‘Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions’ book explores tourism’s humanity and agency
Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions — the Substack blog and “Good Tourism” Partner — has published a book of the same name compiled by its founder Jim Butcher.
Humanity and agency
In early 2023, Dr Butcher established Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions on Substack to question prevailing narratives around mass tourism, many of which paid scant regard to the humanity or agency of tourists themselves.
In Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions the book, the journey through mass tourism is examined not merely as a global industry, but as a dynamic cultural and social phenomenon that touches everyone, everywhere.
Drawing on the work of internationally-renowned scholars and experts, the volume provides a provocative, stimulating, and challenging exploration of the future of tourism in the context of growing global mobility, environmental challenges, and social shifts.
The contributors seek to recognise the humanity and agency of the millions who embark on leisure journeys every year; challenging stereotypes, while acknowledging tourism’s legacy as a vehicle of cultural exchange, economic progress, and personal transformation.
Interviews and essays
Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions the book is divided into two parts:
- a collection of in-depth interviews with leading scholars reflecting on the evolution and future of tourism, which also yielded shorter “GT” Insights; and
- a series of thought-provoking essays drawn from both the TH:TM Substack and The “Good Tourism” Blog.
Collectively, the interviews and essays engage with urgent debates on the sustainability, equity, and ethics of travel, while also celebrating the diverse and progressive aspects of mass leisure. From the critique of ‘overtourism’ to the transformative potential of new infrastructures, the contributors examine how tourism — despite its challenges — can still be a force for global good.
By bridging expert analysis with public discourse, TH:TM the book presents insights into tourism’s role in shaping culture, economy, and politics, and calls for a deeper, more reflective conversation about where we’re headed in the age of mass travel.
Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions is a timely resource for anyone looking to broaden their understanding of, and enter into debates over, the complexities of tourism in the 21st century, whether you are a student, a scholar, or simply a curious traveller.
About Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher is a lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, England, and the writer of a number of books on the sociology and politics of tourism. Dr Butcher blogs at Politics of Tourism, tweets at @jimbutcher2, and initiated Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions on Substack.
