Power, agency and storytelling of South African tour guidesbyShayane Delencourt-SimonThis paper addresses the lack of critical analysis of the relationship between tour guides and visitors and how storytelling indicates a guide's agency. The project investigates how historical events inform the identity of a nation and influence tour guides, and asks how guides use their personal identity, thus their agency and power, to create a new narrative of their community. The thes...

We are living in an era of growing illiberalism and authoritarianism. Tourism scholars must confront this trend and consider what it means for how we understand democracy, justice, and power. Framed by a critical, political economy approach, the presentation situates the illiberal/authoritarian turn within the broader context of a changing neoliberal landscape, which is inspired by, and supportive of, so-called populist (ethno-nationalist) movements, ...