Historian Eric G.E. Zuelow assumes editorship of Journal of Tourism History

Eric G.E. Zuelow, Ph.D., associate professor of European history, recently assumed the position of editor-in-chief of the Journal of Tourism History, the primary international venue for tourism history scholarship.  Zuelow previously served as the book reviews and deputy editor for the publication.

“Tourism is an incredibly vibrant and exciting area to study,” noted Zuelow.  “It is about identities, economies, technological innovations, international linkages, place formation, environmental change, and even things we take for granted such as what landscapes we find beautiful or what stories about the past we find engaging.  The reality is that tourism is an integral part of the modern world; indeed, it played a very significant role in shaping the world as we know it.”

According to Zuelow, tourism is the globe’s largest service sector industry, valued at about $1.4 trillion in 2013.  It directly employs more than 54 million people worldwide.  Equally significant, revenues are increasing at more than 2.5% annually despite the recession that started in late 2008.

“The thing about tourism is that it has been growing steadily since World War II,” said Zuelow.  “There just aren’t many industries that grow, employing more and more people, making more and more money, year in and year out.  What is more, projections call for continued growth for the foreseeable future.  If I were looking for a really viable career with huge opportunity, I’d think tourism.”

With so much economic development, it is little wonder that tourism is one of the most rapidly expanding areas of scholarly study and nowhere more so than among historians.  Toward this end, the Journal of Tourism History aims to provide “an international outlet for the publication of articles and reviews covering every aspect of the history of tourism. It is interdisciplinary in ethos, looking outwards from a historical core to engage with the full range of cognate disciplines and theoretical approaches, and welcomes overviews and comparative as well as contextualized case-studies, covering all areas of the world and all approaches to historical study.”

Zuelow hopes that his position as editor of the journal will benefit UNE students either through his regularly offered history of tourism course or more directly by employing students as research assistants.  Zuelow has already enlisted occupational therapy major Kelsey Heck (UNE ’16) to assist him, and he hopes to encourage still more student involvement in the future. “This might be a great way to teach students about how knowledge is produced and about how publishing works.”

Routledge, long one of the leading global publishers of academic journals, monographs, and edited collections, publishes the Journal of Tourism History three times each year.  It is produced in conjunction with the International Commission for the History of Travel and Tourism.

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