Book Reviews

PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL TOURISM TO THEYEAR 2000 AND BEYOND by Godfrey Harris andKenneth M. Katz. The Americas Group, 1996. No. ofpages: 218. Price: £24.95 (paperback). ISBN0–935047–20-4.

In the foreword the authors state that the text acts as a‘10 step program … designed to help new commu-nities and companies enter the internationalmarketplace with the proper preparation’. The organi-sation of the text certainly reflects the authors’ attemptto structure and simplify the stated objective bycreating a set of logical steps which effectivelyrepresent chapters. In essence, the text seeks tobecome a sort of handbook or at the very least apractical tool which is confirmed by the ‘last word’:‘We hope readers will consider trying to develop aninternational tourist program in their communities’.As commendable and genuine as this suggestion maybe, the approach adopted is arguably too simplistic tosatisfactorily achieve this aim.

Furthermore, if the text is to be of practical use,consideration must be given to the target market. Thepurpose of the book suggests that the market isindividuals or organisations practising in the field oftourism. Certainly, the back cover lists a range of suchentities: libraries, tourism companies, conventionbureaus, government officials, chambers of commerce,transportation firms, teachers/students, hotel manag-ers, travel agents, tour operators and receptionagencies. The panoply of institutions cited render itonly capable of making broad generalisations ratherthan specific points relevant to each category. On thisbasis the bulk of the audience is probably teachers andstudents involved in tourism. It must also be acknowl-edged that the text is definitely biased towards the

American market, a reflection of the authors’ originand highlighted through the informal written style.

The text relies, to a large extent, on the experience ofthe two authors in that the style is both chatty andanecdotal. Consequently, the reader is not exposed toa barrage of facts, statistics or references. Instead auser-friendly style is presented which avoids anemphasis on dates, therein prolonging the currency ofthe text. Another positive attribute is the frequent useof bullet points which are interspersed with prose andwhich convey information in a punchy style. The ‘keypoints in review’ at the end of each ‘chapter’ alsoprovide useful summaries.

The text’s value in contributing to the field lies in itsapproach. There is no shortage of marketing books intourism, most of which tackle all aspects of marketingin an applied fashion and written in a formal style.This book differs in three respects: first, it focuses onpromotion although it assumes the widest possibledefinition; second, the style adopted is informal aspreviously discussed; and third, and perhaps mostimportantly, the book offers a practical guide to thesubject area. Its original approach and user-friendlystyle render it a worthwhile contribution, even if itsintentions are rather ambitious.

Overall this book is worth visiting if only to share insome of the authors’ acute and, at times, arrestingobservations of tourism. The academic world islittered with books which verge on the turgid incontrast to what is undeniably one of the mostdynamic and fascinating industries of our time;thankfully this is not one of those books.

MARION BENNETT

University of Surrey, UK

The editors are keen to initiate discussion in thereviews section and also to encourage both practitio-ners and academics to review publications. With thisin mind we publish two reviews of the same book: oneby a practitioner, Michael Romeril, Environmental

Advisor to the States of Jersey and a well-known com-mentator on tourism and environment relationships;and one by Brian Wheeller, a noted and lively obser-ver of sustainable tourism and a researcher and tea-cher of tourism at the University of Birmingham, UK.

PROGRESS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH, VOL. 3, 279–282 (1997)

CCC 1077–3509/97/030279–04 $17.50 © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.