<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Several are the motivations and natures of the activities undertaken by tourists, leading to the existence of different types of tourism, which, according to the World Tourism Organization, can be divided into major segments (e.g. Sun &amp; Beach Tourism, Ecotourism and etc.); each one with its own subcategories, as the religious tourism, experience tourism and so on. So, would it be possible to talk about drug tourism? Where, the drug itself would present a significant role as a motivation for travelling. Drug tourism could be seen as the journeys undertaken with the purpose of obtaining or using drugs, which are not available or are illegal in the tourist origin places. The purpose of this article was to provide a general discussion on the subject of drug tourism. In this task, some important examples were cited and the positive and negative impacts on the country or region of destination, the relationships between the different types of drug tourism with the major segments defined by the UNWTO, as well as new perspectives in this field were also discussed. As a case study, were presented information about cannabis tourism in Amsterdam, Netherlands (derived from literature searches and questionnaires in field research). This is a topic discussed only superficially but which is an obvious reality in various tourist destinations. Therefore, it is essential the development of a deeper treatment (deprived of prejudices) about the changes occurring in the contemporary world (concerning the drug politics), which may open new frontiers for this type of tourism.</p></abstract>

Several are the motivations and natures of the activities undertaken by tourists, leading to the existence of different types of tourism, which, according to the World Tourism Organization, can be divided into major segments (e.g. Sun & Beach Tourism, Ecotourism and etc.); each one with its own subcategories, as the religious tourism, experience tourism and so on. So, would it be possible to talk about drug tourism? Where, the drug itself would present a significant role as a motivation for travelling. Drug tourism could be seen as the journeys undertaken with the purpose of obtaining or using drugs, which are not available or are illegal in the tourist origin places. The purpose of this article was to provide a general discussion on the subject of drug tourism. In this task, some important examples were cited and the positive and negative impacts on the country or region of destination, the relationships between the different types of drug tourism with the major segments defined by the UNWTO, as well as new perspectives in this field were also discussed. As a case study, were presented information about cannabis tourism in Amsterdam, Netherlands (derived from literature searches and questionnaires in field research). This is a topic discussed only superficially but which is an obvious reality in various tourist destinations. Therefore, it is essential the development of a deeper treatment (deprived of prejudices) about the changes occurring in the contemporary world (concerning the drug politics), which may open new frontiers for this type of tourism.

Drug Tourism: General Overview, Case Studies and New Perspectives in the Contemporary World

Department of Tourism of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (DTUR - UERJ), Av. Lúcio Meira, 233. Várzea, Teresópolis (RJ) – Brasil, Tel: 55 21 36415381

Department of Tourism of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (DTUR - UERJ), Av. Lúcio Meira, 233. Várzea, Teresópolis (RJ) – Brasil

European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Several are the motivations and natures of the activities undertaken by tourists, leading to the existence of different types of tourism, which, according to...

Drug Tourism: General Overview, Case Studies and New Perspectives in the Contemporary World

Published Online: Mar 30, 2017

Page range: 188 - 202

Received: Sep 05, 2015

Accepted: Sep 10, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ejthr-2016-0021

Keywords
Drug Tourism, Drug Politics, Cannabis Tourism, Touristic Segments

© 2016 Thiago Ferreira Pinheiro Dias Pereira et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Drug Tourism: General Overview, Case Studies and New Perspectives in the Contemporary World

Published Online: Mar 30, 2017

Page range: 188 - 202

Received: Sep 05, 2015

Accepted: Sep 10, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ejthr-2016-0021

KeywordsDrug Tourism, Drug Politics, Cannabis Tourism, Touristic Segments

© 2016 Thiago Ferreira Pinheiro Dias Pereira et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Drug Tourism, Drug Politics, Cannabis Tourism, Touristic Segments