Anthropology of tourism

The anthropology of tourism is a relatively new sub-discipline and thematic area of socio-cultural anthropology, which has gradually established itself and developed dynamically since the 1970s. In her book, Barbora Půtová describes, analyses and interprets the subject and basic themes of anthropology of tourism, including its historical transformations in the context of the Western world from antiquity to the present. It focuses on, for example, the typology of tourism and tourists, authenticity and the construction of tourist imagery, the analysis and interpretation of social interaction and the relationship between guests and hosts, the phenomenon of the souvenir and behavioural patterns related to its purchase. The monograph provides an explanatory framework for understanding the basic concepts and approaches in the anthropology of tourism, and uses case studies to highlight the broader historical and cultural context of the objects and processes associated with the current phenomenon of tourism.