Evolution of Tourism Studies: Developing Generation T Knowledge

Abstract

Tourism as an academic field is at a generational crossroad. The founders are retiring and being succeeded by a new generation of scholars often with tourism focussed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. This new generation could be labelled Generation T and is characterised by a multidisciplinary education associated with a broad field of study. This generation is commonly considered to lack the advantages of a specific discipline focussed education in terms of theoretical and methodological foundations. However, theoretical and methodological development in tourism will become a primary responsibility of this new generation and there is uncertainty about how Generation T could contribute constructively to this development. This paper outlines the potential of Generation T to contribute to the evolution of tourism studies through the development of tourism theory and adoption of mixed methodological perspectives.