Tourism in Business

(TRS041)
Aishath Shany Habeeb|MNUBS|HC
shany.habeeb@mnu.edu.mv
 Impacts of
Tourism –
Soci0Cultural
Chapter Twelve

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Legislation and Guidance Protecting
the Tourist Destinations
Awareness of the need for planning is the first step in
attempting to control the worst effects of mass tourism

Authorities failed to distinguish environmental and social

impacts in the early stage

People were aware about the problems since the 1960s,

but took years to address such issues

Influential voices made themselves heard, calling for a new

tourism, variously described as ‘sustainable tourism’, ‘eco-
tourism’, ‘green tourism’, ‘soft tourism’ and, eventually,
‘responsible tourism
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Legislation and Guidance Protecting
the Tourist Destinations
Responsible tourism: underpinning a properly thought out
management strategy, with collaboration between the
private and public sectors to prevent irreparable damage to
the environment before it is too late

Eco tourism: ‘that tourism that involves traveling to

relatively undisturbed natural areas with the specific object
of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild
plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects
(both past and present) found in these areas’

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Legislation and Guidance Protecting the Tourist Destinations

WTTC proposed a guideline for sustainable

tourism, but only two of the proposed
guideline can be defined as sociocultural

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Legislation and Guidance Protecting
the Tourist Destinations
But the principles established by Tourism Concern in 1992
strike a balance between environmental and sociocultural
elements

• Using resources sustainably • Consulting stakeholders and the public

• Reducing overconsumption and waste • Training staff

• Maintaining diversity • Marketing tourism responsibly

• Integrating tourism into planning • Undertaking research

• Supporting local economies Involving local economies

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The Soci0-Cultural Effect of Tourism

The sociocultural impact of mass tourism is most noticeable in less developed countries, but is by no means
restricted to them

Any influx of tourists, however few, will make some impact on a region, but the extent of that impact is dependent
on not just numbers but also the kinds of tourists the region attracts

Those who generally go on package holidays are less likely to adapt to the local cultures and will seek amenities and
standards found in their home countries, while independent travelers or backpackers will adapt more readily to an
alien environment

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The Soci0-Cultural Effect of Tourism

LEVELS OF ADAPTATION OF TOURISTS TO LOCAL NORMS

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The Soci0-Cultural Effect of
Tourism
The flow of comparatively wealthy tourists to a region may
attract petty criminals, as evidenced by increases in thefts
or muggings

Examples:

Taxi drivers in those countries have been found to

overcharge gullible tourists

Tourists may also be seen as easy prey when making

purchases in shops or from street vendors

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The Soci0-Cultural Effect of
Tourism
Where gambling is a cornerstone of tourism growth,
prostitution and organized crime often follow

Relative deprivation: locals can experience dissatisfaction

with their own standards of living or way of life and seek to
emulate those of the tourists

Can threaten deep-seated traditions in the community, as

well as leading to aspirations that are impossible to achieve

Example:

Tourist adopting fashion

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The Soci0-Cultural Effect of
Tourism

People move to areas where tourism flourish seeking jobs

and better pay, often leaving families

This can result in an increase in promiscuity and the

breakdown of marriages

Locals are exploited as ‘tourist objects’

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Cultural Broker

• These members of the industry enjoy local knowledge, help to

avoid misunderstandings, interpret the local culture for visitors
and explain what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior for
the guests.

• Interpretation plays an important role in sustainable tourism and

the guide as interpreter of local customs provides one of the most
effective means of communication

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Irridex Model of Stress Relative to Tourism Development

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Irridex Model of Stress Relative to Tourism Development

• Doxey (1975)7 developed an ‘Irridex’ model of the relationship between the growth of tourism and community
stress

• In the early stages of tourism development, the locals are euphoric, pleased to see investment and improved job
prospects for local people

• In the final stages, locals show open antagonism towards the steady stream of visitors, many of whom will have
the attitude that locals are there to meet the tourists’ needs, and insist on Western standards

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Host’s Impact on Tourist
(Gullahorn and Gullahorn, 1963) suggests that tourists go
through three stages when adapting to the local culture of their
holiday environment

• The tourists are excited by the environment and the novelty

of the situation

• The tourists become disillusioned with and more critical of

the environment as they become accustomed to the
situation

• They learn to adapt to the new setting and, in doing so, may
experience ‘re-entry crisis’, where it becomes difficult to
adapt again to their home environment when they return 15
Host’s Impact on Tourist
STAGED AUTHENTICITY

Given the constraints of time and place, tourists demand instant

culture – an opportunity to sample, even if superficially, the
‘foreignness’ of the destination

This gives rise to what Dean MacCannell (1989) has referred to

as staged authenticity, in which a search by tourists for authentic
experiences of another culture leads to locals of that culture
either providing those experiences or staging them to appear as
realistic as possible

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Host’s Impact on Tourist

Culture is in danger of becoming commercialized and trivialized

Tourist seeks local restaurants not frequented by tourist but end

up in ‘tourist trap’

Tourists seek local artefacts as souvenirs or investments, but this

leads loss of cultural treasures. Tourist end up buying ‘airport art’

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Positive Impacts of Tourism on Culture

• It has helped to regenerate an awareness and pride in local

culture and traditions

• Revival of interest in tribal customs in those countries

• Dying local arts and crafts have been revived

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Exploitation of Indigenous
Population

• Child labor

• Sexual exploitation

• Removal of locals from their tribal lands

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Managing the Social Impacts of Tourism

• Sustainable tourism – in terms of the social impacts of tourism on indigenous populations – needs to be
managed

• It is important that good relations are established between locals and guests, so that guests are welcomed to
the region or country social interactions benefit both parties

• Responsible officials can attempt to integrate guests into the local community and control the overall
number of visitors so that the local population does not become swamped by tourists

• Officials can aim to concentrate the visitors in particular districts, so that any damage is limited to the few
locals who will have contact with those guests, usually in the form of commercial transactions

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Bringing Economic Benefit to Tourists

• need to ensure that locals are involved in all stages of the development of tourism at a destination

• Developers and authorities need to consult with locals at all levels during the process of development,
encourage their participation and ensure that indigenous populations benefit economically from incoming
tourism, by the provision of employment at all levels and ownership of facilities

• Needs to provide education and training and assistance in raising finance for investments in local tourist
business

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