Strengthening the political economy of tourism: profits, rents and finance

Abstract

The political economy of tourism has historically been a marginalized paradigm within tourism studies. If the political economy of tourism is to gain prominence within tourism studies and within the broader political economy literature, it has to engage with debates that are key within political economy, such as discussions the origins of corporate profits, land rents, and the nature of tourism commodities and revenues. Setting up a theoretical agenda for a political economy of tourism around profits, rent, and finance not only allows to re-connecting the political economy of tourism with key debates currently taking place within the broader political economy field, but also allows to problematize key theoretical assumptions within political economy of tourism. Analyzing the nature of tourism services as a commodity from a Marxian perspective illustrates the need of a Marxian-oriented approach to political economy in tourism, and also leads to broader discussions about the categories of corporate profits and land rents and the interrelations between both categories. On the one hand, the dynamics of the tourism industry illustrates how increasing land rent payments do not necessarily mean fewer corporate profits., but on the contrary, more land rent payments often go hand-by-hand with more corporate profits. On the other hand, tourism exemplifies how financial revenues are dependent also on the production of commodities and not only in the circulation of capital, as several political economists have argued.