Commodification Impacts on Tourism
Impacts of “Commoditization” on Tourism
Tourism & Social Policy
Impacts of “Commoditization” on Tourism
Types of tourism, these days, seem to be as plentiful as ice cream flavours. Marketing teams have developed “the dream vacation” for just about everyone, whether your interests lie in adventure travel, cruising, or wine tasting, your imagination (and perhaps your budget) is pretty much your only limitation. Along side this ever increasing number of vacation destinations a large body of research on the “tourist machine” also grows. Over time, the focus of tourism research has shifted somewhat from the basic sort of anthropological or sociological questions such as “why do people choose the destinations they do” and “how do the natives of these tourist destinations feel about their “guests”” to more of an environmental and cultural impact approach. The impacts commoditization on tourism is the focus of this paper.
Commoditization, in terms of tourism, is the “packaging” and sale of an idea or story. What I mean by that is that what is being turned into a commodity is an “experience,” not a tangible product. For example, Commoditization of the past is the sale of tradition and/or history. Commoditization of culture is the sale of tradition and/or ritual. Many authors have written about the impact that tourists attention to a community’s ethnic identity has on that culture and have found that long-lost traditions are being revived and even new ‘staged traditions’ are being dreamt up in order to comply with the tourists’ growing demand for ‘authentic cultures’ (Cohen, 1988; MacCannell, 1999; MacDonald, 1997; Van den Berghe, 1994). Ooi (2002),when researching the contrasting strategies Denmark and Singapore have taken in tourism, coined three terms to describe some important issues that the commoditization of tourism has facilitated. Heteroglossia, refers to the conflict of commercial and cultural
Tourism & Social Policy
Impacts of “Commoditization” on Tourism
Types of tourism, these days, seem to be as plentiful as ice cream flavours. Marketing teams have developed “the dream vacation” for just about everyone, whether your interests lie in adventure travel, cruising, or wine tasting, your imagination (and perhaps your budget) is pretty much your only limitation. Along side this ever increasing number of vacation destinations a large body of research on the “tourist machine” also grows. Over time, the focus of tourism research has shifted somewhat from the basic sort of anthropological or sociological questions such as “why do people choose the destinations they do” and “how do the natives of these tourist destinations feel about their “guests”” to more of an environmental and cultural impact approach. The impacts commoditization on tourism is the focus of this paper.
Commoditization, in terms of tourism, is the “packaging” and sale of an idea or story. What I mean by that is that what is being turned into a commodity is an “experience,” not a tangible product. For example, Commoditization of the past is the sale of tradition and/or history. Commoditization of culture is the sale of tradition and/or ritual. Many authors have written about the impact that tourists attention to a community’s ethnic identity has on that culture and have found that long-lost traditions are being revived and even new ‘staged traditions’ are being dreamt up in order to comply with the tourists’ growing demand for ‘authentic cultures’ (Cohen, 1988; MacCannell, 1999; MacDonald, 1997; Van den Berghe, 1994). Ooi (2002),when researching the contrasting strategies Denmark and Singapore have taken in tourism, coined three terms to describe some important issues that the commoditization of tourism has facilitated. Heteroglossia, refers to the conflict of commercial and cultural
References: Boissevain, J. (1996). Ritual, tourism and cultural commoditization in Malta: Culture by the pound? In T. Selwyn (Ed.), The tourist image: Myths and myth making in tourism (pp. 105-120). Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Cohen, E. (1988). Authenticity and commoditization in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 15(3), 371-38 Hillery, M., Nancarrow, B., Griffin, G., & Syme, G. (2001). Tourist perception of environmental impact. Annals of Tourism Research, 28(4), 853-867. Hughes, G. (2002). Environmental indicators. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(2), 457-477. Karwacki, J., Deng, S., & Chapdelaine, C. (1997). The tourism markets of the four dragons — a Canadian perspective. Tourism Management, 18(6), 373-383. Medina, L. K. (2003). Commoditizing culture: Tourism and Maya identity. Annals of Tourism Research, 30(2), 353-368. Ooi, C. (2002). Contrasting strategies: Tourism in Denmark and Singapore. Annals of Tourism Research, 29(3), 689-706. Roessingh, C. & Duijnhoven, H. (2004) Small entrepreneurs and shifting identities: the case of tourism in Puerto Plata (Northern Dominican Republic). Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 2(3), 185-201. Shackley, M. (2006). Wildlife tourism: Impacts, management, and planning. Annals of Tourism Research, 33(3), 868-869. Wyllie, R. (1999). Tourism and society a guide to problems and issues. Pennsylvania: Venture Publishing Company.