The 'Host' as uninvited 'Guest': hospitality, violence and tourism

Abstract

The article explores the outsider status of handicraft traders in a tourism center in India. It demonstrates that they are seen as hosts by international tourists, and may even enact this role. But they are subjected to various forms of violence and exploitation by local landlords who, like many local residents, see them as uninvited outsiders rather than as guests. It is argued that the host-guest framework is inadequate for developing a more nuanced understanding of such interactions on the front line of international tourism. For the sense of welcome and hospitality that underwrites these interactions serves to depoliticize what are often highly exploitative relations.