Unpacked : : A History of Caribbean Tourism / / Blake C. Scott.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Complete eBook-Package 2022
• VerfasserIn: Scott, Blake C.,
• MitwirkendeR: Zuelow, Eric G. E.,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: Histories and Cultures of Tourism
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (258 p.) :; 15 b&w halftones

Unpacked offers a critical, novel perspective on the Caribbean's now taken-for-granted desirability as a tourist's "paradise." Dreams of a tropical vacation have become a quintessential aspect of the modern Caribbean, as millions of tourists travel to the region and spend in extravagance to pursue vacation fantasies. At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, travelers from North America and Europe still thought of the Caribbean as diseased, dangerous, and according to many observers – "the white man's graveyard." How then did a trip to the Caribbean become a supposedly fun and safe experience?Unpacked examines the historical roots of the region's tourism industry by following a well-traveled sea route linking the US east coast with the island of Cuba and the Isthmus of Panama. Blake C. Scott describes how the cultural and material history of US imperialism became the heart of modern Caribbean tourism. In addition, he explores how advances in tropical medicine, perceptions of the tropical environment, and development of infrastructure and transportation networks opened a new playground for visitors.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Foreword -- Preface: The Problem of Mobility -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Growing up in Florida’s Vacationland -- Chapter 1 Empire’s Lake: Tourism in the Wake of US Expansion -- Chapter 2 Service Sector Republics: Transnational Development in Panama and Cuba -- Chapter 3 Changing Routes from Sea to Air: The Rise of Pan American World Airways -- Chapter 4 The Nature of Tourism: Naturalist Explorers as Scientific Guides -- Chapter 5 Traveling Writers: Literary Dreams of Tropical Escape -- Chapter 6 Burning Privilege: Luxury in the Age of Decolonization -- Conclusion: Perilously Cruising into the Future -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index