IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/anture/v75y2019icp58-69.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tourism and the geopolitics of Buddhist heritage in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Bhandari, Kalyan

Abstract

This study explores the intricacies of geopolitical imagination at a heritage attraction in Nepal, when a Chinese NGO proposed an investment project to develop it as tourism hub. It seeks to investigate the discourses and reasons deployed by Nepali tourism stakeholders in explaining the Chinese plan. The study applies qualitative methodology and the primary data which were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews. The study shows that in articulating the project aim, the agency of national actors is shaped by the regional power struggle and a ‘nationalist’ sentiment originated from perceived threat to the heritage in question. The finding is useful in understanding the complexities of geopolitical constraints that can influence tourism development projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhandari, Kalyan, 2019. "Tourism and the geopolitics of Buddhist heritage in Nepal," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 58-69.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:75:y:2019:i:c:p:58-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2018.12.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738318301361
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.annals.2018.12.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nunkoo, Robin & Smith, Stephen L.J., 2013. "Political economy of tourism: Trust in government actors, political support, and their determinants," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 120-132.
    2. Nyaupane, Gyan P. & Timothy, Dallen J. & Poudel, Surya, 2015. "Understanding tourists in religious destinations: A social distance perspective," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 343-353.
    3. Ian Rowen, 2016. "The Geopolitics of Tourism: Mobilities, Territory, and Protest in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 106(2), pages 385-393, March.
    4. Mostafanezhad, Mary & Norum, Roger, 2016. "Towards a geopolitics of tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 226-228.
    5. Farkhod Tolipov, 2001. "Nationalism as a geopolitical phenomenon: The Central Asian case," Central Asian Survey, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 183-194.
    6. Bob Jessop & Ngai-Ling Sum, 2018. "Geopolitics: Putting geopolitics in its place in cultural political economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(2), pages 474-478, March.
    7. Zhang, J.J., 2017. "Rethinking ‘heritage’ in post-conflict tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 194-196.
    8. Giulianotti, Richard, 2015. "The Beijing 2008 Olympics: Examining the Interrelations of China, Globalization, and Soft Power," European Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 286-296, May.
    9. Dredge, Dianne & Jamal, Tazim, 2015. "Progress in tourism planning and policy: A post-structural perspective on knowledge production," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 285-297.
    10. Wan, Yim King Penny & Bramwell, Bill, 2015. "Political economy and the emergence of a hybrid mode of governance of tourism planning," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 316-327.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stoffelen, Arie, 2024. "A REVIEW OF TOURISM AND BORDERING PROCESSES: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on tourism and territorial borders," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    2. Pfoser, Alena & Yusupova, Guzel, 2022. "Memory and the everyday geopolitics of tourism: Reworking post-imperial relations in Russian tourism to the ‘near abroad’," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    3. Bhandari, Kalyan, 2022. "Tourism and commercial nationalism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Jaffar Aman & Jaffar Abbas & Shahid Mahmood & Mohammad Nurunnabi & Shaher Bano, 2019. "The Influence of Islamic Religiosity on the Perceived Socio-Cultural Impact of Sustainable Tourism Development in Pakistan: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-27, May.
    5. Kiran Shinde, 2021. "“Imported Buddhism” or “Co-Creation”? Buddhist Cultural Heritage and Sustainability of Tourism at the World Heritage Site of Lumbini, Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Zhe Wang & Lawal Marafa, 2021. "Tourism Imaginary and Landscape at Heritage Site: A Case in Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kalyan Bhandari, 2019. "International development ideology and two tourism policies of Nepal," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 37(3), pages 558-576, May.
    2. Zhang, Yachen & Moyle, Brent & Lohmann, Gui & de Oliveira, Renan Peres & Chang, Lu & Weaver, David, 2023. "A social identity perspective on dark tourism impacts," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Marion Riensche & Alicia Castillo & Eduardo García-Frapolli & Patricia Moreno-Casasola & Carlos Tello-Díaz, 2019. "Private over Public Interests in Regional Tourism Governance: A Case Study in Costalegre, Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Pfoser, Alena & Yusupova, Guzel, 2022. "Memory and the everyday geopolitics of tourism: Reworking post-imperial relations in Russian tourism to the ‘near abroad’," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    5. Farmaki, Anna & Altinay, Levent & Botterill, David & Hilke, Sarina, 2015. "Politics and sustainable tourism: The case of Cyprus," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 178-190.
    6. Mariani, Marcello M. & Giorgio, Luisa, 2017. "The “Pink Night” festival revisited: Meta-events and the role of destination partnerships in staging event tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 89-109.
    7. Stoffelen, Arie, 2024. "A REVIEW OF TOURISM AND BORDERING PROCESSES: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on tourism and territorial borders," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    8. Suno Wu, Jenny & Barbrook-Johnson, Pete & Font, Xavier, 2021. "Participatory complexity in tourism policy: Understanding sustainability programmes with participatory systems mapping," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Junkyu Park & Mark A. Bonn & Meehee Cho, 2020. "Sustainable and Religion Food Consumer Segmentation: Focusing on Korean Temple Food Restaurants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, April.
    10. Crabolu, Gloria & Font, Xavier & Eker, Sibel, 2023. "Evaluating policy complexity with Causal Loop Diagrams," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Rose Ann A. Villarias & Kristin Iris G. Estores, 2021. "Resort Management Practices and Tourism Impacts of an Island Resort in Negros Occidental," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 23(1), pages 823-845, September.
    12. Navneel Shalendra Prasad & Nikeel Nishkar Kumar, 2022. "Resident Perceptions of Environment and Economic Impacts of Tourism in Fiji," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, April.
    13. Lin, Dan & Simmons, David, 2017. "Structured inter-network collaboration: Public participation in tourism planning in Southern China," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 315-328.
    14. Kent Schroeder, 2015. "Cultural Values and Sustainable Tourism Governance in Bhutan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-15, December.
    15. I. A. Pikrammenos & Ch. Ntelopoulou, 2018. "Business model for sustainable development of alternative touristic services: case study the religious tourism," Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 7(2), pages 1-2.
    16. Feng Xu & Wenxia Niu & Shuaishuai Li & Yuli Bai, 2020. "The Mechanism of Word-of-Mouth for Tourist Destinations in Crisis," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    17. Nunkoo, Robin, 2015. "Tourism development and trust in local government," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 623-634.
    18. Kuo-Yan Wang, 2022. "Sustainable Tourism Development Based upon Visitors’ Brand Trust: A Case of “100 Religious Attractions”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-30, February.
    19. Dong Lu & Yide Liu & Ivan Lai & Li Yang, 2017. "Awe: An Important Emotional Experience in Sustainable Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-15, November.
    20. María Ángeles Plaza-Mejía & Nuria Porras-Bueno & David Flores-Ruiz, 2020. "The Jungle of Support: What Do We Really Mean When We Say “Residents’ Support”?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-27, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:75:y:2019:i:c:p:58-69. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-tourism-research/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.