Synopses & Reviews
The worldwide development of ecotourismandmdash;including adventures such as mountain climbing and whitewater rafting, as well as more pedestrian pursuits such as birdwatchingandmdash;has been extensively studied, but until now little attention has been paid to why vacationers choose to take part in what are often physically and emotionally strenuous endeavors. Drawing on ethnographic research and his own experiences working as an ecotour guide throughout the United States and Latin America, Robert Fletcher argues that participation in rigorous outdoor activities resonates with the particular cultural values of the white, upper-middle-class Westerners who are the majority of ecotourists. Navigating 13,000-foot mountain peaks or treacherous river rapids demands deferral of gratification, perseverance through suffering, and a willingness to assume risks in pursuit of continuous progress. In this way, characteristics originally cultivated for professional success have been transferred to the leisure realm at a moment when traditional avenues for achievement in the public sphere seem largely exhausted. At the same time, ecotourism provides a temporary escape from the ostensible ills of modern society by offering a transcendent andquot;wildernessandquot; experience that contrasts with the indoor, sedentary, mental labor characteristically performed by white-collar workers.
Review
andquot;In Romancing the Wild, Robert Fletcher examines the cultural processes embedded in, and brought to light by, ecotourism practices. Through vivid ethnography and careful conceptual framing, he shows ecotourism to be an organized system of ideas, practices, and values that produces places and peoples, and structures the interface between the natural and the cultural. Fletcher reads ecotourism through critical political economy, poststructuralism, and psychoanalysis and unpacks it as work, leisure, production, and consumption. With this, he gives the reader a truly anthropological view of one of the most enduring artifacts of modernity.andquot;
Review
andquot;Thorough and sophisticated, Romancing the Wild is likely to become the key scholarly reference in contemporary studies of ecotourism. Its scope and depth mean it is a very useful resource for anthropologists, sociologists, historians, and geographers alike. It has even broader theoretical significance as a fascinating sociocultural analysis of contemporary ecotourism as a phenomenon of late-industrial society.andquot;
Review
andldquo;Fletcher forensically analyses what it is about getting active in the great outdoors that chimes with the culture of its majority attendees andndash; white middle class westerners.andrdquo;and#160;
Review
andquot;Robert Fletcher, an accomplished white-water tour guide, ecotourist, and cultural anthropologist, emerges in this text as one of the rare few whopossesses the skill set needed to gain ethnographic entree into this elusive, fast-moving subculture.andquot;
Review
andldquo;Although the main topic in this substantially researched title is why people engage in ecotourism, the practical implications of this study are important. . . . The book has serious implications for those who would promote ecotourism as a primary means of saving endangered landscapes, saying it may not be the panacea we had hoped. VERDICT Recommended for academic libraries.andrdquo;
Review
andldquo;Fletcher offers readers a serious review of ecotourism and its evolution over the past several decadesandhellip;. Altogether, there are few aspects of the human condition as it interacts with nature that the author does not touch on, from politics to psychology to sexuality and literature (Was Don Quixote the original ecotourist?). Any reader looking for a deep understanding of ecotourism should start here.andrdquo;
Review
andquot;This book makes an important contribution to tourism studies. Further, by situating the ecotourist as the quintessential postmodern subject, Fletcher offers an analysis that will be of interest to a much broader audience, linking contemporary work to leisure and contemporary production to consumption.andquot;
Synopsis
An anthropologist and former rafting guide considers why ecotouristsand#8212;almost all of whom are white, upper-middle-class Westernersand#8212;choose to engage in physically and emotionally strenuous activities such as mountain climbing and white-water rafting.
About the Author
Robert Fletcher, a cultural anthropologist, is Associate Professor in the Department of Environment and Development at the United Nationsandndash;mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. He is the editor of
Beyond Resistance: The Future of Freedom.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction. Encountering Experience 1
1. The Ecotourism Experience 29
2. Becoming an Ecotourist 45
3. Playing on the Edge 72
4. Affluence and Its Discontents 91
5. Call of the Wild 113
6. Ecotourism at Large 130
7. The Ecotourist Gaze 149
Conclusion. The Teachings of Don Quixote 167
Notes 191
Bibliography 215
Index 245