Diaspora tourism: mapping concepts and questions

The study of tourism in the social sciences is today widely recognized, and it is no longer necessary to prove its importance for the understanding of societies and cultures, especially in a world that is characterized by the intensification of mobilities. Nonetheless, some types of tourism, such as sex tourism and ecotourism, have been more studied than others. This article seeks to contribute to the study of diaspora tourism, which has attracted the interest of a growing number of visitors and researchers. Analyzing the intersections between tourism, diaspora, and race, the article has two main objectives: to map the major concepts that have been employed in the analyses of diaspora tourism, and to discuss some of its central questions. The presentation of the concepts does not have a mere taxonomic purpose, but seeks, instead, to generate tools that may contribute to deepen the analyses. The questions here discussed, on the other hand, although not accounting for the totality of the diaspora experiences of tourism, indicate some paths to be followed in these studies, such as the analysis of the connections between tourism and identity, the hierarchies inherent to diasporas, and the paradox of the privileged mobility of tourists who belong to racially subordinated groups.