Despite some of the above-mentioned urban risks and implications for urban tourism development, including a growing interest in urban tourism research, there is a paucity of literature on the relationship between urban risk, tourism and resilience (Agustan & Kausar, Ritchie, 2008; Musavengane et al., 2020). Although there are some studies on risks associated with tourism, most studies do not explicitly discuss the relation between urban risk and tourism (Boakye, 2012; Booyens, 2010). Urban risk, including resilience, is mainly discussed in development and disaster management studies, and is often not linked to tourism. Literature that seems to point to the relation between risks (not urban risk, per se) and tourism is fragmented. This can be attributed to the shortage of experts and researchers in this specialised area of urban tourism. Generally, tourism research also appears to lack the respect it should command (Butler, 2015). It is often regarded as a discipline that is not independent, but rather a feld of interest to researchers from various disciplines, which includes geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, history, business, urban planning, architecture and engi neering (Tribe, 1997).
Hence, there is a need for this volume to start a conversation about the link ages between urban risk and tourism. This can be achieved by hearing from experts from different disciplines who have diverse knowledge pertaining to urban risk, tourism and resilience. The contributors to this book hail from var ious disciplines such as tourism geography, environmental sociology, urban development, chemical engineering, planning and development, waste manage ment, climatology, sports management and peace-building. Whilst most African tourism literature emanates from South Africa (Rogerson & Visser, 2014), this book gives voice to a diversity of African scholars who aim to better contextu alise challenges relating to sustainable urban tourism across sub-Saharan Africa.
Furthermore, whilst global tourism literature is dominated largely by Western scholars (Kirilenko & Stepchenkova, 2018), Rogerson and Visser highlight that African urban tourism research provides unique features and highlights chal lenges regarding Northern concepts about urban tourism (including urban risks, tourism and resilience). This book provides invaluable discussions about urban risk and resilience in the tourism discourse sphere, largely from practitioners from the continent.