Behind the research beliefs and practices of Asian tourism scholars in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Tourism Management Perspectives

Publication Date

7-1-2019

Abstract

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd This article explores the power structures behind the research beliefs and practices of tourism scholars based in three Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. More specifically, through qualitative interviews, this study gives voice to a group of Asian tourism scholars to cast light on the historical (colonial/postcolonial) and contemporary (neocolonial) forces influencing their research beliefs and practices. Conceptually, this work mobilises the notions of “intellectual imperialism” and “captive mind”, developed by the Malaysian sociologist Syed Hussein Alatas. Overall, the empirical material supports Alatas on the idea that Asian tourism scholars are influenced by power structures that tend to reiterate Western-centric ideologies. However, an important aspect emerging from the interviews was that regional/national research agendas and the influence of other Asian countries, such as Japan, South Korea and China, also play a role in shaping the research beliefs and practices of scholars based in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

ISSN

2211-9736

Publisher

Elsevier B.V.

Volume

31

First Page

1

Last Page

13

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences | Tourism and Travel

Keywords

Asia, Captive mind, Colonialism/postcolonialism/neocolonialism, Intellectual imperialism, Research beliefs, Tourism knowledge

Scopus ID

85063337393

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

Link to Full Text

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