Not a serious subject?! Academic relevancy and critical tourism geographies

Geography has a long tradition in tourism research, with major contributions in the field of tourism studies. However, within the discipline of geography there has been a tendency to marginalize tourism research as a non-serious academic subject. Based on recent research themes and the nature of tourism geography, however, such evaluations cannot be justified as characterizing the overall subdiscipline. This chapter discusses some of the underlying reasons for such marginalization and highlights positive changes taking place in tourism geographies that emphasize contextuality, scaling, and engagement with the socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological environments tourism operates in. The importance of developing academic communication within the geography community is stressed, as otherwise there is a real danger that tourism geographies will remain in a marginal position in wider disciplinary discussions.