Tourism, Borders, and Geopolitics

This book revisits the period of rapprochement tourism between China and Taiwan from 2008 to 2016, highlighting the role it played in facilitating cultural exchange despite ongoing political tensions.

Contextualizing rapprochement tourism within broader discussions on cross-border tourism in politically sensitive regions, this book proposes a concept of ‘cultural geopolitics’ and an interdisciplinary framework - Mobility, Morality and Materiality - to offer a fresh perspective on heritage management. It employs tourist interviews, photographs and other visual aids to communicate complex theoretical concepts in an accessible manner. Topics covered include border repoliticization, the role of heritage in national narratives, the commodification of historical figures, and the intersection of spirituality and tourism. The book closes by outlining future directions for research, including difficult heritage management, individualized mobilities, and kinship-based return tourism, before concluding with reflections on sustainable peace and well-being.

This book will interest a range of scholars spanning the social sciences, including critical tourism studies, heritage management, cultural geography, and Chinese studies.