Dolezal, C., Trupp, A. and Leepreecha, P. 2020. Researching tourism and development in Southeast Asia: Methodological insights. in: Dolezal, C., Trupp, A. and Bui, H.T (ed.) Tourism and Development in Southeast Asia London Routledge.
| Chapter title | Researching tourism and development in Southeast Asia: Methodological insights |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dolezal, C., Trupp, A. and Leepreecha, P. |
| Editors | Dolezal, C., Trupp, A. and Bui, H.T |
| Abstract | The previous chapters have established the significance of tourism in the region of Southeast Asia, both in its contribution to economy and sustainable development. They also demonstrated the widely researched nature of the field, engaged in both by scholars from the region, and researchers outside the region. Little though has been written specifically on conducting research in the region from a methodological point of view. Amongst very few discussions on research methodology, Mura and Pahlevan Sharif (2015) mapped tourism research in Southeast Asia and showed that quantitative approaches are generally preferred over qualitative methodologies. More extensively, Mura and Khoo-Lattimore (2018) in their edited volume on Asian qualitative research, compiled 16 chapters discussing ontological, epistemological, and methodological assumptions underlying Asian tourism research. The book shows the diversity of ‘Asian’ qualitative tourism research, reflects on common methodologies, including ethnography and auto-ethnography, and calls for alternative discourses in tourism studies. This chapter looks specifically into ethnography as a method which has shaped tourism research in the area (Adams, 2019; Andrews, Takamitsu, & Dixon, 2018), particularly on topics such as cultural change (Picard, 2008), commodification (Cohen, 1988), identities (Adams, 2006), moral encounters (Mostafanezhad & Hannam, 2016), and touristic production (Bruner, 2005), as well as power inequalities and access to water (Cole, 2012). The authors of the present chapter draw on their experience doing ethnographic research in Thailand (Dolezal, 2011, 2015; Trupp, 2014, 2017; Leepreecha, 2014, 2016) and Indonesia (Dolezal, 2013) in the context of host perceptions (Trupp, 2014), community-based tourism (CBT) (Dolezal, 2015), gender (Trupp & Sunanta, 2017), micro-entrepreneurship (Trupp, 2017), and power relations (Dolezal, 2011, 2015; Evrard & Leepreecha, 2009a; Leepreecha, 2014; Trupp, 2015). |
| Keywords | tourism |
| development | |
| methodology | |
| fieldwork | |
| Southeast Asia | |
| reflexivity | |
| Book title | Tourism and Development in Southeast Asia |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 24 Mar 2020 |
| Place of publication | London |
| ISBN | 9780367209254 |
| 9781032400297 | |
| 9780429264191 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429264191-3 |