Some of the very wealthy among us love to live large in Africa’s magnificent landscape, to observe (and hunt) its iconic wildlife. While they are there it is good that they give generously to economic development, philanthropic, and conservation projects, no? Are we missing something? Academics Stasja Koot and Robert Fletcher think so.
It’s a “Good Tourism” Insight.
In this “GT” Insight we will explore two novel types of ‘ethical donor tourism’, based on two recent academic papers about ‘philanthrotourism’ and ‘environmentourism’.
Both are often presented as supporting social and environmental causes.
However, this positive self-presentation may obscure how they actually benefit from and reinforce inequalities and environmental degradation.
For travel & tourism practitioners it is important to be aware of what motivates donors to engage in tourism practices, what such tourism conceals, and to include this knowledge in decision-making involving ethical donor tourism.
After introducing philanthrotourism and environmentourism, we provide a brief critical analysis drawing upon the psychoanalytical concept of jouissance.
Jouissance is a particular type of ambivalent enjoyment that goes beyond ‘pure’ pleasure. It also encompasses an element of discomfort, or even pain, when confronting distasteful aspects of social or environmental problems.
In both philanthrotourism and environmentourism such problems and the jouissance they stimulate are at the core of the tourist experience.
We further relate jouissance to philanthrocapitalism in which global elites claim to revolutionise philanthropy by applying the business savvy that made them successful.
Often, however, this means a concentration of power in the hands of elites and a neglect of more structural social and historical elements.
Continue reading this "GT" Insight in full and for free at https://goodtourismblog.com/2022/01/jouissance-the-pleasure-pain-of-ethical-donor-tourism-in-africa/