Fieldwork in pro-poor tourism: a reflexive account

ABSTRACT

Tourism studies pay relatively little attention to the importance of reflexivity and metacognition. This article highlights the integral importance of explicitly considering reflexivity and metacognition issues as part of the research process when studying pro-poor tourism (PPT). Hence, the paper presents a reflexive and metacognitive account of the challenges and obstacles encountered while undertaking ethnographic fieldwork in PPT. Drawing on the first author’s research experiences in Vietnam with informal tourism workers, it reflects the positional, ethical, and methodological challenges faced during and after the fieldwork. This article is the first to provide a critical reflection on fieldwork in PPT, thereby adding to the conceptual recognition of the importance of reflexivity and metacognition in tourism studies overall. It also shares deeper insights into the difficulties associated with research that involves poor people, whose voices remain largely absent from tourism studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical studies
• reflexivity
• metacognition
• pro-poor tourism
• poverty

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam [grant number: 1207/QD-DHKTQD].

Notes on contributors

V. Dao Truong

V. Dao Truong is an Assistant Professor of tourism, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (Brunei). At the time of writing this article, Dao was a lecturer in tourism, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam. He is also an affiliated researcher in Tourism Research in Economic Environs & Society (TREES), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

David W. Knight

David W. Knight is an Assistant Professor, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, USA.

Quynh Pham

Quynh Pham is a Lecturer in economics, Department of Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Thuong T. Nguyen

Thuong T. Nguyen is a Lecturer in investment economics, Department of Investment Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Tuan D. Nguyen

Tuan D. Nguyen is a Lecturer in investment economics, Department of Investment Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Stephen G. Saunders

Stephen G. Saunders is a Senior Lecturer in marketing, Department of Marketing, Monash University, Victoria, Australia (Email: [email protected]).