The effects of tourism on socio-cultural values

ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH Vol IV, No.,,2,,, November/December 1976

THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES United Nations Educational, Scientific And . Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Paris, France

ABSTRACT UNESCO, "*The Effects Of Tourism On Socio-Cultural Values," Annals Of Tourism Research, Vol. IV, No. 2, November/December 1976, pp. 74-t05 It is generally argued that tourism can alleviate the present socio-economic difficulties.m the less devloped countries. This literature search is a first analysis of European studies on international tourism and its economic and socio-cultural impacts on development. The search shows that, despite its recognized benefits, several negative consequences of tourism question the role that it can play in the socio-economic development of these countries. This UNESCO survey, to be couped with one by the World Bank, should facilitate a comprehensive study of the potentials of tourism. *Annals is indebted to UNESCO fo'r its permission to print"this d'ocu'men't ('Ref.'SHC/(gPS/ TST/100, Translation from French, (c) 1975 by UNESCO), with the hope that A~nals and its readership can co-operate with UNESCO toward further integrated research in tourism. In keeping with the originality of the document, the editing for publication in Annals has been kept t o a minimum. The major changes made by this journal are addition of an abstract, rearrangement in the introduction, some stylistic adjustments, and, as far as possible, revision of the bibliography into the format of Annals.

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RESUME UNESCO "'Les Effets du tourisme sur les valeurs socio-culturelles," Annals Of Tourism Research,Vol. IV, No. 2, November/D~'cember 1976, pp. 74-105 On a souvent dit que le tourisme peut all6"ger les difficulte"s socio-~conomiques actuelles dans [es pays en vole de d~'veloppement. Cet essai bibliographique est une premiere analyse des etudes europ~'ennes du tourisme internationale et de ses effets ~'conomiques et socioculturels sur le de~veloppement. L'enqu~te montre que, en d~'pit de ses b(n~'fices reconnus, phisieurs consetquences ne~gatives du tourisme remettent en question son rBle dans le d~veloppement socio"economlque " de ces pays. Cette enqu~e d ' UNESCO, ' "a laquelle sera jointe une enqu~te semblable par le World Bank, pourra faciliter une ~tude comprehensive des potentiels du tourisme. INTRODUCTION The UNESCO's General Conference, at its 18th session, adopted resolution 3.411 which authorized the Director General to undertake a study concerning the effects of tourism on socio-cultural values. The present document was prepared with the assistance of a research team working at the Centre d'Etudes du Tourisme of Aix-enProvence (France). This analysis is a companion study to the review undertaken under the auspices of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)and which concerns studies published in the United States of America on the same theme. These two analyses point to a number of issues on which further investigation is desirable and which should be taken into account in the preparation of such study. In addition, indications are provided which could already be useful to those planning tourism development programs. En route to formulating an approach to tourism as a unique but universal phenomenon, the socio-cultural impact of tourism has been analyzed diversely by both economists and sociologists (hereafter to include anthropologists). The interest shown by sociologists in tourism is a recent development, dating back only ten years, which is surprising when one considers how long tourism has been in existence. Moreover, this interest has been only intermittent, because the sociologists have been unable to develop an acceptable methodology. 35 The interest shown by economists goes back further, and from the beginning they have attempted, within the limits of their expertise, to make a sociological analysis, because the close interrelationship between economic and soecial aspects is particularly evident in the case of tourism. However, the common interest of the sociologist and the economist may lead, as will be evident, to certain problems, since the same phenomenon can sometimes inspire contradictory analyses. This is because the systems of reference of the two disciplines are radically opposed. Roughly speaking, it can be said that the sociologist unconsciously views matters from a Rousseauist angle: the ~,olden age lies behind us and modern society is the product of a regrettable progressive decline from the original state of society, which was well balanced and healthy, the last precious ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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traces of this lost paradise now being threatened by tourist-oriented commercialization. Faced with the same social phenomenon, the economist just as unconsciously adopts the opposite point of views: the golden age lies somewhere in the future and economic development is the only road by which it can be reached. Tourism as means of development, helping the nations to advance along this road, is therefore regarded with favor, particularly since tourism activities, by their very nature, seem to foreshadow this golden age. For the sociologist, social distortions are thus the forerunners of still greater evils, while for the conomist they are no more than inevitable imperfections, such as are found in all products in the early stages of manufacture. It is true that during a period of rapid economic development, the m y t h of the future golden age tends to gain wider acceptance and the sociologists come to have less confidence in their conclusions, as has happened during the last ten years. In contrast, during a period of economic crisis, the sociological view will naturally regain lost ground, since the economists will be plagued by doubt. Thus, before trying to strike a balance between sociologists and economists, it would seem advisable to take a look at the socio-economic impact of tourism, in other words, to begin with a more general approach to the problem, as seen in terms of human geography. PART ONE: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS The literature on the subject prefers to deal with tourism in countries or regions with underdeveloped economies, because its effects are more obvious there and the issues it raises are more sensitive. It is impossible, however, to arrive at a valid judgement on tourism if whole sectors like the European and American Rivieras or urban tourist areas arc eliminated, since these are the very places where international tourism is most active, it may be said that in regions with lively and well-diversified economic activity, tourism, whether long-established or more recent, has no marked socioeconomic effects of a nature to attract the attention of the experts. It is true that this particular service activity has slack periods at a time when the other services are in full swing, but in the developed regions these periods are fairly short and the seasonal nature of tourism is not very marked and does not present the social and economic problems (particularly regarding employment) that it raises elsewhere. Serious problems occur with the introduction of tourism into underdeveloped countries or underdeveloped regions within the developed countries. CoignatI4points out that the economic structure is the same in both cases: developed and backward regions existing side b.y side, modern production sectors belonging to a developed economy juxtaposed with traditional production sectors, and a social dualism (i.e. economic behaviour similar to that of an industrialized society side by side with traditional behaviour), a pattern that amounts to an almost complete lack of contact bctween two different economic sectors and social groups. Under such conditions, tourism creates a number of problems. '76

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Tourism generates employment; this is the main argument that has been invoked, on good grounds, in favor of establishing tourism facilities, not only in underdeveloped countries but also in the developed countries, in regions where the traditional economic activity is suffering a regression (fishing, agriculture, stockraising). Where the "classic" type of tourist resources and attractions do not exist, an attempt is made to invent a kind of tourism based on a return to nature and country life, which usually serves to lull the doubts felt by those who are concerned by the prospect of a decline in agriculture. Although it is true that in the mountains tourism has been successful in arresting the total decline 4 of agriculture which began at the end of the nineteenth century, it has yet to be proven whether the same thing will happen in the plains. 25 On the other hand, in the coastal areas, no study has yet determined to what degree certain tourism activities, such as yachting, might be expected to offer genuine opportunities of alternative employment for workers in the fishing industry, in places where this activity is declining. On the social plane, two different problems arise. As regards the fishing industry, in most cases, the seaman can already be regarded as a proletarian worker operating under conditions that are, without exaggeration, worse than any others in the working world. By coming over to the tourism industry, the seaman in theory does not change his "status", but his material situation is improved. Nevertheless, the fundamental hostility between fishing and pleasure yachting 57 raises the problem of how a policy can be developed for re-training workers in the fishing industry in cases where this will become unavoidable. Although the writers on the subject do not mention this point, account will have to be taken of the attitude of shipowners, who form a very powerful lobby and have the backing of their workers, and of the hostility of the trade unions, for whom pleasure yachting is an activity typical of a certain class which they regard as their traditional enemies. To date this is true where trade unions exist. The same problem will occur in a different guise in North Africa, and eventually in the Mediterranean, with the inevitable depletion of the shallows fished by trawlers. In the case of agriculture, the problems are different. The farmworker who goes to work in the tourism industry changes his social status: B. Coignatl4speaks of the "proletarianization" of the people in mountain areas (in many cases, this proletarianization is in fact rejectedl5): the same term can be applied in the case of African or European peasants who find jobs in tourism. Their new employment requires considerable changes in attitude, and these changes need to be taken into account, to the extent that large numbers of individuals are affected (Tunisia, Morocco, the Alps). In this connection, it may be that because emphasis has been placed on certain phenomena that are now more striking, but perhaps also more superficial (imitation ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH. Nov/Dec '76

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effects, etc., which are dealt with in the second part of this report), there has been a tendency to neglect the real meaning of this social change. In the Third World countries. it represents the most serious change that such societies can undergo, since it affects lifestyles that have remained the same over centuries. Judging from the available literature, neither the sociologists nor the economists seem to have been able to place this problem in its proper historical perspective. It should be remembered, however, that tile mediators of the modern world are newspapers and books (in Europe) and transistor radios (in the Third World), so that this problem arises in areas where political speculation is likely to be an active force. Also, working conditions are far less unpleasant than those created by industrialization in Europe when the first proletarianization of the peasant masses occurred at the end of the nineteenth century. It is thus difficult to foresee what is likely to happen where there are large numbers of people whose attitudes are relatively undefined, and it is very understandable that tile complexity of the problem should have hitherto discouraged its separate discussion in either the sociological context or that of tourism economics. This problem forms the core of the analysis of socio-cultural impacts that appears later in this report. The full impact of this proletarianization is, however, diminished by the existing conditions governing recruitment for the hotel industry. From B. Coignat 14, study of wage-earners in the tourist industry, and the survey carried out by the Economic Development Committee for lsere 15' it is clear that tl~e chief complaint against tourism in connection with jobs is that it does not employ local people and draws mainly on the labor market in the towns. In other words, the .same writers who express fears about the proletarianization of the peasants complain that the people they hold responsible for it are not carrying it through completely. All the same, it is obvious that until fuller information is avaihble one must consider it fortunate that total and accelerated proletarianization has been hampered by the conditions of the 'labor market. The situation does not seem to be very different in the Third World, although the published studies doe not say much about the conditions of recruitment for jobs, because these conditions run contrary to official policies on the employment of local labor. Specialists in the field are well aware that in Agadir, for instance, most hotel employees came from Tangiers, Rabat and Casablanca before the Government started to take measures to encourage local recruitment. To sum up, then, it should be noted that proletarianization of the rural popu "Iation, which is regarded by some authorities as a solution to the problem of the agricultural sector --- even where the consequences of it cannot yet be foreseen -- is limited for the moment by the present policies on employment in the hotel industry. The expansion of this trend, however, calls for careful and immediate consideration.

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Originally, the aim of developing a tourist industry was to provide jobs that would keep workers in their own region or country, but it is quite likely to have the opposite effect. In most cases, the Third World countries have neither the institutional nor the financial resources to set up their own training centres for managerial staff and lower level employees. They are obliged to give priority to training skilled workers in fields where the need is most urgent (mechanical and electrical engineering, repair of electronic equipment, etc.) Training is therefore conducted on the job, which means that the regions already equipped with hotels must supply the managerial and supervisory staff. The result is a form of internal migration toward the tourist regions from urban areas, which may in turn force the unemployed in those regions to migrate to urban areas, either in their own country or abroad. Another type of situation has been brought out in a so far unpublished study made for an English-speaking African country: the tourist region may become a pole of attraction for unemployed from other regions who prefer to settle near a place where job possibilities exist. These unemployed compete actively with the local population, accepting lower wages, and the result is likely to be the growth, in close proximity to tourist resorts, of shanty towns where peU~y crime and prostitution will flourish. The study reckons that, at the present time, the provision of aceomodation for o n e tourist would, in the country in question, attract two unemployed persons to the same area. This phenomenon, although not found everywhl~re, is sufficiently widespread (Haiti, Acapulco, Ivory Coast, etc.) to merit closer study. Another problem deserving of attention concerns the emigration of middle-level staff in the tourism industry. Schawinsky 60 shows that tourism generates jobs that call for a higher level of education than is normally needed in other industrial activities, but he does not go into the implications of this fact, which applies in the Third World and to a lesser degree in Europe-in fact, in any country where tourism is a seasonal industry. The seasonal nature of the tourist hotel industry means that higher-level staff, if they have the opportunity and the necessary experience, try to obtain work with hotels catering for business travel, which have the advantage of offering steady employment. In the Third World countries, hotels of this type are usually owned by international chains; it is therefore easy for the most capable employees to go on to work abroad in other hotels belonging to the chain, where the pay is higher. The "drain" of qualified staff also occurs at the hotel training school level, when the schools, financed by the countries from which the tourists come, give practical training courses in those countries: a large number of the trainees (sometimes as many as 30%) never return to their own country, for the reasons already mentioned. ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES B. SOCIAL BENEFITS AND COSTS OF TOURISM

Tourism brings social benefits, but against these must be set off a certain number of costs. Moreover, the benefits themselves are sometimes questionable. It should be pointed out, however, that in the regions that are opened up to tourism, the social problems in most cases represent a pre-existing condition..As a general rule, tourism is introduced where the economy is weak, 4 sometimes indeed on the verge of collapse, 57 where society is characterized by a high rate of emigration, where the institutional structure is fragile, and where the people are questioning the validity of the traditional rules and values by which they live. If the goal assigned to tourism is to boost a (ailing regional economy, it can only do so by imposing a new economic order, not by restoring the old one; this is why so much has been written about the weakness of the impact of tourism on the primary sector (agriculture, fishing). 57 The corollary to this is that the social institutions typical of the old economic order will not be resotred by tourism either, but will be replaced by another system: the basic questions about this new system will be whether or not it takes over enough of the old social structures 14 to avoid creating serious disruptions, and how far individuals can adapt to it. 14 The social costs of tourism will consist, on the one hand, of the cost of adaptation of the most dynamic elements of the society, and on the other, of the cost of treating the "social dross" of all kinds thrown up in the process of forging a new socio-cultural system. 65 The debate between economists, sociologists and geographers is essentially concerned with the means of evaluation of this process of transformation, and the protagonists are divided into two schools of thought, within each of which there are two opposing groups. The stand adopted by the first school is to deny that there is anything essentially different about the economic and social order created by tourism : one group endeavors to demonstrate that it represents an improvement on the previous system, while the other group sees it as aggravating inherent weaknesses. The other school emphasizes that the decision to establish a tourist industry implies a recognition that it brings with it unavoidable social and economic changes, of a more or tess radical character. One group will accept this change as an historical necessity and will tend to give little thought to the future victims of growth, 14 while the other will take the view that the change, precisely because it can be achieved only on these terms, is unacceptable and even damaging to the country as a whole, and will therefore be totally and relentlessly opposed to tourism. Here, two different approaches to the socio-economic problem can be identified: 1. It is in the first school of thought that the benefits are regarded as questionable, 80

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as mentioned earlier. In macro-economic terms, the activity of the region is restored, so the social group gains in wealth and flourishes in varying degrees; however, a more refined analysis, on the micro-economic level, reveals that it is not the same social categories that benefit from tourism. 46&24 There are always cases where, through the initiative of an outstanding individual, a particular community prospers, but this nevertheless remains a special case, 59 which the supporters of one theory or another will seize upon in order to generalize. It is therefore difficult to make a general assessment of the socio-economic costs and benefits of tourism. Although it is true that tourism provides opportunities for the retraining of dynamic and enterprising farmers, in very many cases the flight from the land continues. 24 Certain local crafts 42 can be revitalized, provided they can adapt to new demands: The blacksmith, for instance, may go over to working in wrought iron. But in ~ractice there are many instances in which the economy of the region suffers a decline 5 Economic development takes the visible form of an increase in durable goods 28 (automobiles, electric household appliances, etc.) but this expansion is mainly in the tertiary sector 24" For example, rising land values have a considerable socio-economic impact, 57 but in practice, land speculation never benefits the local populatior~ 14&22) who are much more likely to feel the effects of expropriation measures (receiving only a very small share of the increase in the value of their land). It is not impossible to formulate some general principles --- contrary to the rather superficial view that there are as many different explanations as there are microsocieties -- but it would require a somewhat refined analysis that would take account, as does P. Defert,23 of the different types of tourism (enclave tourism, semi-integrated tourism, etc.). After studying the main types of micro-societies that may be involved, an attempt then has to be made to review the many different combinations that may occur and the possible socio-economic effects. The result would be very much worthwhile, but requires the accumulation of a great deal of data from a large number of pinpoint studies. 2. In the second school of thought, the Manichaen view put forward by some sociologists and economists allows very little opportunity at present for detailed analysis of the socio-cultural impact of tourism. It is also essentially a political view, and is therefore rather widely held in practice while being the subject of very little comment in the published texts. (However, see Lainez 42 and, on this technostructure aspect, Coignat 14). It is, however, the target of Coignat~s criticisms of "techno-structure" and of pamphlets like "La Cote d'Azur Assassinee" (Murder of the Cote d'Azur). 58 In this view, tourism development is essentially a technocratic process and is particularly worthy of study because decisions are taken through channels totally ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES outside the democratic structure of both the developed countries and the Third World. On this level, the possible excesses of the system could be tempered only by the intervention of international organizations. In any event, the attempt to draw up a balance sheet of social costs and benefits gives rise to serious problems of methodology which are revealed to some extent in the studies made by the Centre Europeen de Socio[ogie (,European Centre for Sociological Studies )ll and also in Bryden's observations. `) In the first case, the problem is a relatively simple one: the sociologist needs to be more familiar with the whole phenomenon of tourism and its economic implications: otherwise the sociological approach is likely to break down precisely where, in theory, it is most needed. As far as Bryden is concerned, the economist starts out perfectly at ease, so long as he is dealing with quantification of the advantages of the social impact of tourism i.e., listing as assets the jobs created, the circulation of income from tourism, the development of community infrastructure and facilities, the favorable effects on the standard of living and the improvements in working conditions. When he does this. the economist is using the word "social" in its political sense (e. ~..,,a social program. social measures, etc.). But as soon as this social impact enters the non-economic spheres, it is only possible to evaluate it qualitatively. This is particularly true for social costs (i.e., the liabilities), which means that, becuase there is no unit of account that is equally valid for both sides, every analysis of the social impact of tourism is bound to suffer from a lack of precision. All the same, it is reasonable to believe that a joint sociological and economic approach could still do a good deal to improve present analytical techniques. PART TWO: THE ENCOUNTER BETWEEN TOURIST AND HOST !. SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS The encounter between tourist and host, therefore, will occur at a complex and disturbed socio-economic level, with an undercurrent of latent tensions which goes beyond the protagonists themselves, whose approaches are to some extent predetermined. These protagonists are, more or less consciously, the embodiment of two rival economic groups, a fact that may inject a special intensity into their relationships and heighten the friction between them. A. FRAMEWORK OF ENCOUNTER

The encounter between tourist and host is characterized by its transitory nature, constraints in terms of time and space, and relationships that are both unequal and lackJng in spontaneity. --- TRANSITORY NATURE The e n c o u n t e r b e t w e e n t o u r i s t and host is b r i e f , lasting t h e o r e t i c a l l y a m a x i m u m o f 82

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three to four weeks, and in many cases only a few hours. Language, reception facilities and the very concept of tourism it~lf all contribute to limiting this encounter. In reality, a feeling of uncertainty on the part of the tourist arriving in a new country causes him at first to avoid contacts with the result that these will only take place at the end of his trip. 48 For this encounter to progress further opportunities (a second trip) will be required. The brief duration of the encounter, however, is seen in a different light by the host. While for the tourist this encounter is not only brief but also a unique event in the year, for the host it is simply one of a series of encounters that follow one another almost throughout the whole year, all of them equally brief and superficial. The degree of frustration caused by a single missed opportunity is quite missed. The intensity of this encounter might perhaps be a corrective factor, but what Prechtl states 55 in this regard is not very encouraging. --TIME

CONSTRAINTS

The desire to see everything in a short space of time imposes constraints as to the use of time, hence the problem of how much time the tourist has available. The host, for his part, has to supply the tourist with condensed e-xperiences which create an almost endless source of conflict and misunderstanding. He shows the tourist a prettified and superficial picture 48 giving the impression of a sort of Disneyland (cf. in Indonesia: Mimaland, at Hawaii Kodack Show) and providing a compromise. solution that insulates him against a reality full of complex problems. The tourist's stay, according to Nettekoven 48 is a short liberation from the constraints of the modern society and not a cultural expedition. --- S P A C E C O N S T R A I N T S

The reception facilities clearly encourage the development of this sort of system. The authors frequently speak of ghettos, which is to say the least, is an inexact metaphor. Hotel complexes are more of reflection of Prince Prospero's castle in the Masque of the Red Death. This segregation effectively encourages misunderstanding of the psycho - sociological factors governing the tourist's behavior.45 j. C. Dalla 19 very appropriately points out that this technique is not a monopoly of Third World states and that it is also applied in Western Europe (in the Mediterranean for nudists) or in Eastern Europe (for Western tourists). --

INEQUALITY

IN R E L A T I O N S H I P S

M'Benguc 45 notes that the tourist gives the impression of being conscious of his material superiority, a quality that he will probably attribute to his c!vilization. Sessa (61&62) for his part feels that the basic motivation of tourism from a sociological ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH. Nov/Dec '76

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THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES viewpoint is a direct outgrowth of the desire of the new industrial society to assert itself on the world scene. Conversely, the situation of the host seems inferior from a financial viewpoint, and this frequently induces an inferiority complex which usually tends to disappear, as Nettekoven notes 49 as the host becomes increasingly aware of the tourist's weaknesses and lack of assurance. But material inequality still subsists, and, when it is accompanied by the revelation of these weaknesses, it leads to a process of exploitation which calls for a few comments. -- ABSENCE OF SPONTANEOUS RELATIONSHIPS Although it is generally deplored that "great sentiments disappear in a sea of selfinterest as rivers disappear into the ocean," tourism somehow manages to codify human and cultural relations, hospi,~ality, etc., as a number of cash-generating activities, a feat that most people approve. From the very outset this creates between the tourist and the host a kind of complicity whereby the former allows his weaknesses to be exploited on condition that the latter accepts that the tourist must flaunt his material "superiority" (i.e. work off his complexes). 45 B. DEVELOPMENT OF M U T U A L U N D E R S T A N D I N G

Many authors question the validity of the slogan "Tourism, a factor in bringing people together". 39 Nettekoven 48 shows that the great majority of tourists feel the need for contact but that this need is tempered by a series of restrictions of psychological nature which are never clearly formulated. In any event, his "scientific" research shows that there is an improvement in reciprocal knowledge between peoples and civilizations in that tourists are aware of renouncing a whole collection of a priori conceptions vis-a-vis the country that are visiting. Sessa 63 for his part feels that tourism has a dual role to play in international cooperation: (i) it involves the on-the-spot discovery of the host country's special problems, and (ii) it is a kind of reciprocal learning process which may prove to be an enriching experience and maybe even provide the "third connection" between countries of the Third World and developed countries. But, overall, it is unanimously agreed that this is an unrealistic view. Thus Nettekoven 48 seems almost surprised at the end of his field work to discover that this exchange still leaves a positive result, since the causes of misunderstanding between foreigner and host are many. - - T H E FOREIGNER'S VIEW

As noted by M'Bengue, the localinhabitants find themselves receiving people who seem to come from a system where there is a lasting abundance of goods: what they cannot understand is not the tourist's ostentatious consumerism - which they (local inhabitants) would practice themselves, given the chance - but the fact that the tourist 84:

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has chosen their country for it and that the few weeks he spends there are "the reward for eleven months of hard work in the inhuman enviornment of the city. ''45 Sessa 63 speaks of a "pot'latch" in which the tourist tries to act the part of someone from a higher class, thirsting to squander his money, letting his whims determine his choice of things, and generally consuming for consumptions sake. (On this point, tour operators, who know the importance of an "attack price" and have a different view of the tourist, may feel differently, while still admitting that people on vacation are entitled to some sort of excess consumption.) That the tourist should choose to live temporarily in a manner that is the antithesis of his daily routine, i.e., a kind of life within parantheses, is quite understandable, Sessa notes, but is reprehensible to the extend that the uninitiated onlookers will have their view of developed countries molded by the tourist's behavior. One might well ask - in the absence of reference to any particular case or to any on-the-spot research that could justify these generalizations - if this is not a case of "exaggeration for the sake of effect" of the type associated with "Rousseauist" sociological criticism. It is assumed that the host is naive, ingenuous and incapable of knowing when he is being taken in by the tourist. That a generalization of this kind should be made regarding countries that send sizeable contingents of workers to Europe is somewhat surprising. This defense of the host seems to imply a protective condescension that leaves this interpretation open to considerable doubt. However, there is one African viewpoint that is in line with Sessa, although this is also a global, subjective-and controversial interprdtation. 51 At the conclusion of a survey mission, Schawinsky 60 notes that, in the eyes of his Guatemalan hosts, the tourist symbolizes: to new experiences; increasing independence vis-a-vis the religious and family environment; - confidence in technology; - t h e advantages of leading a life of one's own choosing; a craving for training and the acquisition of vocational skillss active participation in various groups; - the need for information. - e x p o s u r e

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-

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This therefore, is a fairly positive picture, but it still conflicts with the actual situztion regarding tourist/host contact. Finally, Nettekoven(48&49) feels that if the tourist is trying to take in the host, the latter will quickly perceive the hoax and lose no time in exploiting it. However, one could reach the tentative conclusion that even on the assumption that the host becomes aware of the hoax - if only by becoming its accomplice - in the final analysis one of the most pathetic and most significant sides of the tourist (if one is ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES prepared to feel sorry for him) is never noticed: namely that the individual foreigner is only a reflection of the alienation of industrial society and its myths, a kind without a jester, however much appearances may suggest otherwise. --THE HOST'S POINT OF VIEW The authors who took it upon themselves to look at the situation on the spot, in spite of unfavorable conditions, have been able to establish that certain fundamental characteristics of the tourist are noted by their hosts. Although there will always be some misconceptions at the outset, the observer ends up by reestablishing a substantial part of the truth because he has time to do so. The fact is that hosts are permanently in a position to observe tourists who come and go week after week but are always there, each one more or less identical to his predecessors. For the tourist who would like to take an interest in his host, however, conditions are very different. But he does not have the time for this. It is still unknown whether there really is an interest on the part of the tourist in his host. Nettekoven 50 whose ideas essentially concern Europeans is o f the opinion that more than three-quarters are anxious for some sort of Contact. Schawinsky ~50 whose ideas relate both to Europeans and Americans, in less clear. To the extent that each group's opinions of the other are subject to little change and that, from tile American side, the change is in most cases negative, we can conclude that contacts are few in number or of little depth. Schawinsky raises the problem of a prioris which is also discussed by Nettekoven 49 According to the latter, 50% of tourism information is transmitted to tourists by previous visitors and 30% is obtained from brochures and travel guides. In view of the human tendency for prejudices to be confirmed, the proportion of those whose views change, according to Nettekoven, might seem substantial (36%) especially in terms of the conditions of the tourist's stay. For visitors, the "outside world" (i.e. the world surrounding their hotel) is almost as unfamiliar on the day of their departure as on the day of arrival. Facilities are highly concentrated in a small number of complexes (tourist ghettos) and tourist mobility is somewhat limited. In this connection, it is necessary to appreciate the difference between urban tourism and all-in-one resort tourism. In the latter, even the architecture is o f a kind to isolate the tourist. The isolation could well reflect the wishes of the political authorities, who feel that contact is not to be encouraged, but the hotelkeeper is equally anxious for such isolation since his interest is to keep the tourist away from the outside world and to prevent him from spending in circuits not controlled by the hotelkeeper and his friends. In this context, only a truly nvtivated tourist who is capable of overcoming his shyness or a certain feeling of initial insecurity would be willing to go out in search of contacts with his host. But it is still necessary to examine those cases where although politicans and 86

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financiers have agreed to implement a policy of separation people stillpreach mutual understanding between peoples, in connection with an interest that is in reality n o t h i ~ more than good business. In an2( event, in the cases studied by Nettekoven in Tunisia "~0 which, if one is to believe Face, -8 relate to a form of tourism whose structures reflect the desire for a certain degree of physical, economic and social separation - it is evident that in spite of somewhat unfavorable conditions (isolation of hotel complexes), tourists bring back a favorable impression of their hosts, though only on the cultural level. Nettekoven mentions invitations to public or family social fatherings, the exchange of addresses, participation at meals, all of which suggest that whenever there is an opportunity for hospitality to be manifested the psychological advantages are substantial. In the final analysis, to the extent that the tourist's behavior is widely observed (in spite of any structures designed to isolate him)and that the local population is favorably regarded, one may well question the advantages of a clearly misguided policy of isolation. J. C. Dalla 19 points to its ineffectiveness and suggests that this also runs counter to the African tradition of hospitality. This remark applies also the traditions of the inhabitants of the European mountain areas, and even to Arab traditions. C. CONSEQUENCES OFENCOUNTER

This encounter which, according to the authors, either does not take place or is superficial and brief or else too infrequent, still leads to a whole chain of reactions at the level of the social group, the family unit or the individual. This is a rather unwelcome overreaction and somewhat illogical. It seems to suggest right away that responsibilities have been laid at the door of the tourism phenomenon which do not belong there. And here again these opinions are held all the more firmly since they are not based on any precise research. On the other hand, opinions based careful investigation (especially Nettekoven, Schawinsky, Knebel) tend to be less categorical. As we stated at the beginning of this discussion, tourism creates a highly disturbed socio-economic field in which the slightest sociological phenomenon is always amplified and exploited. Even though the authors never mention it, the tourist-receiving countries they studied are heavily exposed to the media: television in Europe, the transistor radio and above all magazines in the Third World where the considerable trade in old newspapers and magazines reflects the fascination exerted by the developed world. It is also possible, therefore, that tourism is only the catalyst of the disturbances noted, and it would be useful to compare tourist countries with those in which tourist penetration has been only slight. --NEO-COLONIALISM AND XENOPHOBIA

When it comes to explaining just where the profits earned from tourism go, and who benefits from the communal facilities that the country has financed, tourism is sometimes accused of developing into a form of neo-colonialism. 8 ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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Kjellstrom mentions this to explain the prevalence of xenophobia among the people of Morocco - the existence of which is denied by others -and B. Coignat 14 talks of mountain colonization, of the expropriation of mountain lands, and of the alienation of public domain (communal mountain pastures) for the benefit of promoters. He argues that tourism, as a superimposed phenomenon, represents a colonizing economy. To these criticisms, Nettekoven answers that unlike colonists, tourists do not bring technology with them (this is largely debatable: air transport requires technology and so do winter sports) but behavioral patterns. It can also be said that local people are no doubt instinctively aware of this difference since it is technical assistance personnel (of whom there are far fewer than there are tourists) who are far more frequently the target of xenophobia than the tourists are. According to Nettekoven, xenophobia rather expresses frustrations; native systems cannot satisfy local inhabitants desires for improved status, since the results of economic and social development come slowly. Jafari 39 has another explanation: the fact that their culture, traditions and religion are regarded as the tools of a trade generates a defensive reaction among the local people. He adds that the protective familiarity demonstrated by tourists may recall some unfortunate episodes for those who have lived Under colonial occupation. In fact any demonstration of protective familiarity is humiliating in itself and it may even be that former colonialists show greater sensitivity in this area. Nettekoven comments that the French have a privileged position in Tunisia vis-a-vis the local population (participation in public and family gatherings) by virtue of the absence of linguistic barriers, but more particularly owing to a "long standing affinity with the country," and he concludes that the status of a former colonial power "in no way generates conflict but encourages contacts." Thus xenophobia proves to be a somewhat complex phenomenon, and a number of contradictory explanations for it are given in the literature. Finally, the term neo-colonialism as used here is, like all political cliches, highly imprecise. However some distortion does exist with the economic implications discussed earlier. The masses try to understand this as best they ean i.e. by analogy. The arguments to which the ambiguity of this term gives rise must not hide the fact that the economic problems caused by tourism are now being recognized. -- INTERNAL CONFLICTS Tourism also generates disturbances which affect the internal structure of the community. Position for women: Tourism offers women compensation work (clearning, washing, etc.) traditionally considered to have no economic value. In agricultural communities of both developed 47 and Third World 27 countries this results'in an upgradin~ of the economic role of women which may be the prelude to eventual emancipation.18 or, m 88

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any event, the beginning of female economic independence as regards small expenditures (clothes, jewelry, etc.) which in turn may prove to be amazingly frustrating to the male ego (increase in stomach ulcers in Hawaii, cited in Jafari's study). The problem of the emancipation of women also underlies Pevetz's discussion 54 of "foreign" marriages and illegitimate births and abortions in Austria. More importance should be attached to these problems than to the problem of prostitution, about which the only people to worry are young sociology graduates 64 from the developed countries. In communities where the role of the female is given little importance, prostitution calls for no special comment. Sonia Constantin is wise to remind the reader that prostitution is evidence of serious short-comings of a social and economic nature that predate the introduction of tourism. Nettekoven's observations are sharper. He states that there is no nightlife in communities where agriculture is dominant and that those tourist centers that attempt to create such a nightlife attract local youth. Since prices are extremely high, the most practical currency quickly turns out to be prostitution in all its form, which becomes a sort of initiation rite. If this is true, then it will have been Nettekoven who has struck the hardest blow against tourism in this connection. The argument that this occurs in certain North African and East African tribes, where prostitution is an activity which for centuries has made it possible to build up a dowry, cannot be adduced to justify this theory. Although less widespread, this system exists in other places where prostitution is nonetheless outlawed. _.GROUP CONFLICTS A N n SOCIAL CHANGES

Sessa 63 points out that the arrival of urban tourists in a rural community creates a series of conflicts, resulting essentially from the contrast between the two ways of life and the impossibility of integrating them. These conflicts often originate in the fact that younger generations in the host countries react differently compared with their elders. A number of fairly easy contacts occur between the young people in the receiving countries and the tourists, while the elders keep their distance. Among the young, behavorial patterns peculiar to an urban society call for imitation: but, one of the consequences of this acquisition of a new behavioral style, however superficial, will be that agricultural work, previously endowed with a certain social prestige will lose out to tourism as a source of employment, resulting in a marked reaction on the part of those groups that are financially affected by this change. Tourism jobs among young people give them a certain financial independence which, as was seen in the case of women, is exercised to the detriment of a patriarchal system whose structures are thereby challenged. The more tourism there is in rural areas, the more clearly-defined the conflict becomes: its expression may be marginal - modes of dress - or economic, with a transfer of power through the creation of jobs that are better paid than those offered by agriculture and principally benefit the young. In defense of tourism, it should be noted that industrialization c a u l s the same ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov]Dec '76

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problems in addition to some others and that this change, in economic terms, brings about the same inevitable consequences. It is not impossible for the two opposing sides in these conflicts to be reconciled to a certain extent, and certain Governments have made considerable progress in this direction. Finally, Sessa points out that tourists from industrialized countries posses a sort of "universality" which may serve to break through the barriers prevalent in a backward society. It will be discussed later what this implies from a cultural point of view, but from a social point of view, Sessa feels that is exemplified by changes in attitudes toward savings and investment. The impact of tourism (and the mass media, whose influence is quietly regarded as a Liability) amounts to much more than this: within any society, it causes different groups to redefine their positions vis-a-vis one another. It is again Nettekoven who brings this out. The higher strata of the population could participate in the life of tourists but they prefer to live in a closed society for politico-social reasons. This is not true for all economic sectors but it certainly applies to the highest levels of agricultural society, who see their influence, if not their economic power, threatened by this new order, unless they have not invested in tourism. Here again the opposition will either be total and irreconcilable, or distant and subtle, since he who sups with the devil must use a long spoon. As for lower social strata of the population, two nearly identical types of reaction vary with whether the individuals concerned are more inclined towards the West perhaps even the former colonial power - or towards tradition-bound nationalism. The former blame their frustrations on the economic or political shortcomings of local leaders. The "latter feel that tourism illustrates the existence of politico-economic systems that are standing in the way of the development of their country, and that there is no reason to allow tourists to demonstrate their economic superiority in this regard. Thus tourism appears as a factor of political conflict and division. PART TWO: CULTURAL ASPECTS As was discussed earlier, tourism has a critical impact on the social structures that characterize the traditional economies, and that it tends to replace, rather than boost, those economies. The question of whether or not tourism is going to borrow from the old values in order to avoid causing excessive upheavals was also considered. In this aspect sociological and economic thought show the greatest weakness, which is paradoxical since in one of their earliest works, Hunzike and Krapf,34 regarded as the founders of the science of tourism, state that "'without culture, there is no tourism". According to these authors, tourism is engendered by the tensions created within man between the culture that is experienced subjectively and other cultu~'es 90

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LIN-ESOD that are perceived objectively. Sessa 63 holds and tourism makes a twofold cultural contribution : a direct contribution resulting from the cultural experience gained by both host and visitor in the acquisition of each other's values, and an indirect contribution consisting of preparations-(prior to the trip) and the checking up of certain points by visitor and host (afterwards). in a cultural system shaped primarily by the mass media, tourism is a personal act of gaining knowledge, a reaction against mass culture and an opportunity to find a means of verbal communication. ---CULTURAL

REAWAKENING

Jafari 39 believes that tourism can help to preserve all cultural values that have a specific value to the tourist as well; many religious buildings and archaeological monuments have thus been saved from destruction, more because of tourism than because of the value placed upon them by the local population. Sessa offers further evidence: tourism encourages countries to protect their civilization and their cultural heritage. There are many examples of cultural salvage operations brought about by tourism and sponsored by UNESCO (See, for example, the UNESCO Courier, January 1965). On one level, by salvaging cultural values - which, in the hallowed phrase, "'belong to the heritage of mankind" - it is first of all their own cultural values that the tourism-generating nations are preserving when they aid another country. But on another level, the value attached by the tourist to the evidence of the cultural past, which has become foreign, makes the citizens of the host country aware of the idea of historical and cultural continuity, which can help to enhance their p r e ~ n t culture. There are many examples: the earfiest is obviously that of Greece in the 19th century, which witnessed the extraordinary conjunction of national indelmndence , the rise of tourism and the great archaeological discoveries of Schliemann - all this in a country where popular culture hardly looked any further back than the fall of Byzantium. The most recent case is the resurgence of indian culture in South America, where there was every reason to believe it was completely extinct. This type of reawakening poses many kinds of problems, but first of all can play a major role in terms of the nation as a whole. According to Jafari 39 it helps to lessen the feelings of inferiority that can weigh upon the citizeas of a country and mitigate attitudes of xenophobic nationalism, but in particular this upgrading of national treasures prevent~ excessive westernization. Schawinsky,60 referring to Guatemala, provides a revealing example of the cultural "restoration" that tourism is bringing about in South America. Guatemalan society is composed of two ethnic groups: the Ladinos, i.e., the white or mes'dzo population whose values and concepts are those of western civilizations; and the Jndios, who ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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perpetuate certain traditions of the old Indian civilization. With their customs, dress and crafts, the Indians represent the primary attraction of Guatemala. Influenced by tourists - especially young tourists who sport the typical clothing of the Indians, buy their handicrafts and, in short, value all that pertains to Indian culture - the young people of Ladino high society are beginning to make the Indian culture their own. These significant but isolated examples of behavior are still a long way from signaling the resurgence of Indian civilization. But the increasing affirmations of nationalism in a continent which, intentionally or not. has often modeled its culture on foreign pattersn, are indications of a significant historical reversal. Later in this paper, the problem posed by this revaluation of national cultural elements and the question of the various interests that it serves or thwarts is discussed. For the moment, suffice it to note that tourism is the sole basis of this movement, of which there are other examples, the best known being the resurgence of Greek popular music, the spread of Brazilian, Peruvian and Afro-Caribbean music, the recognition of African jazz, the promotion of native Haitain paintings, and the development of African, Polynesian, Hindu and Asiatic styles of dress and of the related textile and printin~z industries. 53 All of these are basically cultural fads and universal thought has not yet penetrated deeply into them. However, these manifestations are appearing after a long period - the entire 19th century and the first half of the 20th -when western thought seemed to advance particularly easily since it found nothing but a sort of cultural vacuum ahead of it. The rehabilitation by tourist., of non-western cultural values is not something new. Famous travelers had already done the same thing in regard to Arabic culture in the t5th century, Byzantine culture in the 16th century, Chinese culture in the 17th century and Polynesian culture in the 18th century. In this aspect tourism has never changed and has always sought to reactivate cultures which the economic expansionism of the West, backed either by arms or - to a lesser extent - by missionary activities has always attempted to deny or minimize (The Inca civilizations were sometimes the object of unsuccessful attempts at re habili ration by Spanish missionaries). Tourism, them, is rather the traditional instrument that enables cultures to be rehabilitated and made known to the rest of the world, and in this connection it is regrettabie that UNESCO has not sought to associate itself systematically with all tourism development programs. 31 at least those sponsored by international aid organizations. In fact. these programs, insofar as they have been conceived as essentially cconolnlc operations, run the risk of bringing about tile "'cultural genocide" tas noted bv Jafari391 inherent in anv economic expansion based on western thinking. At tile same lime, tourism has partly broken with its own historical traditions. Because ~t" this new ambivalence, which tourisnl has been acquiring for tile last 20 ,,'cars it may now be accused of playing an ambiguot,s role. On one hand, of course, it helps ~

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to arrest the possible dewlluation of the cultural system in a given country and to expand that system abroad, but at the same time it well and truly attacks that system. -THE DEMONSTRATION EFFECT AND ACCULTURATION In general, one mn readily agree that the behavior of tourists induces imitation by the local population.(The most obvious example being the vogue of Hinduism that has spread through Europe and America). "Tourists of different origins behave in different ways, but one common feature is that the native attaches great prestige to their behavior, if only because this behavior involves a demonstration of financial superiority. The latter is seen as evidence of the superiority of behavior, hence to imitate the tourist is to ultimately ensure the same superiority not only in financial, but in intellectual and other spheres. Obviously, from this standpoint the effects of tourism can only be in one direction: from tourist to host. Despite the fact that this ew is incorrect and that one can cile cases to refute it, it leads to a rather curious intellectual approach on the part of the sociologist or economist who deplores the single direction of the transfer. If this influence is in fact a one-way street, might it not be because the cultural model is itself superior or because the host, by definition, is a culturally weakened individual'?. Like all other writers, Nettekoven agrees that young people are especially susceptible to this demonstration effect, but he adds that the situation of the adult is quite different. At the outset there may be an inferiority complex that tends to set off a process of imitation, but the weaknesses of the tourists system are perceived very quickly, and hence are widely exploited. It takes less than ten years for this detachment to develop, according to Nettekoven, who makes it a criterion for the success of tourism development. Nettekoven also shows that the problem is skewed by a priori political factors. The individual distressed by his country's economic backwardness "compensates" by either adopting western behavior wholeheartedly or rejecting it completely, depending on whether he blames his own politicans or those of foreign countries. The role of tourism in this regard is quite subsidiary and other more powerful models are furnished by the mass media. Indeed. subversions by tourism is less cultural than economic and it would be well to clarify its limits. The demonstration effect is produced by tactics similar to those used in an "advertising blitz" in which an effort is made to weaken the masses psychologically so that they are receptive to one-way conditiong. Tourists do not have these means: only the mass media posses them. In more general terms, as Nettekoven suggests, one must tllerefore ask whether tile true agents of the demonstration effect are not the mass media of the host countries, which carry on a permanent campaign to promote a model of consumer society a lone western lines.49 Thus, thou:zh tourism doeb play a r o l e m this syslem, to the extent that it confirms the myths propagated by ANNAI.S ()F TOURISM RESEARCH. Nm,~Dec "76

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THE EFFECTS OF TOURISM ON SOCIO--CULTURAL VALUES

the media, but this role is quite secondary. Nevertheless, to minimize the role of tourism in the acculturation process and to attribute only a limited demonstration effect to it would be also to minimize its ability to open up the structures of archaic soclet~es and tng~,er a movement toward industrial civilization, to the extent that, a~ording to Sessa 63- tourism has a sort of c~mtagious universality. On this point, Sessa and Jafari 39 agree that tourism has a demonstration effect, but they disagree on the significance of that effect. For Sessa it is positive: consumption patterns are altered, as are attitudes toward saving and investment. For Jafari it is negative: the "ideological injection" interrupts a normally slow process and the demonstration effect leads to increased consumption to the detriment of saving and investment. •

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Assuming then that tourism plays a role in the psychological processes mentioned a role that has not yet been delimited precisely - it remains to compare the benefits indicated by Sessa and the costs mentioned by Jafari, and to ascertain whether, as Heytens 33 says tourism causes the local inhabitants to downgrade industrial employment in favor of more prestigious jobs in hotels and other tourist services. -THE M A R K E T I N G OF C U L T U R E

For the moment, the debate on acculturation and the demonstration effect can only be a confused discussion, since it is difficult to pinpoint in what proportion tourism, industrial development, and the mass media are responsible for the economic and cultural subversion directed by the rich economies toward the poor economies. But another type of difficulty is posed by the marketing of culture. Although the problems are obvious, there is an absence of careful thought on the matter, and private interests further complicate the situation. As was discussed earlier, one of the undoubted benefits of tourism lies in the re-establishment of cultural values attacked or denied by the economic expansionism of the western countries. This re-establishment involves both the western countries and the nations that are victims of their cultural aggression. Attention was also called to the new ambivalence of tourism, which continues to be an expression of cultural and intellectual curiosity as it has been in the past, but which is also a phenomenon of economic expansion with all that entails in terms of destruction. This ambivalence is freely expressed in the area of art. Bouvier 6 notes, in connection with Polynesian art, that the distinction between pure art, decorative art, and crafts was not made initially. Every common object was invested with a sacred power that made its use beneficial, but the arrival of the Europeans upset this initial "artistic" system and the interest in local products very quickly led the natives to manufacture ersatz items, whose simpfistic designs already evidenced a certain decadence. In this case, tourism was imposed on a system that was already artificial, and what is true for Polynesia is equally true for Africa. Edelman 26 deplores the commerical production 94

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of junk articles and the adaptation of crafts to the tastes of tourists. But tourism can also burst in upon a system in which artistic creation still follows the old traditions. Schawinsky 60 believes that this has also happened in Guatemala, where, concurrently with the renewed interest in Indian culture on the part of the westernized Ladinos, signs of decadence have also appeared. Certain articles or souvenirs are now manufactured only for tourists and not for domestic use, and a system of marketing of souvenirs is being organized which encourages the Indians to produce not according to their own taste but according to that of the tourists. The problem of marketing this culture can be posed in different ways: (i) it may be necessary to protect something that has not yet fallen under the influence of tourism; such cases are quite rare (for example, the replacement of shells by trouser buttons on masks in New Guinea represents an ingenuous attempt by the natives to improve on their handiwork, combined with desacralization of the object for commerical purposes). It is to be feared that the damage caused by tourist expeditions, like those of Lindblad Travel to the Tobriands and elsewhere, is outrunning the actions of those responsible for organizing this protection. Or (ii) it may be a question or repairing, or at least limiting, the damage already caused by tourism. Schawinsky shows that the marketing of culture, which leads to the appearance of the "curio" - the degenerate form of folk art - serves local interests most of all. The upgrading of Indian society with its costumes and crafts really profits no one except the Ladinos, who make up the ruling class and control the most important marketing channels. To the extent that they thereby hold the advantage in a sector that actually depends on the Indians, the restoration of economic balance through tourism - which might have been regarded as the "consolation argument" - cannot be invoked. This raises the problem of the various authoritarian policies that the state can apply vis-a-vis liberal marketing structures. Such policies can give rise to a system of high prices and good quality based on relative scarcity and distribution through a small number of controlled, prestigious channels; 2 in this case the Government bypasses interest groups that can be politically active. However, liberal marketing structures are free to proliferate, and lead to inflation of curio prices and to an even greater acceleration of the degenerative process. The virtual nonexistence of studies on this question calls for in-depth research and a comparison of the various experiences and their results. However, one may ask whether the two systems cannot co-exist for better or worse, on condition that - as in the case of music and dance - there are two different levels of activity. In the area of dance, some countries have attempted to establish national or regional ballets whose high choreographic level and excellent reputation show that it is possible to reconcile art and tourism. At the same time, the privete s,;ctor has, in nightclub shows, developed forms in which - as Haulot 31 puts it - "the taste for color, ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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heat and noise" has created "a facile and dazzling eroticism" which unquestionably meets certain demands of the market. That this ultimately concerns the entire community because it involves "an abdication, an abandonment of dignity and selfrespect," is understood: but all the same a certain modus vivoadi is established, satisfying the two parties. Here again sociological and economic thought is fairly shallow, and more research is obviously needed. -- PRESERVATION OF SITES, MONUMENTS AND T R A D I T I O N A L A R C H I T E C T U R E MONUMENTS AND TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE In this area tourism can bring its greatest benefits. According to Sessa 63 the cultural heritage that determines the attractiveness of a country to tourists encourages the authorities to protect it, and because of this, the examples of cultural salvage operations stimulated by tourism and sponsored by UNESCO are many. The author notes that in this respect mass tourism does not differ from other forms. In general, tourism makes it possible to introduce into the market e c o n o m y those cultural treasures which are not exploited and are therefore subject to the ravages of time and disrespect from the local population. Jafari 39 notes that this helps make people aware of their cultural originality and restores their national pride. Lonati 44 speaks of the "cultural fallout" of tourism in the same terms: the development of tourism leads, through the restoration or preservation of monuments, to the maintenance of cultural wealth, which benefits the whole country. In 1965 the UNESCO Courier stated that if a monument has retained its religious, political or social function, it is necessary to ensure continuity of that function or to find another use for it. Thus, tourism finds a new purpose for the most threatened monuments, but at the same time, as Haulot 31 points out, it enables this restoration of the cultural heritage to be self-financed, which is a boon to those governments which have other urgent needs to meet. Nevertheless, a distinction must be made between historical monuments protected by governments because world opinion and history have hallowed them, and traditional architecture whose importance is "largely unrecognized. In the former case the governments, not necessarily with reference to international tourism, have most often taken the initiative to provide for their preservation. Moreover, historical monuments are by definition less fragile, and except in cases such as Abu Simbel, the urgency of salvage operations is not such that they must be undertaken within one or two decades. In the latter case, traditional architecture is fragile. Its anonymity does not protect it from national urbanization plans, and it can be the victim of easy solutions devised by the local people themselves, who would rather see corrugated roofs everywhere.

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The preservation of Matmatas in Tunisia, of the Arab inns of Djerba of the impluvium huts of Casamance (Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique, Paris), of the caravanserais of Turkey, of the hyperbolic roofs of Polynesia, etc., was due largely to the efforts of foreign architects who were able to find the necessary arguments to influence tourism development planning. To the extent that little can be expected in this regard from local initiative, which has sometimes laced the perspective necessary for an obiective judgment (although this trend may be undergoing a reversal), there is room for action by UNESCO, in the absence of any reference in the literature to effective action by others. This field is all the more interesting in that it calls especially for a consciousness-raising campaign with the collaboration of a prestigious organizmion, and not for the collection of funds. TOURISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT

In contrast to what is happening with monuments and historical sites, the need for active protection of natural sites is a fairly recent notion in the European literature 41 Nature and the environment, insofar as they are cultural factors, are familiar concepts to the American. Indeed, for him the conquest of the unspoiled environment, the frontier, is a historical datum and thus a cultural one. On the other hand, all this is new to the European. As for the African, while the idea is an especially sensitive reality for him - as evidenced by the innumerable national parks of Africa - it has so far taken practical rather than theoretical form. The "battle for the environment ''66 has generated jobs and writings, but on the whole there has been more interest in the problems of pollution as manifestations of urbanization and industrialization (numerous research works are published on this subject matter). One must look to the brief reports of the British Travel Authority and of the IUOTO 38 and the work of Arthur Haulot 32 to find what is explicitly involved in the relationships between tourism and the environment. As one might surmise, the tourist is neither more nor less a polluter than the worker, and it is this evidence that up to the present has limited the appearance of new ideas on this aspect in the tourism literature. Nonetheless, Haulot points out that tourism plays a unique role in the environment (giant hotels, airports, tourist facilities in the desert, on mountains, on empty riverbanks). Tourism thus helps to form the "landschaft", (i.e. the concept of nature, but augmented by history and tradition, conceived as a cultural heritage) 41 and here the question arises concerning the evaluation of this action upon the environment. Of course, such humanization can be beneficial, but it happens more and more frequently that there is nothing to choose between the tourism promoter and the industrialist when, in the name of the common interest, economic development and free enterprise, it comes to dealing the most damaging blows to the natural heritage. ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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In the developed countries it is reasonable to look to public opinion to curtail technocratic and business initiatives!4 but it is also reasonable to assume that the cases of the Galapagos Islands or Easter Island, cited by Haulot, are not the worst exar'aples of tourist aggression in the underdeveloped countries. For instance, the problem of a rise in saline water following the exploitation (which has suddenly become intensive because of tourism) of the grandwater (in the form of a narrow freshwater lens) in Djerba, in the Bahamas, and soon in the Polynesian atolls, is a threat to the entire human colony and the microculture of those islands. Furthermore, to the extent that the environment is also made up of other people, it would be well to raise the problem of the gradual driving back of the population by tourism, away from the coastal zones toward the mountainous interior, as is happening in the Caribbean and the Hawaiian Islands. Here again there is need for further reflection on the physical or human geography, going beyond the usual common places about ,water, air and soil pollution. TOURISM AND RELIGION

And lastly, we should consider the confrontation between tourism, which to a greater or lesser degree involves human spirituality, and religion. In the absence of any known and published Moslem position, the views of the Protestant and Catholic churches can be bri,.~fly analyzed. These are recent positions and:are quite close; the churches cannot fail to theologically evaluate "the phenomenon of tourism which embodies the aspirations of so "large a part of mankindY 13 This consideration is essentially a moral one, but it shows that the churches perception of tourism and its problems differs little from that of certain sociologists. The churches are concerned with the social aspects of tourism, but tourism can become an effective counterforce to the isolation of countries and peoples. It awakens the sense of human frailty and transitoriness, and can become a factor of ecumenism and of peace among peoples. Tourism bears witness to the love and admiration of man for creation, and the expenses it entails seem justified if they truly help the individual in his striving for perfection 69 On the other hand, the churches are opposed if these expenditures degenerate into a squandering that insults the poor. They are also concerned with the impact of tourism on the local inhabitants the moral and social disturbances are discussed in very general terms. The situation of the Third World is considered in this light. The Protestant Church refers to the cultural shock mused by tourism in "small, unsophisticated communities'. '69 For its part, the Catholic Church recommends that the tourist behave humbly, with respect for his host, on the principle that "a member of the church in the Third World needs to have his faith strengthened by experienceY 43

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Finally, being concerned with the problems that the practice of religion raises for the tourist, the tourism professional, and the priest 20 the churches offer as a solution the collaboration of churches in an ecumenical spirit 68

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I

I

CONCLUSION: CULTURAL CHANGE AND INTERCHANGE To conclude, it appears that tourism is somettfing more than an economic phenomenon with sociological and cultural effects; it has become a phenomenon of civilizati on. Tourism exemplifies this change which little by little is affecting the entire world. Marshall MacLuhan, referring to the mass media, has this to say: a partitioned world is being replaced ~adually by a "global village,': in which all communications are effected through the media. This village is gradually being expanded by the addition of different tribes, known as Africa, America, Asia, Europe, the Pacific, which only recently were widely scattered and accustomed to living in a more or less closed circle, with their own systems of values and civilizations. But civilizations are mortal, as Paul Vatery notes: Babylonia, Carthage and Cuzco were noble names and one knows that economic expansion, whatever face it wearsmilitary, religious, technological - is a danger to those who are not watchful. Tourism is part of this expansion, and unless great care is taken, the names of Bali, Chiang Mai, Tahiti, Malinke, Masai and thousands of others will be added to the akeady long list of threatened civilizations, all because of tourism. Some like to s u r e s t that history requires the weaker to emulate the stronger; others say that a civilization can fall back upon itself and thus survive eternally, while still others say that it is good to die if this is the only way to keep true to oneself. But wise men know that any people can find the strength both to accept the best in others and to impose on those others the best of themselves. 'The civilizations of Rome, Byzantium, Cordoba and the Renaissance show what cultural crossbreeding can achieve when everyone decides that his own personality will be strong enough so that he can finally impose his stamp on the system. In the present time the long essay of Leopold S. Senghor on "Negritude" (Blackness) shows that this can still happen. In this context, tourism is an instrument of great importance and it is essential that the expert not view it only as a means of economic development or of ideological subversion, to be utilized or rejected. The upshot of this study seems to be that the conflict between economists, geographers, anthropolgists, and sociologists is too often confined to those two aspects. ANNALS OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Nov/Dec '76

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Without ruling out technical considerations, but rather to affirm them more strongly, a historical perspective and broader view must be adopted by different parties if they wish to resolve the contradictions surrounding this activity. If tourism as it has appeared in the last 20 years is truly a new and interesting opportunity now offered to humanity, then economic, sociological and philosphical thought about it must be expanded and the experts in each field must compare their points of view within a context that remains to be defined, hut that will no longer be strictly economic or strictly sociological.[~ [ ] BIBLIOGRAPHY

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