Indigenous Cultural Tourism - Article Example

Indigenous Australians Order ID – 455597 Introduction What are the advantages and disadvantages of Indigenous cultural tourism in different parts of Australia? Give specific examples. Australia is believed to be one of the hottest tourist spots in the world that contributes heavily to the Australian economy as well as the employment industry. The scenic beauty and its varied attractions never fail to attract both Domestic and International tourists from every corner of the world. Domestic tourism forms a significant portion of Australia’s tourism industry and according to (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010 - 2011) is “responsible for 73% of the total direct tourism GDP”. Karen Hooper and Marileze Zyl (2011) in their article titled “Australia’s Tourism Industry” make an investigation into the recent developments taking place in the tourism industry of Australia. Both the authors were able to provide us with deep insight because they belonged to the Economic Analysis department and have accessed authentic material from the Statistic Department to make their analysis clear for the readers. The authors speak of the significant contribution of the tourism industry towards increasing the overall output of the economy and how this contribution has changed over time in relation to their expenditures. They highlight the fact that the output of the Tourism industry largely depends on the consumption patterns by tourists and therefore, in order to ensure the best output, the requirements and consumption patterns have to be identified and taken into consideration during the planning process. According to them, measuring of output of tourism should not be restricted to expenditure on leisure activity alone but should also include expenditure on business travel, visiting relatives and friends, traveling for any type of education or training and for a wide variety of personal reasons. (p. 23) This article by Karen Hooper and Marileze Zyl also provides graphs to depict the employment percentage in the tourism industry which is approximately 4.5% of the total employment in Australia, amounting to about half a million workers. (p. 24) The article is well worth reading because it gives us the clear picture of tourism and employment in Australia while making use of authentic material from Australia’s Bureau of Statistics. (ABS) In recent times, Indigenous Tourism in Australia has been widely encouraged and expansion in this area is a continuous process, because it is believed to hold great potential of economic gains for the Indigenous population. (Nan Song, 2008) in the article titled “Indigenous Tourism – A Passport to Development for Indigenous Australians”, Song highlights many startling facts of the tourism sector. This article is a qualitative analysis involving the challenges or problems faced by the Indigenous community by their participation in the tourism industry. According to the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC, 2004) ‘tourism is considered to be the largest industry where employment, economic output, taxation and investment are concerned.’ (p. 269) Nan Song, the author explains that in recent times, the tourism involving Indigenous Australians has received ‘widespread attention’. (Nan Song, p. 269) Indigenous tourism includes everything to do with Indigenous culture, for example, cultural exhibitions, Indigenous themed cultural tours, bush walking, playing the Didgeridoo, Arts and Crafts festivals, Indigenous theater and dance performances as well as marketing of Indigenous artifacts. Such programs provide an opportunity for people of different cultures to have direct contact with Indigenous Australians. The author Nan Song also brings out the fact, that Australia’s Indigenous community remains economically disadvantaged and remain in poverty and studies in 2004, for example show that ‘the average income of Indigenous Australians over the age of 15 was only 41% of that of the average non- indigenous in the Northern territory.’ (Nan Song, p.271) The author clearly bring out the fact that though Indigenous Australians contribute to the economy through tourism, yet steps have to be taken by the government to improve the economic status and standard of living of the Indigenous Australians. Australia’s Indigenous population experience both advantages and disadvantages where the tourism industry is concerned. However, for all the hard work and trouble taken by the people themselves and the policy makers, the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages. “Addressing the Problem of Indigenous” is an insightful journal article written by Dean Carson from Flinders University School of Medicine, Australia, and Rhonda Koster belonging to the Instructional Development Centre & School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism, Canada, that explains that even though research is being carried out in the area of Indigenous Tourism, yet there seems to be a yawing gap as to what works and what does not. According to the authors, initiatives are being taken by the Government and policy makers, but yet the desired outcomes are not achieved. In their opinion, they feel that though employment is given to the Indigenous population, yet there is insufficient engagement on their part and poor ‘access to Global knowledge systems.’ (Dean Carson & Rhonda Koster, 2012. p. 110) According to (Cooke, et al., 2007) the Indigenous population is at a greater disadvantage than their non- indigenous counterparts in many other areas. For example they possess a very low economic status, decreased educational outcomes, suffer health problems, not likely to have enough security either in possessing land or housing and even risk very high levels of domestic violence. These disadvantages are even more evident in the rural areas than in the urban because they experience more isolation and have decreased access to economic opportunities and other services. According to (Humpage, 2010, p. 111) ‘Indigenous people living in remote areas have been the subject of policy experimentation…’.Nation States have tried out many initiatives and strategies to address the problems of disadvantage such as bringing out employment programs, encouraging better use of education and health systems, helping them make better use of welfare payments, initiating rights to own land and even awarding compensations and bringing about initiatives for higher political representation and many other strategies. However, a few of these initiatives are viable at the national level, while many others remains localized, thus affecting individual families. This journal article by Carson and Koster sheds light not only on the disadvantages faced by the indigenous population but also explains the initiatives that have been tried out so far. The representation of ideas and thoughts makes it well worth reading because it gives us a better idea of the situation faced by them. Jeremy Buultjens and Nadine White give us their take in their article titled ‘Indigenous Tourism: The Possibilities into the Future’ by highlighting some of the salient facts in the Australian tourism industry. According to the authors Indigenous tourism does provide a fair share of competition in the market but their businesses find it very hard to maintain sustainability due to its immatureness. According to (Buultjens et al., 2005, p. 5) there are many barriers that work against sustainable development for the indigenous community. Some of these barriers include the small size of their tourism business and this is due to their situation and lack of access to services which they could use to expand. In addition to this, they are at a great economic disadvantage and hence do not have the capacity to accumulate wealth or even personal savings and so find it difficult to borrow capital for the expansion of their businesses. (Buultjens et al., 2005, p. 6) article also highlights the fact that the belief and cultural values of the Indigenous Australians also pose as a stumbling block where maintaining their businesses is concerned. He explains that such value systems and beliefs go against the Western work ethic system. The author gives us a good example to support his statement by explaining that Indigenous Australians have to accommodate many cultural obligations which makes it difficult for them to attend to their work on a regular basis. In the Commerce world, high priority is given to punctuality, regularity and reliability and hence this notion does not work well for them and this is seen reflected by way of their waning business. Another example the authors give us is that a major portion of the Indigenous population depend on welfare and hence gradually they seem to have lost their confidence, and self – reliance and therefore lack ambition to climb the ladder of success. In business negotiations, it is inevitable that one needs to collaborate and build strong relationships, but on the contrary carrying on a business with the Indigenous community proves to be long drawn and exceedingly time consuming and this goes against business ethics making it almost impossible to carry on. Conclusion It is very evident from the various authors of journals, articles and books that the Indigenous community is at a great disadvantage when compared to their non- indigenous counterparts. It is also quite clear that unless their attitude, demographic position, cultural and religious systems and their situation changes, there’s little hope of bringing about a major change with regard to their development in the Tourism business. Though their respective governments are coming out with planning and strategies for the Indigenous community, it is left to be seen how much good is going to come out of it. Research studies in this area has its own limitations and policy makers have to come out with better laws and initiatives if a change in attitude has to be brought about. Discriminative or racists attitude towards the Indigenous marginalized section has to be done away with and should pave the way for equality of rights for all. Unless the Indigenous population is made financially self – sufficient, only then one could expect better outcomes from the Tourism industry. References Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010 – 2011) Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account. (TSA) 2009 – 10, ABS Cat. No.52490, December. www.australianbureauofstatistics Buultjens, J., Waller, I., Graham, S. & Carson, D. (2005). Public Sector Initiatives for Aboriginal Small Business Development in Tourism. In C. Ryan & M. Aicken (Eds.), Indigenous Tourism: The Commodification and Management of Culture (pp. 127-147). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. Cooke, M., Mitrou, F., Lawrence, D., Guimond, E., & Beavon, D. (2007), in Carson and Koster. Indigenous well-being in four countries: An application of the UNDP'S Human Development Index to Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 7(9), DOI: 10.1186/1472-698X-7-9. Dean Carson & Rhonda Koster, (2012) Addressing the Problem of Indigenous: Disadvantage in Remote Areas of Developed Nations: A Plea for More Comparative Research. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 7, 1, 110 – 125. www.jrcd.ca/include/getdoc.php?id=1176&article=622&mode Humpage, L. (2010), in Carson and Koster. Institutions, interests and ideas: explaining social policy change in welfare states incorporating an indigenous population Journal of European Social Policy, 20(3), 235-247 Karen Hooper and Marileze Van Zyl (2011) Australia’s Tourism Industry. Bulletin, December Quarter. p. 23. Accessed in November, 2014. www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2011/dec/pdf/bu-1211-3.pdf Nan Song, (2008) “Indigenous Tourism – A Passport to Development for Indigenous Australians”, Intercultural Communication Studies XVII: 1, p. 269- 271. Read More

“Addressing the Problem of Indigenous” is an insightful journal article written by Dean Carson from Flinders University School of Medicine, Australia, and Rhonda Koster belonging to the Instructional Development Centre & School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism, Canada, that explains that even though research is being carried out in the area of Indigenous Tourism, yet there seems to be a yawing gap as to what works and what does not. According to the authors, initiatives are being taken by the Government and policy makers, but yet the desired outcomes are not achieved.

In their opinion, they feel that though employment is given to the Indigenous population, yet there is insufficient engagement on their part and poor ‘access to Global knowledge systems.’ (Dean Carson & Rhonda Koster, 2012. p. 110) According to (Cooke, et al., 2007) the Indigenous population is at a greater disadvantage than their non- indigenous counterparts in many other areas. For example they possess a very low economic status, decreased educational outcomes, suffer health problems, not likely to have enough security either in possessing land or housing and even risk very high levels of domestic violence.

These disadvantages are even more evident in the rural areas than in the urban because they experience more isolation and have decreased access to economic opportunities and other services. According to (Humpage, 2010, p. 111) ‘Indigenous people living in remote areas have been the subject of policy experimentation…’.Nation States have tried out many initiatives and strategies to address the problems of disadvantage such as bringing out employment programs, encouraging better use of education and health systems, helping them make better use of welfare payments, initiating rights to own land and even awarding compensations and bringing about initiatives for higher political representation and many other strategies.

However, a few of these initiatives are viable at the national level, while many others remains localized, thus affecting individual families. This journal article by Carson and Koster sheds light not only on the disadvantages faced by the indigenous population but also explains the initiatives that have been tried out so far. The representation of ideas and thoughts makes it well worth reading because it gives us a better idea of the situation faced by them. Jeremy Buultjens and Nadine White give us their take in their article titled ‘Indigenous Tourism: The Possibilities into the Future’ by highlighting some of the salient facts in the Australian tourism industry.

According to the authors Indigenous tourism does provide a fair share of competition in the market but their businesses find it very hard to maintain sustainability due to its immatureness. According to (Buultjens et al., 2005, p. 5) there are many barriers that work against sustainable development for the indigenous community. Some of these barriers include the small size of their tourism business and this is due to their situation and lack of access to services which they could use to expand.

In addition to this, they are at a great economic disadvantage and hence do not have the capacity to accumulate wealth or even personal savings and so find it difficult to borrow capital for the expansion of their businesses. (Buultjens et al., 2005, p. 6) article also highlights the fact that the belief and cultural values of the Indigenous Australians also pose as a stumbling block where maintaining their businesses is concerned. He explains that such value systems and beliefs go against the Western work ethic system.

The author gives us a good example to support his statement by explaining that Indigenous Australians have to accommodate many cultural obligations which makes it difficult for them to attend to their work on a regular basis. In the Commerce world, high priority is given to punctuality, regularity and reliability and hence this notion does not work well for them and this is seen reflected by way of their waning business.

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