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1A collective volume edited by the sociologist Bernard Duterme (Centre Tricontinental (CETRI) – Belgium) with chapters by the Ecuaciones author group, Anita Pleumaron, K.T. Suresh, Mariama Williams, Françoise El Alaoui and Daniel Hiernaux. The original work was published in French and Spanish in 2007, and has since been reprinted in Spanish in 2017, 2019 and 2021, reflecting its success and appeal to readers. The book is written primarily from a sociological perspective and structured as follows: an introduction by Bernard Duterme, a specialist on the impacts of globalisation, chapter 1 on the expansion of international tourism (Bernard Duterme), chapter 2 on the privatisation and commodification of tourism (Anita Pleumaron), chapter 3 on the democratic alternatives to the dominant logics of global tourism (K. T. Suresh), chapter 4 on the political economy of tourism from a gender perspective (Mariama Williams), chapter 5 on the ethical alternatives to the expansion of global tourism (Françoise El Alaoui), and chapter 6 on tourism in Mexico (Daniel Hiernaux, geographer). Together, the authors examine the negative effects of the global phenomenon of international mass tourism, and the environmental consequences of tourism at the global level.

2The introduction reviews the legitimising tourism narratives (economic development, encounters and peace, sustainable tourism), questioning whether tourism is genuinely a factor in development or rather a driver of imbalances and inequalities between the North and the South and if there are any alternatives to this model. Chapter 1 explores the legacy of the 1986 GATT round of agreements and their impact on the globalisation of tourism (e.g., excessive coastal exploitation, deregulation, privatisation of services, democratic deficit, and forms of resistance). Chapter 2 takes a critical look at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) greenwashing strategies and concealment of a general privatisation process of the public sphere (e.g., natural spaces), Disneyfication, dehumanisation and gentrification, as well as the tourism market-focused teaching and training currently being offered in our universities that prioritises market interests over a critical and independent education. It raises the questions of whether a non-UNWTO supported form of sustainable tourism is a viable alternative, should moral limits to commercialisation and profit-sharing be implemented, and if there is a need for the democratic monitoring of tourism companies.

3Chapter 3 sheds light on who benefits from and who is adversely affected by tourism activity, and puts forward alternatives for redressing inequalities such as responsible, conscious, community-based, shared and participatory tourism. Chapter 4 is based on the reflection that many global majority countries do not significantly benefit from tourism development because of their low bargaining power and dependence on the tourism industry. This has given way to a new form of colonisation and a control over tourism and its gains by the global minority countries (e.g., through protected areas) that appropriate these natural resources. Chapter 5 does not propose a ban or a brake on international mass tourism, but rather a set of ethical alternatives to the unequal distribution of tourism’s gains that favour empowerment and awareness-raising approaches over scapegoating and blame-seeking. Furthermore, the excessive use of tourism marketing as regards sustainable and equitable tourism is criticised. Finally, Chapter 6 examines the case of Mexico and, in the author’s view, the failure of the mass tourism model that has degraded the country’s culture, society and environment, and in turn fuelled numerous social, economic and environmental conflicts.

4To conclude, this work adopts a transversal approach to provide readers with a thought-provoking, critical study of tourism through an alter- rather than an anti-tourism lens. Although there is room for more empirical and scientific data to enhance the authors’ theoretical arguments, the qualitative data and critical ideas highlight the sometimes obscure realities of tourism through a rationalisation of tourism that, to a certain extent, is long overdue.