Thiago Allis

Thiago Allis is associate professor at the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (EACH), at University of São Paulo (USP), in Brazil. He leads the Research Group on Tourism and Mobilities (MobTur) and, since 2019, represents EACH-USP at the Culture, Tourism and Tourism UNESCO UniTwin Network. Thiago has an academic and scientific background on tourism, Latin American studies and urban planning. He is in charge of the International Relations Office, at EACH-USP since 2022.

The project

Title: Culture, tourism and development: strengthening franco-brazilian academic and scientific cooperation

"As a tourism researcher, Thiago Allis has been investing in the interface with cities since his doctoral studies (2008-2012), as a way for understanding and better qualifying the notion of urban tourism and its consequences in urban life. The recent research for Thiago's thesis of "Livre Docência" [Habilitation] (2022) reinforced discussions about tourism in the urban world from the perspective of the mobilities paradigm or "mobilities turn" (Sheller & Urry, 2006; Urry, 2000; 2007; Cresswell, 2006). Thus, one of the questions that guides his research refers to the nature of tourism practices, spaces and subjects in urban contexts and its relationships with urban heritage and landscapes - particularly of large metropolises. The debate on "off-the-beaten-tracks" tourism is especially privileged by EIREST researchers, in particular Maria Gravari-Barbas and Aurélie Condevaux. In Paris, some tourism experiences deviate from the conventional standard of tourism, making everyday life and tourism merge in the logic of attracting attention and searching for alternative urban experiences (see, for instance, Condevaux et al, 2016). In a similar direction, Thiago has been seeking to understand how certain spaces that are not typical for tourism become attractive places. Since the work initiated with Machado (see Machado & Allis, 2022), debate on "elevated urbanism" (Heathcott, 2013) has highlighted how certain road structures, as they become obsolete, can take on leisure and tourism functions in urban contexts. Based on this context, two applied research will be conducted in Paris, combining desk research, participant observation and, if possible, some interviews: Field work on urban tourism and alternative routes off-the-beaten-tracks in Paris, specially in its banlieue."

Hosting institution: Université Paris 1 - Institut des Recherche et d'Études Supérieures du Tourism (IREST),

Selective bibliography

• CARNEIRO, J.; ALLIS, T. (2024) Mobilidades, etnografia e turismo: um panorama sobre metodologias etnográficas na literatura. Etnográfica, p. 259-282.
• ALLIS, T.; BORGES, V.; SILVA, V.; BUENO, A. X. (2023). Tourism mobilities and public health: historical analysis from a Brazilian perspective. Rosa dos Ventos, 15, p. 391-417.
• ALLIS, T.; MORAES, C. M. S.; CATALANO, B. (Org.) (2023). Mobilidades turísticas: debates e estudos contemporâneos. EACH, 126p .
• MACHADO, A. C. P. ; ALLIS, T. (2022). New approaches to urban tourism: living with a 'big worm' in central São Paulo (Brazil). In: Aurélie Condevaux; Maria Gravari-Barbas; Sandra Guinand. (Org.). Tourism dynamics in everyday places: before and after tourism. Routledge, p. 137-155.
• FORNARI, F. G. P ; ALLIS, T. (2022). The role of regionalism for tourism: an analysis of responses to Covid-19 in the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Turismo: Visão e Ação, 24, p. 2-24, 2022.