A recently published open-access book from University of Westminster Press examines how tourism is reshaping metropolitan regions and why these areas deserve greater attention from researchers and policymakers. Tourism and the Metropolis: Exploring Conceptual and Geographical Frontiers explores how tourism influences housing, transportation, local businesses, public spaces, and the daily lives of residents beyond city centres.

Tourism is one of the most influential industries of the 21st century, and its effects increasingly expand beyond urban centres into wider metropolitan areas. Despite its growing influence, metropolitan tourism receives surprisingly little attention from researchers compared to the abundant research on tourism in city centres.

Tourism and the Metropolis addresses this research gap by exploring key questions about tourism in metropolitan regions, such as whether the challenges and opportunities derived from metropolitan tourism are distinct enough to be considered its own form of urban tourism. The book also examines how different metropolitan regions approach tourism planning and policy, what cities can learn from one another, and how tourism can be managed in ways that are more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.

Making Research Accessible

With International Open Access Week upon us, Tourism and the Metropolis highlights the importance of making academic research freely accessible to a wider audience. As an open-access publication, the book is free to download through University of Westminster Press, ensuring that these conversations reach not only academics, but also policymakers, students, industry professionals, and communities directly affected by tourism’s impact on metropolitan life.

Dr. Maja Jović, Assistant Head and Director of Interdisciplinary and Collaboration at the University of Westminster’s School of Architecture and Cities, said making the book openly accessible was a key reason why the authors and editors chose University of Westminster Press.

“The issues that it deals with aren’t just academic,” said Jović. “They’re everyday urban life related. The people who are dealing with these dynamics, like policymakers, planners, community groups, people working in tourism, and students all need access to this kind of thinking.”

Additionally, Jović noted that when research sits behind a paywall, it limits both its audience and its impact. She emphasized that making reliable knowledge accessible is especially important during a time when misinformation is frequently widespread online.

“It supports a global and inclusive conversation,” said Jović. “Not everyone has institutional access to academic publishing, especially outside well-funded universities, and open access makes it possible for people from different contexts, cities, and economies to engage with the material and adapt to their own situations.”

Inequality and Change

One of the most prevalent topics explored in Tourism and the Metropolis is the uneven impact of tourism across cities and communities. The book highlights how some residents economically benefit from tourism, while others are marginalized and experience rising housing costs, displacement, overcrowding, and other issues rooted in longstanding racial and socioeconomic inequalities.

“Race, class, and historic urban policies play a huge role in shaping who benefits and who bears the cost,” Jović said.

Tourism and the Metropolis emphasizes how historic practices and patterns of disinvestment, zoning, and other social and economic policies continue to shape the outcomes of tourism today. Jović mentioned that these factors even influence who engages in tourism, as neighborhoods that have historically received greater investment often attract more economically beneficial forms of tourism, whereas marginalized communities experience the opposite.

Through examining these unequal dynamics, the book’s contributors highlight a need for policymakers to consider equity and inclusion when creating tourism planning and policy for metropolitan regions.

An Interdisciplinary Approach

Jović's research includes architecture, tourism, place branding, and post-conflict cities, making her a well-suited contributor to a project that crosses traditional disciplinary borders.

"I don't think we have the luxury of sitting in isolated towers and thinking we'll be able to solve anything," Jović said. "Tourism is spatial, cultural, and political. It touches on architecture, urban design, infrastructure, heritage, branding, and social justice."

This interdisciplinary perspective is reflected through the book. Rather than treating tourism as a standalone industry, the authors and editors examine how cities are built, experienced, and represented. Consequently, Tourism and the Metropolis supports a more global and inclusive conversation about the future of tourism by addressing the to-date limited research on metropolitan tourism and making its findings accessible to the public. This book represents a significant step toward making tourism more sustainable, ethical, and beneficial for all the communities it affects – as well as making research more accessible for all stakeholders.