Abstract

From the British Century of the 1800s to the American Century of the 1900s to the contemporary Asian Century, tourism geographies are deeply entangled in broader shifts in geopolitical power (Luce, 1999; Scott, 2008; Shenkar, 2006). This paper considers what the transition into the Asian Century means for some of the most urgent issues of our time such as sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, and environmental change. We critique Anglo-Western centrism in tourism theory and call on tourism scholars to make radical shifts toward more inclusive epistemology and praxis. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of the themes addressed are more urgent than ever. The pandemic has hastened claims that the Asian century has further accelerated given the contrasting successes of many Asia-Pacific countries, especially as compared to their Euro-American counterparts (Park, 2020). As critical tourism scholars, we are faced with an unprecedented situation, even as the pandemic looks set to become globally endemic and the true extent of its fullest impacts are only beginning to emerge, with more to surface in the years ahead. That the world faces increasing turmoil is abundantly clear. Yet, amidst the disruption to the everyday, it is hope and compassion, but also political-economic restructuring that is needed to reset the tourism industry in more sustainable, equitable, and ethical directions (Cheer, 2020; Lew, Cheer, Haywood, Brouder, Salazar, 2020; Mostafanezhad, 2020). While in no uncertain terms, the pandemic has forever changed the tourism industry as we once knew it, it is our hope that we can collectively build on the momentum of the inclusive scholarship that Critical Tourism Studies-Asia Pacific is renowned for (Edelheim, 2020; Pernecky, 2020) as we pause to reflect on the possibilities and challenges of tourism in a post-pandemic Asian Century.

摘要

从 1800 年代的英国世纪到 1900 年代的美国世纪，再到当代亚洲世纪，旅游地理学深陷于地缘政治权力更广泛的转变之中（Luce，1999；Scott，2008；Shenkar，2006）。本文探讨了进入亚洲世纪对我们这个时代一些最紧迫的问题（如可持续发展、人权、性别平等和环境变化）意味着什么。我们批评旅游理论中的英西中心主义，并呼吁旅游学者向更具包容性的认识论和实践做出根本性转变。在 COVID-19 大流行的阴影下，所讨论主题的重要性比以往任何时候都更加紧迫。鉴于许多亚太国家的成功，大流行加速了亚洲世纪进一步加速的说法，尤其是与欧美同行相比（Park，2020）。作为批判性的旅游学者，我们面临着前所未有的局面，即使这种流行病看起来将成为全球流行病，其最全面影响的真正程度才刚刚开始显现，未来几年还会有更多的浮出水面。世界面临越来越多的动荡是非常清楚的。然而，在对日常生活的干扰中，除了希望和同情之外，还需要政治经济重组，以将旅游业重新设置为更可持续、公平和道德的方向（Cheer，2020 年；Lew、Cheer、Haywood、Brouder ，Salazar，2020 年；Mostafanezhad，2020 年）。虽然毫无疑问，大流行已经永远改变了我们曾经知道的旅游业，