a role. Annals of
Tourism Research, 12(1), 49–72.
Reis, M. (Author), Abberley, J., Blackman, J., Goetzman, G. Hanks, T., Safran, P. & Wilson, R.
(Producers), Petrie, D. (Director) (2009) My Life in Ruins (USA). Retrieved from www.imdb.
com/title/tt0865559/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
Salazar, N. B. (2006). Building a ‘culture of peace’ through tourism: Reflexive and analytical notes
and queries. Universitas Humanística, 62(2), 319–333.
Shaw, D. (Author), Wolper, D.L. (Producer), Stuart, M. (Director). (1969, 24 April). If It’s Tuesday,
This Must be Belgium (USA). Retrieved from www.imdb.com/title/tt0064471/fullcredits?
ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

Amos S. Ron
Department of Tourism and Leisure Studies, Ashkelon Academic College
Ashkelon, Israel
amosron@gmail.com
© 2013, Amos S. Ron
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2013.855291