Conclusions
In this article we have tried to show how and why tourism is an increasingly relevant, interesting and so far rather unexplored field of public relations research. We have highlighted the diversity of tourism and its rich potential for detailed cultural and political analysis. Our focus on power implies the existence of unheard and diverse voices which may be marginalised (Dutta-Bergman, 2005 and McKie, 2001). We believe PR research in this area can contribute new and liberating perspectives. We note the lack of empirical research on tourism PR and suggest an agenda which incorporates cultural and critical perspectives and draws on media sociology, cultural studies and tourism literatures. We propose the development of a tourism PR field not only focusing on traditional instrumental perspectives, but a broader social, political and cultural perspective. In this way, tourism public relations research and practice may challenge the ‘restricted traffic between and sometimes the isolation from, other disciplines’ that McKie (2001: 76 and McKie & Munshi, 2005) and others have pointed out.