Dear colleagues in the Commission and subscribers to the
tourismanthropology mail list,

The panels and meetings sponsored by the Commission at the 14th
International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, held
last July 26-August 1 at the College of William and Mary, were, very
successful in terms of presenting the quality and diversity of tourism
research being carried out internationally. These meetings brought together
geographically and discipline-dispersed researchers in a community of
scholars, and the enthusiasm generated was revealed in the commitment to
continue with and build upon the Commission on the Anthropology of Tourism,
recognized by the IUAES. All this was due, in no small measure, to the
groundwork previously carried out by the first Chair of the Commission,
Robert Kemper, and the energetic organizing conducted by Valene Smith as
Chair, and the involvement and participation of a large number of devoted
scholars.  

Since then, this mail list, sponsored by the Commission, and undertaken by
Neil Carr, has got off the ground and is providing a very useful,
effective, stimulating forum for the exchange of information, discussion,
debate. And with people joining the list every week, it is sure to become
ever more meaningful as a forum for international communication among
tourism researchers.

The Commission, via its Chair, and based on the excellent
inter-disciplinary relations that Valene Smith has cultivated while she was
Chair, has also entered into discussion with the Commission on Tourism of
the International Sociology Association and the Geography of Sustainable
Tourism Study Group of the International Geographical Union, about
establishing forms of communication and coordination between them, and all
three groups seem very positive to do so. 

Reports about last year's conference are being published in the Annals and
Tourism Geographies, and I'm sure several of the papers delivered at the
conference will be published as journal articles or book chapters.
(Hopefully authors will mention that they are members of the Commission in
their biodata).

The Commission will also be coming out with a Newsletter (although to date
there have only been a few volunteers to the Editorial Board and a couple
of submissions for the first issue - more on the Newsletter in a subsequent
e-mail).

However, to ensure the development of the Commission, its continuity,
democratic participation,  its representativeness of the diversity of its
members and friends, to ensure that it plays a significant role in
contributing to the scholarly and institutional growth of the anthropology
of tourism, the Commission needs to enhance its structure. First
constituted when Robert Kemper and others founded the Commission, and
continuing with Valene's tenure as Chair, the Commission did not address
this issue at its Business Meeting in Williamsburg. So I would like to
propose the reconstitution of an International Executive of the Commission.
Previously, one of the requirements was that members of the Executive
contribute dues of US$15/year (although Robert graciously and generously
payed the dues for all executive members), and until a new Executive can
establish new guidelines and rules, this should remain as a condition.
Apart from that, the Commission requires an Executive of at least ten
members, in order to adequately represent the diversity of the Commission.
And it will be a working Executive, with members contributing in different
ways to the Commission. For example,  the ISA tourism executive has
vice-presidents who, among other things, may be responsible for the
commission's organization of particular conferences. And executive members,
along with other members of the Commission, may be involved in establishing
the effective presence of the Comission in their respective national
scholarly organizations. There is no shortage of goals to strive for and
activities to coordinate or be involved in, including the Commission's
presence at IUAES and other conferences, and a newly constituted executive,
in continuous interaction with the Commssion as a whole, can decide on
these things.

The Commission on the Anthropology of Tourism calls for Nominations to its
International Executive Committee. Please send nominaitons by the closing
date, February 15th, to the Chair, at:

[log in to unmask]

or fax: Dr. Greg Teal     61 2 46 203-799

Any questions ad comments can also be addressed to me at the above
addresses. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Greg Teal
Dr. Gregory Teal
Senior Lecturer
Department of Management and Marketing
Chair, Commission on the Anthropology of Tourism,  of the
International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences;
Director, Australian Centre for Latin American Studies
University of Western Sydney Macarthur
PO Box 555 Campbelltown NSW 2560
Phone: 61 2 46 203-247
Fax: 61 2 46 203799
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

Phone: intl + 61 2 46 203-247
Fax: intl + 61 2 46 203-799
email: [log in to unmask]


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