Tourism, Philanthropy and School Tours in Zimbabwe

This book explores the phenomena of school tours and tourism. It explores tensions of authenticity and artificiality in the school site being both a place of community learning and a spectacle for tourism consumption.

Through the example of a school in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe, the book examines the act of a school tour, whose main aim is to providing fund for the school. It offers a unique interdisciplinary lens that examines both the school as a tourism destination and as a site of learning. By drawing on these two fields, the book provides insights into the tensions inherent in a school that is also a tourism destination. This book will demonstrate to readers the tensions present in tourism partnerships with schools that include some source of philanthropic funding and unpack the complexities of tourism that draws on stereotypical cultural images. It explores these tensions through the lens of school leaders, students, teachers, and tourism personnel.

The book provides a major and unique contribution to the field of tourism studies and education. It will be of interest to students and researchers interested in tourism studies, sociology, education, philanthropy, development studies, and the Global South.

Author Biography

Kathleen Smithers is a Lecturer in the School of Education at Charles Sturt University, Australia. Her main research interests are in sociology of education, philanthropy in education, and in precarity in higher education.