Anthropology of Tourism: Researching Interactions between Hosts and Guests

Abstract This study focuses on the theoretical analysis of social interaction and relationship between guests and hosts from the perspective of anthropology of tourism. In the 1960s and 1970s, attention was paid predominantly to anthropological reflection of negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism on host communities. However, towards the end of the 1980s and during the 1990s the research focus began to shift towards an analysis and interpretation of the influence of commodification on the perceptions of identity and authenticity of the host culture, while the positive aspects of tourism began to be recognized as well. This study aims to present an overview of the basic approaches within the anthropology of tourism to social interaction between guests and hosts. The objective of the study is to provide a summary of miscellaneous approaches to and views on this issue.