Tourism Activism: Conceptualization and Research Agenda

This paper explores activism in tourism amid a global rise in environmental and social protests that increasingly affect tourism destinations and the industry at large. Tourism activism, defined as any tourism-related collective action, possesses unique cultural, political, and social elements. Although academics have examined this phenomenon from diverse perspectives, its conceptual essence and the underlying mechanism remain elusive. A narrative-based theorizing approach is used here to establish a framework clarifying the interplay between tourism and activism. Grounded in social constructivism, we contextualize activism within tourism to illuminate relevant social issues, participation motivations, power dynamics, and their consequences. Our observations challenge dominant narratives surrounding the general notion of activism. This conceptualization process places a novel lens on tourism-related activism and lays a foundation for future research.