Page 41 - Introduction to Tourism

examines social classes, habits, and customs of

both hosts and guests. The sociology of leisure is

a relatively undeveloped field, but it shows

promise of progressing rapidly and becoming

more

widely used. As tourism continues to make a
massive impact on society, it will be studied more

and more from a social point of view.
A prime reference in this area is The Tourist: A

New Theory of the Leisure Class, by Dean
MacCannell (New York: Schocken Books, 1976).

Erik Cohen, of the Hebrew University of

Jerusalem, has made many contributions in this

area. Graham M. S. Dann, of the University of

Luton, United Kingdom, has been a major

contributor to the tourism sociology literature as

well.

Geographical Approach

Geography is a wide-ranging discipline, so it is

natural that geographers should be interested in

tourism and its spatial aspects. The geographer

specializes in the study of location, environment,

climate, landscape, and their economic aspects.

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