Tourism & Heritage TIG

By Lawrence Ramirez
lrami070@ucr.edu

In this edition of the Tourism and Heritage Topical Interest Group (THTIG) column, our focus is directed towards preparation for the 82 Annual Meeting, coming up in March 2022. As always, we welcome members to reach out to us with ideas and activities to promote and cultivate our community interests. If you plan on being at the Annual Meeting, either in person or virtually, please feel welcome to join us in preparing for this exciting event. As always, volunteers are greatly appreciated.

The Tourism and Heritage Topical Interest Group (THTIG) is a sub-group of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) that plans events at the annual SfAA Meetings, organizes student awards, and shares tourism and heritage related information and announcements with members through social media and our list-serve. We are currently updating and “revamping” our list-serve and social media presence.  If anyone would like to join us, please contact Lawrence Ramirez at lrami070@ucr.edu.  

Preparing for the Annual Meeting

As we prepare for the Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, the THTIG would deeply appreciate suggestions for subjects to address at our topical interest group meeting. Our community has been dealing with many complications following COVID-related changes to tourism and heritage research. We recognize that “getting back to normal” is a complicated issue and that participation in the THTIG needs to take into consideration the many perspectives that have emerged from the past few years. So, please share your ideas for agenda items that we can consider at the upcoming meeting.

Additionally, we also have need for volunteers in the operations of THTIG events at the meeting. For example, the Valene Smith Tourism Poster Contest will require judges to review the student posters. If you would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities at the 2022 meeting, please email Lawrence Ramirez (lrami070@ucr.edu). Thank you.

Reminder regarding the “Erve Chambers Tourism and Heritage Student Paper Award”

The “Erve Chambers Tourism and Heritage Student Paper Award” was established to honor the legacy of Dr. Erve Chambers and recognize his contributions to the anthropology of tourism and heritage, as well as encourage new and innovative avenues of inquiry within the field through an annual student paper competition. As a prize awarding competition, this competition is currently on hold as the THTIG raises funds to build an endowment of $10,000 as a sustainable source of funding for the competition's annual cash award. Those interested in contributing to the endowment fund can make a donation online through the SfAA’s secure website at www.appliedanthro.org/donate and choosing "Chambers Tourism & Heritage Student Paper Award'' from the Funds drop-down list to ensure that your donation goes towards helping to build up the endowment for this great honor. All contributions are greatly appreciated!

Until this wonderful endowment is sufficiently funded, the THTIG will work to find creative alternatives for non-financial prizes for the Annual Erve Chambers Tourism and Heritage Student Paper Award.

Call for Newsletter Volunteers and Submissions

As the THTIG newsletter column grows, we would like to develop our editorial staff. Currently, we are looking for volunteers to serve as assistant newsletter editors overseeing important departments for this newsletter column. The three departments that we are building are: essays, news, and book/film reviews. If you have are interested learning more about these editorial opportunities, please contact Lawrence Ramirez (lrami070@ucr.edu).

For upcoming newsletters, we are accepting abstracts for short essays (1000-2500 words) to be published in this column. We are especially interested in submissions that relate to changes or adjustments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are interested in other tourism or heritage related topics as well. Submissions maybe editorials, accounts of personal experiences in the field or in the classroom, reviews of a recent book or film on tourism, arguments for or against a certain view on a tourism-related matter, etc. Abstracts should be no more than 200 words and may be submitted to Lawrence Ramirez (lrami070@ucr.edu). Submissions are currently being accepted for the February 2022 newsletter. We look forward to hearing from our members. Thank you.