Anthropology of Tourism in Central and Eastern Europe

This unique and fascinating collection is a valuable contribution to the Anthropology of Tourism and to cultural anthropological studies more generally with scholarship that developed at a time when the possibilities of cross-border exchanges between countries behind the so-called Iron Curtain and those in the West, either for tourists or academics, were limited. Bringing together scholars from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) with those from Western Europe and the United States the book brings fresh insights into issues relating to, among others, heritage, urban exploration, gender, globalization, handicrafts and food and alcohol related tourism. Drawing on examples from both within and outside the CEE the volume utilizes tourism as a tool to understand cultural and economic processes that not only enrich debates in the study of tourism but also gives voice to scholars from CEE to make contribution to developments in the discipline of anthropology. Using the bridge as a metaphor the book is not only grounded on developing links between CEE and the Anglophone world of scholarship but ends with a request to build upon and further the foundations the volume has laid out for us. At a time when identity politics is on the rise and we seem to be seeing the pulling across of new ‘Iron Curtains’ the invitation to walk across the bridge appears ever more urgent and makes this book essential reading for us all.