Example tourism dissertation topic 5:

Slum tourism: Ghoulish or good-hearted?

This dissertation investigates the phenomenon of ‘slum tourism’, which dates back more than one hundred years. Examining briefly the history of such tours, it then considers the value of slum tourism in exposing individuals to inequities in living standards, income and even opportunity. Changes in slum tourism to South Africa, dating from the 1980s, is evaluated throughout its ‘progress’ to the present day, and compared to those tours currently being offered to the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Dharavi, India. The paper evaluates whether the residents of slums receive any short- or long-term benefit from such exposure, thus determining its value.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Diekmann, A. and Hannam, K. (2012). ‘Touristic mobilities in India’s slum spaces’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 39(3), pp. 1315-1336.
• Dondolo, L. (2002). The construction of public history and tourism destinations in Cape Town’s townships: A study of routes, sites and heritage. Cape Town: University of the Western Cape.
• Meschkank, J. (2011). ‘Investigations into slum tourism in Mumbai: poverty tourism and the tensions between different constructions of reality’, Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 39(3), pp. 1315-1336.