Tourism In Ireland: A Critical Analysis ed. by Barbara O’Connor, Michael Cronin (review)

to be taken into account by anyone wishing to formulate an informed view of the Irish situation.” These views should be scrutinized in the future, however. Adams presents them here artfully. As a Marxist-Leninist, the ethic of “revolutionary morality”—saying or doing what one needs to at a given time in order to further the goal of the “democratic socialist” world order—is part and parcel of Adams’s political heritage, if not necessarily a part of his personal ideology. The future will determine whether or not this is part of his heritage that Gerry Adams has decided to discard. —John B. Davenport Tourism In Ireland: A Critical Analysis, ed. by Barbara O’Connor and Michael Cronin, pp. 271, Cork: Cork University Press, 1993, IR £19.95. Although a plethora of reports and “white papers” on Irish tourism have appeared in scattered sources, this book is important because it collects for the Wrst time such divergent views in one text. The essays here will beneWt both the scholarly community , and the government oYcials responsible for Irish tourism policy. For the tourist, the holiday experience is a personal one, but to those involved in providing a memorable holiday it is a complex balance of social, cultural, economic, and political factors. The needs of the local community providing the services must be balanced against the expectations of the tourist. The Wrst section provides excellent case studies of holiday resorts—Kilkee, County Clare, in the West of Ireland, and the east coast town of Bray. The two historical accounts compare and contrast the social class origins and activities of the holiday makers in County Clare with the social geography of Bray. The section “Tourist Images and Representations” includes a discussion of the travel writers ’ accounts of the Irish and their land after World War II. The impression formed by these travel writers created an “image” that came to represent Ireland and tourism to the outsider. These strong images, Barbara O’Connor argues, have had important, but largely unanalyzed, consequences for the construction of Irish national identity. Though clearly a successful industry, generating massive economic activity, the tourist industry today Wnds itself at a crossroads. There are critics who advocate a more structured approach to Irish tourism policy. In the third section of the text, the contributing authors look at tourist policy in this broader perspective. Their examination includes the integration of environmental impacts and long-term concerns . James Deegan and Donal Dineen argue in their chapter on “Irish Tourism Policy” that more tourists may not be desirable for the Irish countryside; they contend that, in the long term, the Irish tourist sector would be better served by BOOK REVIEWS 184 concentrating on attracting high-spending, long-staying visitors who would have a more subtle impact on the environment. This section also provides insights into tourism policy in Northern Ireland, including tourism trends and the promotion policies of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. From this account, it appears that what is good for the Republic is good for the North in the economics of tourism. The changing patterns of tourism in the Republic have had an impact on the North, and there is much evidence that suggests a united tourism policy would beneWt both regions. The fourth section of the text examines the emerging growth areas of heritage, often called “cultural tourism.” The authors base their arguments on a theory of heritage that deWnes “cultural tourism” not as merely “nostalgic,” but rather as giving the visitor an immediate confrontation with the past. They caution, however , that where such experiences are highly structured, as in a historical theme park, planners must avoid the creation of pseudo-histories. Similarly cautious, the Wnal section looks closely at the relationship between the development of rural tourism and economically disadvantaged areas of the nation. The authors are quite critical of simplistic views that assume tourism will turn into a development panacea. They urge a cautious approach to rural tourism development, stressing that rural communities may lose much by developing a tourist industry. The authors of Tourism in Ireland discuss the costs of tourism to the long-term cultural identity of the nation. The tourism industry brings a set...