Kelsey Gordon M.A. in Political Science at the University of Calgary
Abstract
This paper casts an intentionally wide net over the issue of cultural tourism as a
development strategy. Although tourism is often overlooked within political science, I argue that
the issues of economic development, cultural maintenance, and environmental protection are
inherently implicated in cultural tourism and development. Thus, tourism ought to be more
seriously studied within political science. In some instances, cultural tourism presents a unique
opportunity to engage local communities in development, boost local economies, protect cultural
heritage, and provide environmental protections. However, tourism’s relationship with global
neoliberal economics means that cultural tourism as a development strategy is also implicated in
a variety of development concerns, including economic exploitation, cultural exploitation and
neocolonialism, and environmental degradation.