Grant Award View - GA199805

This project examines how communities at the rural periphery in Japan and Australia, with a focus on tourism and the wider visitor economy, are faring in the shadow of COVID-19. While the pandemic has been catastrophic for tourist visitation, it has also turned the gaze onto rural areas where space is usually in abundance and where ventilation is assured. The allure of rurality has been given a new lease on life and as well as attracting domestic visitors seeking to escape crowded urban centers, urban-dwellers with the capacity, are driving the urban to rural shift. However, the renewed attention on the rural periphery raises myriad concerns, especially the extent to which rural communities can absorb greater numbers, and whether, in the midst of the pandemic, the threats to their way of life might not be worth the impost. Tourism is at the vanguard of this movement but unless communities at the rural periphery are integral to this expansion, their capacity to ensure developments prioritise their interests will be constrained. Moreover, the social and ecological assets of communities at the rural periphery is what is prized and the extent to which tourism puts this under strain remains a cause for concern.