Māori tourism geographies: Values, morals and diverse economies

Abstract

Mäori working in tourism negotiate moral terrains of their own world and those of visiting tourists, all of which are layered with colonial and capitalist values of Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond. We draw on research with Mäori tourism providers in the North Island's central, coastal and northern regions to address the question: How and in what ways do Mäori working in tourism (re)construct their places and identities through practising Mäori values in Aotearoa New Zealand's tourism spaces? It is argued, using empirical material from interviews and participant sensing-a more-than-seeing form of participant observation-that diverse Mäori values and practices shape tourism terrains and vice versa. The participants, who work with or for Mäori tourism providers, practise and integrate Mäori values into their lived geographies, and in doing so challenge dominant understandings of tourism, many of which are based on colonial and capitalist values. In this way, the participants reclaim and perform self-determination within Aotearoa New Zealand's tourism spaces. This article focuses on two key themes. First, we look back at how past experiences of colonisation shape contemporary tourism. Second, we discuss the diverse and powerful ways Mäori values reshape tourism geographies with a view to the potentialities of Mäori tourism's diverse economies.