Dr Raoul Bianchi
Reader in Political Economy
My profile
Biography
Raoul is Reader in Political Economy with a particular focus on the governance and development of tourism and visitor economies.
He has a BSc in Politics and International Studies (Southampton, 1989), an MSc in Tourism Management (Surrey, 1992) and PhD in the social anthropology of tourism development (North London, 2000). His work combines an ethnographic focus on the social, economic and spatial patterns of tourism development at the local level and wider theoretical engagement with the forces shaping the regional and international political economy of tourism with a particular emphasis on southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. He has also published widely on issues related to international tourism, border governance and citizenship, including the co-authored monograph Tourism and Citizenship: Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities in the Global Order (Routledge, 2014).
Previously, he has worked with numerous international partners, as codirector of European research projects (Mediterranean Voices, 2002-2005) and as partner/co-investigator on other research projects and training programmes financed by the European Union, British Council and British Academy/Leverhulme. He has been a long-time associate of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) and a member of the Research Committee 50 on International Tourism (International Sociological Association). He is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) and member of the RAI’s Tourism Committee. From 2014-2021 he was a visiting scholar in the Cultural Geography Research Group at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.
He was a founding Associate Editor of the gold open access applied tourism research journal, Annals of Tourism Research: Empirical Insights and is Associate Editor of companion title and leading tourism social science research journal (ABS 4*) Annals of Tourism Research. He also sits on the editorial board of Tourism Planning and Development, for which he recently co-edited the special issue in honour of Professor David Harrison (2022), and the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.
Between 1997-2003 Raoul was a member of the executive council of the UK NGO Tourism Concern and continues to work, write and campaign on issues related to the advancement of democratic, equitable and nature sustaining tourism economies.
Interests and expertise
My current work looks at tourism, capitalism and crises and the restructuring of visitor economies in southern Europe in collaboration with fellow researchers at the Universities of Barcelona and the Balearic Islands and Barcelona-based Alba Sud think thank.
Teaching
I am the Unit Leader for the final year UG ‘Business Project/Research/Consultancy’ unit and PG unit ‘Global Corporate Power in the International Economy’.
Supervision
Rethinking tourism political economy for equitable, resilient and sustainable visitor economies
Understanding the Treasury’s distinctiveness in UK economic governance: The Treasury and the Political Economy of the Green Transition
Research outputs
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Books (authored/edited/special issues)
Bianchi, R.V., Stephenson, M.L. (2014) Tourism and citizenship: Rights, freedoms and responsibilities in the global order.
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Chapters in books
Bianchi, R.V., Stephenson, M.L. (2022) 'Tourism, citizenship and border governance past dynamics and new reconfigurations.' Routledge Handbook of Borders and Tourism. pp. 73-86.
Bianchi, R.V., Stephenson, M.L. (2022) 'Tourism, Citizenship and Border Governance.' Routledge Handbook of Borders and Tourism. Routledge, pp. 73-86.
Bianchi, R.V. (2022) 'Tourism, COVID-19 and crisis: the case for a radical turn.' In Higgins-Desbiolles, F., Doering, A., Chew Bigby, B. (ed.) Socialising Tourism: Rethinking Tourism for Social and Ecological Justice. Routledge, pp. 93-108.
Bianchi, R.V. (2021) 'COVID-19 and the prospects for the radical transformation of tourism.' In Cañada, E., Murray, I. (ed.) #TourismPostCOVID19 Lockdown Touristification. Alba Sud Editorial, pp. 217-222.
Bianchi, R. (2019) 'La economía política del turismo: una introducción crítica.' Turistificación global perspectivas críticas en turismo. Icaria,
Bianchi, R.V., Stephenson, M.L. (2018) 'Tourism, border politics, and the fault lines of mobility.' Borderless Worlds for Whom?: Ethics, Moralities and Mobilities. pp. 123-138.
Bianchi, R. (2017) 'The political economy of mass tourism and its contradictions.' Mass Tourism in a Small World. pp. 40-52.
Bianchi, R.V. (2014) 'Towards a New Political Economy of Global Tourism Revisited.' Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues. pp. 287-331.
Bianchi, R.V. (2012) 'A RADICAL DEPARTURE: A critique of the critical turn in Tourism Studies.' The Routledge Handbook of Tourism Geographies. pp. 46-54.
Bianchi, R.V. (2010) 'Tourism, capitalism and marxist political economy.' Political Economy of Tourism: A Critical Perspective. pp. 17-37.
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Journal articles
Hampton, M., Bianchi, R., Jeyacheya, J. (2024) 'Dynamics of coastal tourism: drivers of spatial change in South-East Asia.' Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 45(1) pp. 54-69.
Bianchi, R.V., Milano, C. (2024) 'Polycrisis and the metamorphosis of tourism capitalism.' Annals of Tourism Research, 104
Bianchi, R.V., McCabe, S., Cisneros-Martínez, J.D., Domínguez-Gómez, J.A. (2023) 'Contested discourses in social tourism: a relational political economy perspective.' Annals of Tourism Research, 102pp. 103640-103640.
Bianchi, R., Sharpley, R., Andrews, H. (2022) 'Editorial: A Reflection on the Work and Legacy of Professor David Harrison (1941–2021).' Tourism Planning and Development, 19(1) pp. 75-80.
Bianchi, R.V., de Man, F. (2020) 'Tourism, inclusive growth and decent work: a political economy critique.' Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(2-3) pp. 353-371.
Bianchi, R.V., Stephenson, M.L., Hannam, K. (2020) 'The contradictory politics of the right to travel: mobilities, borders & tourism.' Mobilities, 15(2) pp. 290-306.
Bianchi, R. (2018) 'The political economy of tourism development: A critical review.' Annals of Tourism Research, 70pp. 88-102.
Bianchi, R.V., Stephenson, M.L. (2013) 'Deciphering tourism and citizenship in a globalized world.' Tourism Management, 39pp. 10-20.
Bianchi, R.V. (2009) 'The 'critical turn' in tourism studies: A radical critique.' Tourism Geographies, 11(4) pp. 484-504.
Bianchi, R. (2006) 'Tourism and the Globalisation of Fear: Analysing the Politics of Risk and (in)Security in Global Travel.' Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(1) pp. 64-74.
Bianchi, R.V. (2005) 'Euro-med heritage: Culture, capital and trade liberalisation - implications for the Mediterranean City.' Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 15(2) pp. 283-318.
Bianchi, R.V. (2004) 'Tourism restructuring and the politics of sustainability: A critical view from the european periphery (the canary islands).' Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 12(6) pp. 495-529.
Bianchi, R. (2003) 'Place and power in tourism development: tracing the complex articulations of community and locality.' PASOS Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 1(1) pp. 13-32.
Bianchi, R.V. (2002) 'The contested landscapes of world heritage on a tourist Island: The case of Garajonay National Park, la Gomera.' International Journal of Heritage Studies, 8(2) pp. 81-97.
Bianchi, R., Boniface, P. (2002) 'Editorial: The politics of World Heritage.' International Journal of Heritage Studies, 8(2) pp. 79-80.
Bianchi, R.V. (2000) 'Migrant tourist-workers: Exploring the 'contact zones' of post-industrial tourism.' Current Issues in Tourism, 3(2) pp. 107-137.