Co-sponsored by the Tourism Studies Working Group and the Department of Italian Studies.Every year, Italy swells with millions of tourists who infuse the economy with billions of dollars and almost outnumber Italians themselves. In fact, Italy has been a model tourist destination for longer than it has been a modern nation-state. Dr. Stephanie Malia Hom will present her new book, The Beautiful Country: Tourism and the Impossible State of Destination Italy (U of Toronto Press, 2015), which explores the enduring popularity of “destination Italy” and its role in the development of the global mass tourism industry. (more…)