Commentary: Tracing the Commodity Chain of Global Tourism

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is argued that current definitions of tourism are deficient because they define tourism as a system of consumption rather than production. Because such definitions makes tourism appear to be unlike any other industry, the study of tourism is virtually absent from the literatures of economic geography and globalization, and relatively neglected in the social sciences as well. It is suggested that tourism should be regarded as a production process involving a distinct product and identifiable inputs. As the first step towards realizing this goal, the concept of commodity chains is applied to construct a profile of the global tourism industry.