MULTICULTURAL DIVERSITY IN TOURISM

(GROUP 1)
At the end of this module, the learners will be able to:
1. define what is a tourism professional;
2. explain the acronym LEARN; and
3. inculcate the importance of multicultural diversity for tourism professionals.
INTRODUCTION
With many improvements in the tourism industry, transportation, road
connectivity, travel within and outside a country, and people working outside
their area of residence locally, regionally, and internationally crossing borders is
now easier for everyone.
Roads have improved tremendously in the last 10 years, almost allowing people
to travel from north to south of the Philippines fully by land. Ferries and Roll-
ons/Roll-offs (RoRo) are available to transport cars and buses to connect islands.
Cars, buses, trains, and many mass transit vehicles are available at a range of
prices that are affordable for various types of customers. The same thing can be
said about water and airline travel - a variety of prices and carriers are
available, and because of technology, improvements in transport services have
made travel more efficient and effective. Before, it took two days to travel; now
it takes less than 24 hours. There used to be no low-cost carriers available, but
now there is a host of travel arrangements that can be made.
What does it mean for tourism professionals? Work applications are not confined
anymore to the place of residence nor within the region but can be outside of
the region, island, or country. What does it mean for the customers? The same
thing to the worker. They can travel to different places and countries. It is not just
the physical distance that has changed, but because of technology, everything
is within easy access. Social media platforms and websites allow easy access to
information and collaborations to learn about practices, celebrations, and other
things like people, places, and things. The circle of friends that a person may
have exponentially grown as compared to 20 years ago.
The oft-repeated saying "the world is getting smaller" is no anymore an
impossibility but a reality. It is not only getting smaller; traveling and connecting
with people is now becoming easier and quicker. This borderless world has given
rise to the Global Citizen, who may not be
confined to being a "citizen of one country but one who can be considered a
"native" of several countries". A good example of this is when parents come from
different countries, have a child who was born in another country, are
educated in different countries, or went to a school where there are
international students. This student would have a "global perspective" compared
to one who has parents who come from one place and just stayed in one place
the entire time they were growing up. The Global Citizen would gain an
increasing interconnectedness between individuals, circles of friends, countries,
and economies, allowing for a global dimension. With technology, it is now
easier to get to know a person from another country and maintain either a
personal or business relationship with them. (Israel, 2012)
In the workplace, there will always be colleagues or customers who are not
naturally local to the place, bringing together people who have different
cultural backgrounds who have different cultural backgrounds who are
expected to work as a team and provide the products and services to meet the
standards of the enterprise.
The term "multicultural" is also synonymous with the words "culturally diverse,"
"pluralism," "diversity," "cross-culturalism," "ethnic inclusiveness," "ethnic mosaic,"
and "multiracialism."
Culture has several elements as discussed in Chapter 1. These elements interact
with other elements within a person. It would be rare to find two persons, even
within the same family, even with identical twins, with the same cultural
background. There may be similarities, but each one will have a unique cultural
content, and this is what makes people different from each other.
Bringing several persons together will have their circle of cultural elements
interact with each other. This is what gives rise to multicultural diversity concerns.

Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects
the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges
and values their socio- cultural differences, and encourages and enables their
continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context that empowers all
within the organization or society. (Rosado, 2010)
Each person has their own set of beliefs that they will bring to any relationship,
including their workplace. Even if two people come from the same family, with
the same parents and environment, due to the concept of "nature versus
nature", they would have a different appreciation for certain elements of culture
because each person is unique.
When people bring their own beliefs, language, and other elements of culture
to their relationships, they may exercise common understanding and
acceptance; but in some exercises,
there could be challenges. There would be misunderstanding that may result in
work-related output.
Thus, there is a need to understand each person and the "cultural baggage"
that they bring to the workplace. The "cultural baggage" would be the totality of
the person that includes all the elements of culture that they acquired from their
family and all their interactions with other people. The tourism professional can
provide the products and services in collaboration with colleagues that are
needed by customers and better handle the situation.
LEARN to Be Multicultural
There are many good references for multiculturalism in tourism available today.
However, it will take a lot of interaction, experience, and learning to equip
tourism professionals with the skills that can help them become more
multiculturally sensitive.
The following modules have several incidents in the life of Filipino tourism
professionals that will help jumpstart the vicarious experience journey. The
strengths of those experiences cited in this module are that all of those are from
Filipinos. Though we may each have unique cultural elements, we share many
common elements that will make it easy for us to relate.
To fully appreciate the experiences, look at each reflection and LEARN how to
be multicultural.
L - look and listen
E - empower
A - acknowledge, adopt, adapt
R- respect
N- nurture
Look And Listen
In any given situation, look at the scenario as they may be underlying factors
that contribute to the appreciation of the cultural elements. Listen to the
discussion because sometimes, verbal communication may be a challenge due
to accent, tone, or lack of proficiency with a common language. If a foreign
language is used by someone proficient in that language, such as the English
language, the sender or receiver of the message may resort to the use of
nonverbal communication to make them be understood. If the idea of the
message is not received, miscommunication can happen, and the delivery of
the product or service is endangered within the workplace or for the
customers.
Tourism professionals must use all of their senses to get the most out of the
opportunity to learn more about their colleagues and customers, especially
regarding cultural impact.
Empower
Learning does not happen only inside the classroom. Lifelong learning in various
locations continues even after graduation. There may be enterprise-based
training that will be given to employees, and those opportunities are highly
encouraged especially if essential (soft) skills in- service training are provided.
The focus is no longer on the technical skills but on the ways how to provide a
better service and understand colleagues and customers better.
Acknowledge, Adopt, Adapt
There is a need to acknowledge that there are differences among us. There is
no standard way how a Filipino reacts or behaves, considering that there are
many distinct regional cultural elements that may affect the person. After
acknowledging that there are differences among people, a choice can be
made by the person to either adopt or adapt to the cultural element. If after the
acknowledgment, conflict with pre-existing values or other elements arises,
adoption can be made. If there is still a conflict, then adaptation can be made.
The tourism professional must learn that there are three as to be open about the
differences and how to handle them best.
Respect
There is no superior or inferior culture. Tourism professionals should respect
differences and similarities among cultural elements as this becoming an
exciting way to know more about colleagues and customers.
Nurture
Tourism professionals should nurture themselves with new learning and grow with
the times as part of a changing mindset. Some cultural elements may no longer
be relevant to the times and thus may need to be updated. Some that are still
relevant should be nurtured so that the distinct cultural elements of the
region/family are still present.