Rethinking the Ideology of Responsible Tourism

Drawing on the critique of ideology elaborated by the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, in this conceptual paper we rethink responsible tourism. More specifically, in line with Žižek’s argument that ideology is closely linked to reality and not a dreamlike illusion, we reconceptualise the ideological character of responsible tourism. This ideological character, we propose, is fundamentally rooted in real global issues, and often inadvertently and implicitly sustains the mechanism of modern global capitalism. Although responsible tourism has been a powerful unifier among tourism stakeholders, we argue that its critical conceptual considerations have not yet been given sufficient robust reflection. Hence, in this conceptual paper, we rethink responsible tourism through the lens of ideology contributing to further knowledge about this topic. In doing so, we analyse two key policy documents: the Cape Town (2002) and Kerala (2008) Declarations from which the term of responsible tourism originated. Following Žižek’s critique of ideology, we aspire to shape more inclusive and effective sustainable and responsible development as advocated by the Sustainable Development Goals and responsible tourism stakeholders. Furthermore, the novel interjection of the Žižekian concept of ideology to the context of responsible tourism opens up new theoretical possibilities for critical tourism studies.