TOWARDS A CONVERGENCE OF TOURISM STUDIES AND ISLAND STUDIES

Abstract

Island studies and tourism studies have overlapping interests, but there was little interaction between them. This article seeks to facilitate a convergence between the two fields. Taking its cue from island studies, the article investigates the role of the metaphors of `heaven' and `hell,' in the specific mode of `paradise' and `prison,' on the dynamics of touristic development on small islands. The powerful effect of the metaphor of islands as ``earthly paradises{''} is brought out, but the very development which the metaphor provoked turned out to be destructive of their paradisiac qualities. Metaphors of `hell' attract thanatourism but have less transformative power. It is argued that `paradisiac' metaphors underemphasize the human aspect of `island' paradises, while island tourism researchers pay insufficient attention to the effects of tourism on social change on such islands. It is suggested that greater attention to this issue might be a facilitating factor in the convergence of island studies and tourism studies.