Brexit and tourism. Process, impacts and non-policy

Citation

Seraphin, H. (2020), "Brexit and tourism. Process, impacts and non-policy", Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 285-286. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-09-2020-155

Cooperation among stakeholders (including governments) is crucial for the long-term sustainable development of the tourism industry (Guiver and Stanford, 2014; Séraphin, 2012). Brexit and tourism, presents the case of a “bastard child” also “a divorcee parent” (Hall, 2020: xvii), namely, the UK, that could be said to epitomise the potential outcomes and implications of the end of a long-term cooperation among partners.

The design of the book makes it suitable for students (tourism, geopolitics, history, etc.) and practitioners across the industry, as the book is quite practical, pragmatic and forward thinking in its approach, and futurologists specialising in tourism (and cognate sectors), as it contributes to the growth in research and discussion in tourism futures. With COVID-19 challenging the tourism industry in Europe, and in the world, cooperation among (European) countries becomes all the more important (Jamal and Budke, 2020). One of the best features of Brexit and tourism lays on the fact that Brexit is presented from different perspectives (historic, political, sociological, economic, legal). This book is also a “one-stop-shop”, as not much has been written on the topic of tourism and Brexit. Indeed, Tourism Management has published only one journal article (Pappas, 2019); Annals of Tourism Research and Journal of Travel Research have not published anything. Despite the fact the editor (and contributors) of the book went straight to the point when discussing Brexit and its outcomes, the structure of the book remains its only (minor) limitation, as some sections could have been merged. The following paragraphs are suggesting a slightly different structure.

The preface provides a good overview of what the book is about. Section A provides the background (historic and geopolitical), which is necessary to understand what Brexit is about and the rationale behind it. Chapter 3 is a pivotal chapter in this book, as it explains in a clear and straightforward way the consequences of Brexit on tourism. Other chapters are mainly exploring the key points of Chapter 3.

Sections B and C (that should have been together) are discussing the impacts and implications of Brexit on tourism. Chapter 10 stands out from others chapters (discussing mainly the case of EU and non-EU citizens either living or visiting the UK), as it is discussing the case of the 1.3 million UK nationals living elsewhere within the EU and the case of the 8.7 million visits made by UK residents in other EU countries. Both aspects of mobility are covered in this book.

Section D provides a bigger picture of the impacts on Brexit that goes beyond the tourism industry (as it covers the topic of education for instance). Finally, the conclusion wraps up the key points of the book while asking an important question regarding the future of the UK outside the EU. The key message is that Brexit is weakening the UK from a tourism point of view, as it is an implicit anti-tourism action that “does not add up to a ‘Great’ basis for welcoming visitors, nor for encouraging their return” (Hall, 2020, p. 210). As opposed to categories of consumers who are recognised and designated as disempowered because of their low-income, age, etc. (Hutton, 2016), the UK has self-inflicted itself a tourism disempowerment.

This book is of importance because it goes beyond the topic of Brexit. Indeed, it is the uncertain future of the tourism industry that is underlying. COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of how fragile the industry is and how important cooperation among governments is (Jamal and Budke, 2020).