How International is the International Academy for the Study of Tourism?

Abstract

When the International Academy for the Study of Tourism (IAST) was first launched at its charter meeting in 1988, its central stated mission was to foster tourism research internationally. This otherwise subjective insider study attempts to evaluate this goal longitudinally by applying a series of objective indicators to the composition and primary activity of IAST during the past 19 years. In particular, it examines what changes have taken place over these two decades with respect to the source of ordinary membership and of the executive committee, the location of biennial meetings, as well as the editorship and contributor profiles of its six official publications. Regarding the last, an additional chapter-by-chapter linguistic analysis of accompanying references is undertaken, which seeks to establish whether or not there are significant patterns of ethnocentrism. The overall account thus highlights areas of over-representation as well as pointing to spheres of under-representation. Looking toward the future, the article explores the implications of a continuation of such trends for the organization as a whole.