Hopeful tourism: A New Transformative Perspective

This paper makes a philosophical and ontological contribution to tourism knowledge. It discusses emergent perspectives and paradigms, identifies major omissions in tourism knowledge and challenges its dominant assumptions, reviewing the imperatives for a regime change in the field. The paper argues that the new hopeful tourism perspective which combines co-transformative learning and action offers a distinctive approach to tourism study. It defines the characteristics of this values-led humanist perspective and presents a reflexive accounting of its evolution. It concludes with a three part agenda for tourism educators and researchers concerned to embrace co-transformative learning, which responds to the challenges of creating just and sustainable tourism worlds.

Research highlights► Makes a philosophical and ontological contribution to tourism enquiry. ► Reviews emergent perspectives and paradigms. ► Identifies major omissions in tourism knowledge ► Presents hopeful tourism as a new transformative perspective. ► Demonstrates how it shapes research choices and produces transformative acts.