From Library Journal

This is the first encyclopedia on the burgeoning field of tourism, an industry that has a major influence on the world's economy. Tourism expert Jafari (Ph.D., Univ. of Minnesota, 1985) has recruited over 250 international contributors to explain the field's theories, concepts, and issues. There are also definitions of industry terms and entries for countries, associations, and subject-specific journals. The over 1000 alphabetically arranged entries range in length from a few sentences (e.g., for "excursionist" and "forest recreation") to two or more pages (e.g., for "Italy" and "input-output analysis"). The longer entries usually include suggestions for further reading and/or references. Since the volume was first published in England, some entries use British spellings. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. (Introduction and index not seen.)DChristine Bulson, SUNY at Oneonta Lib.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Although there is a respectable body of literature consisting of research papers, dissertations, journal articles, handbooks, texts, dissertations, guidebooks, and other monographs covering various aspects of tourism, there are few encyclopedias, and most of those currently available refer to specific subjects or geographic areas.

An international editorial team of more than 315 academics and professionals from various branches of the tourism industry, led by Jafari, Department of Hospitality and Tourism of the University of Wisconsin-Stout, has woven a rich collection of more than 880 definitions and descriptive entries into the Encyclopedia of Tourism. This multidisciplinary volume covers the subject areas of anthropology, business, ecology, economics, education, geography, philosophy, psychology, religion, and sociology as they impact an important worldwide industry.

Individual entries range in size from three or four sentences for Disembarkation card to two to three pages, as for National park. Cross-references are in bold type, and, where appropriate, see also references are provided. There are bibliographies for nearly half of the entries, and some bibliographic references are current to within the last three or four years.

Browsing through this volume reveals the important, complicated, and diverse activities that are inherent to this industry. Entries include definitions of terms (e.g., Cash flow, Excursion, Space allocation), descriptions of the state of tourism in individual countries, historical details of various aspects of tourism, such as Adventure tourism, Grand tour, and Travel literature, and more. Also included in the main body of the work are entries on pertinent journals and newsletters from around the world and national and international associations and organizations. In addition to the general index, separate indexes of these publications and the various groups might have been useful for the reader looking for a quick reference.

The Encyclopedia of Tourism bears some similarity to but is narrower in focus than a previous publication, VNR's Encyclopedia of Hospitality and Tourism (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993), which is composed of essay-length entries organized in three major subject areas: food-service management, hotel management, and travel and tourism. The essays discuss current conditions and issues of interest within each section. In spite of the difference in publication dates and organization, these two volumes could be regarded as complementary to each other. The Encyclopedia of Tourism should be useful for professionals in the industry, scholars and researchers, and interested lay readers. It is recommended for academic (including community college and technical college) and large public libraries. RBB
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