Salons 3: Tourism through Folklore: Challenges and Opportunities

The “Tourism through Folklore: Challenges and Opportunities” salons were organized by the Fellows of the American Folklore Society. Participants were clear-eyed about the damage to the integrity of cultural practices and community life that is often engendered by tourism, but they also considered concrete solutions involving greater community agency and the sustainable tourism initiatives of folklorists. They noted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spurring regenerative tourism. These salons considered the opportunities and pitfalls of immersive tourism experiences, how host/guest relationships can be reconfigured, and approaches for controlling access to over-touristed areas. Folklorists were viewed as being well-equipped to educate about culturally appropriate behavior and to generate substantive interpretative materials, both of which may require collaboration with the tourism industry.