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Cultural impact

19 January, 2016 - 17:57

The culture of a people consists of the beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviors that are shared by a society and which are passed on from one generation to another. Culture finds expression in such things as the work, dress, architecture, handicrafts, history, language, religion, education, traditions, leisure activities, art, music and gastronomy of a people. Tourism impacts the culture of a country in a number of ways.

Cultural change

Cultures evolve and change naturally as the host culture adapts to a changing world. Tourism accelerates that process because it introduces contact between two societies with different cultures. In the process both societies change. Visitors to a country may enjoy the local food and, upon returning home, prepare the same foods they had on vacation. The locals, on the other hand, may acquire a desire for fashions they have seen the tourists wear. The process by which cultures borrow from each other when they come into contact is called acculturation. It is generally accepted that, when a "strong" culture comes into contact with a "weak" culture, it is the weaker culture that is likely to borrow from the stronger. Much of tourism involves tourists from strong, Westernized countries visiting poorer, less-developed countries. The culture of the latter is the one that will change.

Arts and crafts. One major way in which the impact of tourism can be seen on a culture is in the area of arts and crafts. Typically, the process of change goes through three stages. In the first stage traditional artistic designs and forms of art, especially those with deep religious meaning, disappear into the souvenir market. This is followed by the growth, in the second stage, of mass-produced replacements, often imported. In response to the decline in meaning of the traditional arts, there may be a growing interest (third stage) on the part of the local community to resurrect their artifacts through the development of distinctive styles and skilled work.

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Figure 6.6 Tourism can help bring different cultures together. 
(Courtesy Jamaica Tourist Board.) 

Tourism has worked both to encourage and discourage traditional art forms. In a number of cases traditional arts have been revived to sell to the tourist. This is true of the Aaraya women of Cuna, Panama, who had to be taught to make the traditional “mola” or blouse. It is also true of the Canadian Inuit or Eskimos who began to carve soapstone only in response to demands by Europeans. In the first case, a traditional art form was kept alive through tourism; in the second, tourism encouraged the development of another art form. Many of the theaters in London stay open (and available to the locals) because of the business brought by tourists.

On the other hand, tourism has given rise to what some call “airport art”. These mass-produced, often imported souvenirs give the tourist something that is inexpensive, durable, and easily portable as a memento of the trip. In the process, part of the culture has been debased if not lost.

Events. Every culture has a number of festivals or events that might have a meaning that is historic or religious. When the event is changed for the sake of the tourist, the meaning behind the event is lost. The result is that part of the culture is lost. A good example is the Spanish Tourism Industry's Alarde, which we will examine here in detail.

Fuenterrabia is a village in the Basque region between France and Spain. During the many battles between the two countries the town was besieged several times. The most famous was the siege of 1638, by the French, which lasted 69 days. However, the town held and the French were defeated. The Spanish crown honored the villagers in a number of ways, and today this tradition continues in the form of the annual festival that brings the townspeople together.

Fuenterrabia consists of a walled citadel, a fisherman's ward, and five local wards, each with its own identity. Each ward sends to the annual parade youngsters who play flutes and drums and men who carry shotguns. Each ward also selects its loveliest young woman to be a water carrier; she is dressed in a military uniform. There is also a group of non-local occupations represented in the parade, which is led by town council members who wear military uniforms and ride on horseback.

The festival has many symbolic aspects to it. During the siege the rich and the poor stood together against the enemy. This is symbolized by having all groups involved. Also, the men stop at the town hall and fire their shotguns in unison. The idea is to fire as if only one gun had gone off. At the end of the parade, all groups fire together with the same objective, all symbolic of the coming together. The entire town takes part in one way or another, and the festival is for the townspeople and by the townspeople.

With the increase in Spanish tourism the Alarde became an attraction to the point that the municipal government declared in 1969 that the festival should be performed twice a day so that all who wanted to see it could do so. Although the festival only occurs once a day (the proposal for two festivals was dropped) it is difficult to get the volunteers necessary to put it on. Many people dropped out because the spirit and meaning were taken out of it as it became a commodity to be sold. There is talk today of paying people to perform.

This same situation is true with many of the holidays in the United States. Anniversaries commemorating various historical events and birthdays of presidents have been moved from the true anniversary to the closest Monday in order to provide three-day weekends. This has increased opportunities for weekend trips; however, any meaning behind the holiday has been lost.

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Figure 6.7 Sevilla (Seville), Spain. Festivals are a major tourist attraction. 
(Courtesy National Tourist Office of Spain.) 

Tourism has also been accused of encouraging cultural involution. The development of an area can be halted because of the tourist's demand for the "old ways”. This is the other side of the coin. Does tourism "force" people to remain artisans at the expense of attempts to achieve economic growth and independence?

It does appear that tourism acts as a medium for social change because it involves contact between host and guest. The change that occurs is usually on the host culture rather than on the tourist, and the change is often negative. It is not suggested that tourists must be scholars in order to visit a foreign country. However, one of the reasons that tourists visit a foreign country is to experience the different culture. If all cultures begin to look alike, there will be no reason to leave home. To the extent that tourism debases a host culture, the locals can be expected to react negatively to tourists and tourism. Visitors will not be welcome. The key is to present the culture of an area to the visitor in a way that is attractive to the tourist and in a way that the locals can be proud of.