Tourism and Migration: A Difficult Relationship

Thursday, 10 July 2025: 13:00-14:45
Location: SJES008 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
RC50 International Tourism (host committee)
RC31 Sociology of Migration

Language: English, French and Spanish

The panel delves into the intricate and paradoxical interplay between tourism and migration, fostering a deeper sociological understanding of the complexities and tensions arising when spaces of leisure and suffering coexist.

The theoretical framework of this panel is the concept of "alterity" and the notion of "otherness", which paradoxically intertwine the realms of tourism, characterized by pleasure and leisure, with migration, marked by pain and death. This exploration seeks to understand how the "tourist gaze" can encompass both idyllic beaches and harrowing scenes of human distress, questioning the moral and ethical dimensions of such coexistence.

The panel will consider several critical aspects:

  • Tourist Behaviour and Awareness
  • Otherness, Leisure and Death
  • Relationships Between Tourists and Migrants
  • Coexistence and Best Practices
  • Socially Sustainable Tourism

By bringing together various sociological perspectives, this panel aims at fostering a comprehensive dialogue on the complex relationship between tourism and migration.

The goal is to contribute to the development of more ethical and socially responsible tourism practices that acknowledge and address the profound human realities in these shared spaces.

We welcome papers addressing different aspects of this complex relationship:

  • Theoretical reflections; tourism and otherness
  • Relationships between migrants, tourists and local communities
  • Case studies (e.g. Mediterranean region and islands; Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey; Global South; Central and North America)
  • Best practices and community-based projects
  • Social and cultural sustainability of tourism in migratory contexts
Session Organizer:
Marxiano MELOTTI, Niccolò Cusano University, Rome, Italy
Co-chairs:
Gilda CATALANO, University of Calabria, Italy and Marxiano MELOTTI, Niccolò Cusano University, Rome, Italy
Oral Presentations
Privileged Mobilities and in/Voluntary Travel
Gada MAHROUSE, Concordia University, Canada
Roots Tourism in Unconventional Socio-Economic Contexts
Tullio TULLIO ROMITA, University of Calabria, Italy; Antonella PERRI, Italy
From North to South: The Political Dimension of International Retirement Migration in Mexico
Sandra ZEPEDA, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico; Thiago DUARTE PIMENTEL, Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Brazil
Gentrification Touristique Et Migration Nord-Sud : Défis Culturels Et Identitaires Dans Les Villes Patrimoniales Marocaines.
Aba SADKI, Canada
Trespassing the Boundaries: Migrants and Tourists in Dubai
Hee Eun KWON, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Mega-Structures and Cultural Districts As City Branding and Tourist Attractions: Limits of Labor, Leisure, and Environmental Sustainability in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Deniz GÖKALP, American University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Reflections on the Potential of the Tourism Market for the Inclusion of Refugees and Immigrants in Society. a Case Study on the Projects of the Accor Group and the Cataratas Group.
Caroline MARTINS DE MELO BOTTINO, UNIVERSIDADE DO ESTADO DO RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil; Isabel MOREIRA ALVES, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
See more of: RC50 International Tourism
See more of: RC31 Sociology of Migration
See more of: Research Committees
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