Society and Culture in Tourism

Society and Culture in Tourism

• Society focuses on people and their interactions within a specific group, including attitudes and behaviors.
• Culture encompasses behavioral patterns, knowledge, beliefs, moral laws, and values passed down through generations.
• Culture can be presented as a tourism attraction to promote a destination's unique characteristics and provide meaningful experiences for tourists.
• Cultural assets like handicrafts, traditions, food, art, music and history attract tourists.

Cultural Heritage

• UNESCO defines cultural heritage as the legacy of physical and intangible attributes passed down through generations.
• Tangible cultural heritage includes physical assets like historic buildings, monuments, and artifacts that hold archaeological, architectural, and scientific significance.
• Intangible cultural heritage encompasses practices, representations, knowledge, and skills that define a community's cultural identity. Examples include festivals, traditions, crafts and way of life.
• It is important to preserve both tangible and intangible cultural heritage for future generations.

Tourism's Impacts on Society and Culture

• Tourism can positively impact a destination's emotional well-being, cultural preservation, education, quality of life, and empowerment.
• Tourists showing interest in local culture contributes to positive emotional experiences for local communities.
• Tourism can support cultural preservation by revitalizing traditional arts and crafts.
• Tourism can enhance education through exposure to different cultures and perspectives.
• Tourism development can bring improvements to infrastructure, facilities, and public services, enhancing quality of life for both tourists and locals.
• Tourism can create opportunities for local residents to earn a living and boost their sense of empowerment, especially women, the disadvantaged, and indigenous communities.
• Tourism's negative social and cultural impacts include stunted cultural development, commodification of culture, moral decadence, social divisions, social displacement, and community stress.
• Globalization through tourism can lead to the erosion of native cultures as western influences replace traditional practices, languages, and lifestyle.
• The commodification of culture involves turning cultural elements into commercial products for tourists, potentially diminishing their authenticity.
• Moral decadence can occur in destinations where tourists engage in immoral activities or illegal trade, potentially exploiting vulnerable locals.
• Social divisions can emerge as locals perceive their livelihoods threatened by migrants employed in tourism sectors.
• Social displacement can occur when tourism development forces locals to sell ancestral lands for tourism projects, displacing traditional livelihoods and altering community structures.
• Community stress arises from the influx of tourists, leading to inconveniences like long queues, congestion, and insufficient resources.
• Overdependence on tourism can make communities vulnerable to economic instability, as their livelihoods become heavily reliant on tourist arrivals.

Community Response to Tourism Development

• Different community groups have varying responses to tourism development based on their interests and perspectives.
• Attitudes towards tourism evolve over time, ranging from initial excitement to potential hostility when community life is significantly impacted.
• Communities are diverse, meaning there are multiple perspectives on tourism's effects and differing levels of tolerance.

Models of Attitude Towards Tourism

• Doxey's Irridex Model suggests a progression of community attitudes towards tourism, moving from initial excitement to eventual hostility as overtourism increases pressures.
• Butler's Tourist Area Life Cycle Model highlights the various attitudes and behaviors of different community members, ranging from positive to negative and active to passive.
• Dogan's Tourist-Host Interaction Model suggests a spectrum of responses ranging from resistance to adoption of cultural practices.
• Ap and Crompton's Cultural Interaction Model outlines four strategies locals adopt when interacting with tourists: embracement, tolerance, adjustment, and withdrawal.
• McGehee and Andereck's Cost-Benefit Model suggests that attitudes are shaped by perceived costs versus benefits of tourism development.

Community Involvement in Sustainable Tourism Development

• Sustainable tourism aims to minimize negative impacts while maximizing benefits for communities through economic development, resource conservation, and quality experiences for visitors.
• Community involvement is crucial for sustainable tourism development as it ensures local needs and values are considered.

Explore the intricate relationship between society and culture and how they influence tourism. This quiz covers cultural heritage, including both tangible and intangible aspects, and highlights how cultural assets attract tourists. Test your knowledge on the practices, beliefs, and values that shape a destination's appeal.