There are some general assumptions which need to be addressed when examining tourism. It is a luxury to be a tourist and for many years only people with a surplus of money and time could go on vacation. With the increase in ease of travel due to technology, income expansion, increased desire for leisure time, cheaper vacation options, traveling extended its luxury to include a larger percent of the global population (Mathieson & Wall 1982).
Tourism has gained prominence due to the large international economic exchange that it provides. The significance of the economic gains of tourism has led to “the establishment of government departments of tourism, widespread encouragement and sponsorship of tourist developments, and the proliferation of small businesses and multinational corporations contributing to and deriving benefits from the tourism industry” (Mathieson & Wall, 1982, p. 1). From 1975 to 2000, tourism increased by an average rate of 4.6 per cent a year ("Facts & Figures"). In 2002, 715 million people travelled outside of their home country and it is projected that in 2020 the number is to increase to 1.6 billion people (Peric 2005).
As tourism increases globally, it has influential effects on countries and its people. Tourism in places like Keyan has been considered a solution to the social and economic issues that face the majority of the population, allowing for tourism to become one of Kenya’s top economic sectors and 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife 2010). Although tourism has its economic advantages, the commercial aspect of the industry can falsely represent host cultures and perpetuate stereotypes.
SO WHAT IS TOURISM ANYWAYS?
The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the international organization that manages national and international tourism. In the article Understanding Tourism: Basic Glossary, UNWWO defines tourism as:
“…a social, cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure”.
Other sources inform that tourism only accounts for time outside of the visitors environment that is under a year before it is not long determined tourism. For example Mathieson and Wall (1982), define tourism as a short-term visit to a destination outside of a tourist’s permanent place of residence and work to participate in a variety of different activities. Some examples of such activities could be site seeing of historically significant locations, recreational activities, cultural tours, ect (Mathieson & Wall 1982). The tourist industry, which encompasses all aspects of tourism as a commercial sector (the advertisements, the multinational tour agencies, the tour packages, the tour operations, ect.) provides a number of different types of experiences for tourists: from spontaneous backpacking to a booked reservation at a hotel (Mathieson and Wall 1982).
Under the branch of cultural tourism, which the UNWTO defines as a tourist industry for the sale of cultural services, focuses on tourist cultural tourist activities. In the specific case of New Zealand tourism, the Government has defined Māori cultural activities as “Maori cultural performances, marae visits and other Maori organized activities such as arts, crafts, food and drink” (New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development).
Cultural performances typically entail a dance or vocal performance by a group of local people in traditional dress, accompanied by local musicians. Many of these performances are managed by tour operations and thus reflect specific elements that the tour operation wishes to convey. According to Bruner, “performances for tourists have local histories, change over time, are constructed specifically to be marketed and sold to an audience” (Bruner, 2005, p. 4). Cultural performances seek to portray authenticity of a specific culture, but by the fact that it is a performance, the product is an entirely new representation of the culture (Bruner 2005). Authenticity implies real and original in juxtaposition to fake and unoriginal, but there is no such thing as a real, fixed, single, authentic culture (Bruner 2001).
Tourism does not just bring about economic changes, but also social and physical changes to countries and their people. There are many different interpretations of these changes that vary based on a person’s perception of the industry. On the positive side, tourism can be seen as generating jobs and investments and bringing in profits that have lessened foreign debt. Tourism can also provide a cross-cultural understanding that can minimize false stereotypes through the interactions between the tourists and the hosts (Akama 2002). At the same time, the opposite can be argued: tourism perpetuates false stereotypes through fictitious representations of the host cultures. Tourism also intensifies environmental degradation through expansion, and influences local identity (Mathieson & Wall, 1982). Impacts from tourism on host communities are often broken down into three categories: economic, physical, and social, yet these categories are not exclusive (Mathieson & Wall 1982).
Works Cited
Akama, John. "The Creation of the Maasai Image and Tourism Development in Kenya."
Cultural Tourism in Africa: Strategies for the New Millennium (proceedings of the ATLAS Africa International Conference : December 2000, Mombasa, Kenya). Ed. John Akama and Patricia Sterry. Arnhem, Netherlands: Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS), 2002. 43-53. Print.
Bruner, Edward M. Culture on Tour: Ethnographies of Travel. Chicago: University of Chicago,
2005. Print.
Bruner, Edward M. “The Maasai and the Lion King: Authenticity, Nationalism, and
Globalization in African Tourism.” American Ethnologist 28.4 (2001): 881-908. Print.
"Facts & Figures." World Trade Organization (UNWTO). Web. 21 Nov. 2010.
<http://unwto.org/facts/menu.html>.
Mathieson, Alister, and Geoffrey Wall. Tourism: Economic, Physical, and Social Impacts.
London: Longman, 1982. Print.
Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife. "TOURISM PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW 2010."
MINISTRY OF TOURISM (KENYA). Government of Kenya. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. <http://www.tourism.go.ke/ministry.nsf/pages/facts_figures>.
New Zealand. Ministry of Economic Development. The Tourism Strategy Group. Tourist
Activity: Maori Cultural Tourism. The Tourism Strategy Group Research Website, 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/Data--Analysis/Tourism-Sector-Profiles/Tourist-Activity-Profiles/Maori-Cultural-Tourism-Profile/>.
Peric, Vesna. "Tourism and Globalization." Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of the Faculty of Management Koper (2005): 33-41. College of Tourism. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. <www.fm-kp.si/zalozba/ISBN/961-6573-03-9/peric.pdf>.
World Tourism Organization UNWTO. "Understanding Tourism: Basic Glossary." UNWTO. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <http://media.unwto.org/en/content/understanding-tourism-basic-glossary>.