Cultural Impacts Tourism in the AAP Region

Cultural Impacts  Ethnic Tourism – focuses on the customs of indigenous and exotic peoples  Cultural Tourism – emphasises different lifestyles  Historical Tourism – looks at stories of the past

Cultural Impacts  Encounter between the tourists and the hosts  Both tourist and host are affected  Often impact is one-sided, hosts affected more than the visitors

Changes in Cultural Tourism  Trade, wars, migration  Technology – advances in transportation and communication  Changes in attitude towards travel

Preservation of local customs and heritage  Strengthening communities  Events and festivals refreshed and developed BAck

Increased local awareness of architectural and heritage sites  Raise local awareness of financial value of natural and cultural sites  Encourages local pride and interest in conservation

Cambodia  Destruction of human and natural resources  Tourism revitalised at end of 1980’s  Angkor Wat  UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1992

Art and Craft industries develop to reinforce local cultures  Tourist interest can contribute to self worth of artists  Help conserve cultural traditions

Cultural Ties and Mutual Understanding Strengthened  Education for both tourists and hosts  Meeting real people, developing relationships  Respect, cultural understanding  4VmAs 4VmAs

Development of Facilities  Community facilities and services  Upgraded infrastructure  Improved transportation  Sport and recreational facilities  Restaurants, public spaces

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Disruption of Lifestyle of local people  Cultural deterioration – vandalism, damage, litter  Resource usage – water, energy scarcity

Loss of Cultural Identity  Devalues tourist experience  Damages local cultural systems

Westernisation of Culture  Multinational companies  Global patterns of music, fashion, cinema

Commercialisation of Culture  Culture turned into a commodity  Religious traditions, local customs and festivals reduced to conform to tourist expectations  “Reconstructed ethnicity”  Production of cheap souvenirs for tourist market

Standardization  Satisfying tourists expectations  New and unfamiliar but not too new and unfamiliar kqksms&feature=related

Culture Clash  Economic inequality  Irritation due to tourist behaviour  Job level friction