Tourism and Sustainable Development for Indigenous Communities - Coursework Example

Tourism and Sustainable Development for Indigenous Communities by Student’s name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Introduction Tourism is frequently presented as the option for indigenous communities to both improve their marginal economic status and living standards. However, to some extent tourism also have distorted and appropriated indigenous cultural heritage and knowledge for their own commercial interests. This paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of tourism offers sustainable appropriate development for indigenous communities, particularly in Australia. The argument hereby, is that tourism may provide positive economic outcomes for indigenous community, but negatively to socio-cultural aspect. The paper will use the indigenous Tiwi Islanders in Australia as an example to show both positi ve and negative outcomes from tourism. In his speech on tourism on the 20th day of April this year, Martin Ferguson the Australian minister for tourism, gave much credit to indigenous tourism. Unlike other forms of tourism, he said, this form of tourism is one concerned with the preservation of culture and continuous appreciation of the cultures that have survived various agents of cultural change. In Australia, those communities considered indigenous are those that have observed the same culture that was observed by the ancestors and community members that lived before the coming of colonialists and other foreigners (Weaver 2010 p.47). Such communities have maintained stability in the ways of living, and such important cultural aspects as language through the years. Australia is known for being the home to the oldest cultures in existence. It is home to communities whose cultures date 50 millennia back. According to Mr. Ferguson, the most prominent impact of tourism on the indigenous communities is the economic development that comes in many ways. The tourists that visit the indigenous places are associated with various socio-economic activities that have positive effects to both the community and the national government. For instance, when such tourists visit the local indigenous places, they are so much interested in the art works of the community that reflect the ancient ways of living of the community. The tourists therefore buy such artifacts from the indigenous communities. The money associated with such trade is a source of economic growth and development (Hancock 1996 p.36). Additionally, such income is not tax exempt. This is to say that such incomes are revenues to the government. The government uses such funds to offer services to all communities within the nation, including the native indigenous groups. Still focusing on the tourists’ impact on the economic wellbeing of the indigenous communities, it is worth noting that among the people that guide the tourists in the attraction sites are natives. The inclusion of the natives in the tourist guide team is essential since only the natives comprehend the cultural artifacts in the native land (Whitford & Ruhanen 2010 p.482). A good example is the services offered by the natives of Torres Strait islands. The tourists that visit this area are guided through the shores and cliffs of the island and shown through the drawings on the rocks by the natives since the natives are the only people that can give an accurate interpretation of the drawings. The natives of this island are said to be observing a culture that was established by their ancestors between 50 and 65 millennia ago. The tour guides from the indigenous communities are thus employed. Employment is a serious economic phenomenon since it is associated with better standards of living. The tourism activities in Australia have such social impacts on areas such as education. The indigenous communities of Australia have lived in seclusion for quite a number of millennia (Buultjens et al 2010 p.504). Research has indicated that with the intense tourist activities, the native areas have adopted elementary education systems that emphasize on language. This has helped especially the younger population socialize with people from other communities and even with the tourists. This has encouraged wider and more liberal thinking. Such education systems have enabled the members of the community become accommodative to cultural change. The resistance to change and even hostility that the tourists use to face there before is currently a thing of the past. This aspect of social exposure is referred to as socio-cultural enlightenment. Tourist activities in the areas occupied by the indigenous communities have triggered what has come to be referred as rejuvenation of ancient lures (Lloyd et al 2010 p.710). As the tourists visit the natives, they realize that the communities harbor so much ancient socio-cultural information. As such, they encourage the natives to keep on conserving and preserving their traditional cultural artifacts. This has led to the renewal of the interest in such artifacts. The indigenous groups have rekindled their interest in the traditional attractions. This keeps the culture going since lack of such rejuvenation would make the communities forget some aspects of their culture. The rejuvenation of the accessible old attractions gives the members of the indigenous community the morale and reason to preserve and conserve their culture and traditions. Looking at the issue from the negative side of it, the tourism sector has had devastating impacts on the aboriginal communities. It is worth noting that since the tourists come from the developed nations where the culture in no way related to that of the aboriginal people, cultural syncretism is inevitable (Biggs 2011 p.14). The issue of cultural syncretism is the cause of the fading away of the native ways of life. Syncretism is the process though which two cultures interact to yield a new culture that comprises aspects of either participant. Another result of the syncretism is the disappearing of one of the cultures. This explains why the aboriginal tribes are slowly fading away. The number of people still observing the ancient ways of life is declining. The cultural corruption of the aboriginal people is responsible for the disappearing of the native languages of the aboriginals. Another negative effect of the tourist activities on the culture of the aboriginal groups is the commoditization of the centuries old cultures. The cultures are no longer seen as a source of rich heritage but rather a money generating asset. As such the human side of the cultures and societies is ignored. This kind of trivialization is an abuse to humanity. It is rather unfortunate that the cultures are being commercialized. This amounts to what most sociologists and historians have come to define as cultural rape (Weaver 2010 p.58). The tourist activities do generate so much revenue for the government. It is rather unfortunate that the proportion of the earnings that directly benefit the members of the aboriginal communities. The money is pumped into the urban based projects such as hospitals and schools in the cities and major towns. This way, the aboriginals get used as a way of generating income meant to benefit other people. Most prominent among the negative effects of the tourist activities on the aboriginal communities is the fact that moral decay gradually creeps in (Pegg et al 2012 p.810). This vice can be attributed to the fact that the tourist engage in romantic and intimate involvements with the people from the native communities. Such immoral activities touch on the young generations. As they grow, they develop a notion that such romantic involvements are more trendy and classy than the reserved nature of the ancient people. This way, the ways of the people get eroded with time. In the long run, the aboriginal cultures get replaced by the new polluted ways of the new generations. The old generations of the aboriginal tribes have expressed much concern in relation to this issue. The case of Tiwi Islanders Just like all the other indigenous ethnicities, the Tiwi Islanders have experienced both the positive impacts and negative effects of tourism. The Tiwi Islanders are a good illustration of how tourism offers sustainable appropriate development for indigenous communities. The Islanders are among those communities that have lived in seclusion for thousands of years (Fennell 2008 p.135). They have not been in a position to substantially interact with other communities and ethnicities since they live in the islands that are separated from mainland Australia by dangerous waters. The waters separating the islands from the mainland are infested with crocodiles, sharks and other dangerous maritime creatures. Crossing the waters is not as easy and this has been a great contributory factor to the secluded culture. The cultural practices of the Tiwi Islanders are among the most prominent tourist attractions in Australia. The Tiwi Islanders are known for their outstanding art and unique culture. The islanders are said to be the core of aboriginal tourism in Australia (Pegg et al 2012 p.815). The natives of the area have lived in a culture that has been in existence for thousands of years. The art of body painting for instance has been practiced in ceremonies for ages. Since the beginning of the aboriginal tourism, the Tiwi Islanders have experienced such encouraging things as the construction of three art centers on the islands .the art centers are visited by the tourists who pay fees to view the old artifacts and the innovative creativities of the natives. The money so generated helps in improving the welfare of the locals as well as boosting their living standards. Additionally, the arts centers have employed quite a number of natives who have since decided to be professional artists. The Tiwi Islanders have as well had the chance to undergo elementary training and education. This elementary system of education concentrates on the proper mastery of languages (Wesley & Christof 2010 p.780). The languages are meant to enable the natives communicate effectively with the tourists. Such training and learning has expanded the socializing capacity of the natives. Training has as well enabled the natives to come up with better artistic works. Such works are meant for both the Australian market and the foreign markets. This means that the works of art done by the Tiwi Islanders sell both locally and internationally. Such export trade does not only benefit the country through revenue, but also benefits the indigenous community by marketing its attractions globally. As such, more tourists gain the curiosity that prompts them to visit the indigenous people. The Tiwi community, just like all other aboriginal people has felt the negative impacts of the tourist activities. The elders from this particular group have expressed concern about the rate at which the visitors are converting the young minds of the community to believe that their ways are olden and socially redundant. The visitors have facilitated the erosion of culture among the people. The foreign cultures of the tourists are taboos among the Tiwi people. The site of the Europeans sunbathing and walking half-naked has been a major cause of concern among the older members of the community. This is because with time, some community members are picking up the habits. This contributes a great deal to the cultural syncretism (Shiue & Andreas 2011 p.570). In conclusion it is clear that tourism offers sustainable appropriate development for indigenous communities since it encourages rejuvenation of the old but existing aspects of the culture. Tourism as well enhances the social skills of the people affiliated to the indigenous communities. Such things as education and employment as well as infrastructure and social amenities are among the benefits that accrue to the indigenous communities. It is these same benefits that encourage the sustainable development of the indigenous groups. It is however noteworthy that much as tourism offers sustainable appropriate development for indigenous communities; it also has detrimental effects on the cultures. The negative impacts come through the dilution of the native culture through cultural syncretism, and such discouraging things as romantic relationships between the natives and the tourists (Biggs 2011 p.15). The elders of the Tiwi Islanders for instance say that such as tourism offers sustainable appropriate development for them, it also comes with moral decay and social corruption. They sometimes describe tourist activities as being disruptive. Reference List Bain, Andrew. 2007. Destination Dreaming. Australian Geographic. Issue 88, P70-83. Biggs, Duan. 2011. Understanding Resilience in a Vulnerable Industry: The Case of Reef Tourism in Australia. Ecology & Society. 16 Issue 1, Special Section P1-18. 18p. Buultjens, Jeremy; Gale, Deborah; White, Nadine Elizabeth. 2010. 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