Biopolitics and a right to tourism

ABSTRACT

Tourism as a right was officially stated in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (1999) and it would be granted normative status once the Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics (2020) is legally binding. As such, the importance of the rights discourse in tourism has been largely acknowledged and its status is increasingly being reinforced. The rights discourse of tourism is particularly important as the world is facing at the Fourth industrial revolution, which can lead to a societal transformation like previous industrial revolutions. However, the position of tourism as a right has still been confronted with an ambivalent conjuncture and it still requires the relevant etudes to provide diverse perspectives for its justification or its discursive construction within a philosophical approach. By applying a Foucauldian discourse analysis for a close reading of international statements and demonstrating the relevance and applicability of biopolitics to the rights discourse in tourism, this article argues that a fuller understanding of the discourses and arguments made regarding a right to tourism is possible through a deeper consideration of biopolitics and that its legitimation needs to take place within the realm of biopolitical production.

KEYWORDS:

• Biopolitics
• right to tourism
• rights discourse
• Michel Foucault
• social tourism policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.