Introduction

In this introductory chapter we propose that the vital and contested connections between colonialism and tourism are as lively and charged today as they ever were. From staged weddings in Mauritius, curated walks through the Medina of Tunis, surfing off the high-rise hotel development at Waikiki, or riding on an Elephant Safari Tour in Himachal Pradesh, much of the marketing of these kinds of destinations represent the constant renewal of coloniality in the tourism business. The introduction surveys the range and diversity of coloniality at work in tourism across a wide variety of global destinations. Drawing upon global examples, we argue that the cultural and economic practices of coloniality are updated continuously and reproduced by tourism producers in a range of destinations. We argue that that the collection present readers with opportunities to pursue histories that cut across global space, to produce broader narratives of tourism and colonialism. By exploring the complexities and contradictions entailed in colonial tourism, we outline how the collection demonstrates the importance of attending to linkages between historical foundations, local practices and the globalizing discourse of tourist exploitation over time.