Issues in Special Interest Tourism - Indigenous Tourism - Coursework Example

Issues in Special Interest Tourism – Indigenous Tourism Name: Institution: Abstract Culture is an important aspect in the promotion of tourism in a any given nation. It is through culture that people in the region gain their identity, which the foreigners appreciate and long to be a part (Lew et al, 2008 p.71). The sense of belonging emerging from cultural appreciation plays a major role in involving the locals in promoting their lifestyles to the outside world. Indigenous culture tells the story of a region, its origin and development over the changing times. Its involvement in promotion of tourism strengthens the country’s position due to its unique and authentic nature that sets the region apart from the rest. Globalisation has led to the integration of communities across the world to an extent that they have transferred lifestyles to one another. It therefore makes the preservation of indigenous culture very difficult (Ryan & Aicken, 2005 p.52). Nations that succeed in preserving their culture gain a comparative advantage over those lacking a cultural dimension. Since indigenous tourism is crucial in tourism promotion, this paper seeks to highlight various approaches used in this industry. It aims at making a comparison between Australia and New Zealand in relation to their approaches towards indigenous tourism. Key words: indigenous tourism, globalisation, Maori culture, aboriginal culture Introduction Indigenous tourism involves the direct participation of indigenous people in maintaining focus on the indigenous culture. The locals work towards enhancing the attractiveness of the culture to act as one of the main attractions if not the main attraction to tourists. This involves the maintenance of cultural practices, language, and other artefacts that enhance the promotion of culture and facilitate the narration of the region’s history. The indigenous population is therefore very crucial to indigenous tourism since their direct engagement contributes to the enhancement of the use of culture as a marketing strategy (Lew et al, 2008 p.132). Both Australia and New Zealand have recognized the need to make use of their cultural richness in the attraction of tourists into the regions. Tourism contributes significantly to their national income hence a major part of the gross domestic product. This translates into the growth of both countries’ economy by improving the balance of trade through foreign exchange. Tourism is hence an investment that could guarantee a nation economic development when properly utilised (Lew et al, 2008 p.61). The Australian indigenous culture dates back 60000 years and is one of the oldest cultures in the world still in existence. The continent featured around 400 different clans though some of them have faced extinction over time. Indigenous people mainly identify themselves as aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders depending on their geographical settlement. The main indigenous culture however is the aboriginal culture that represents the entire indigenous population in Australia. Distinctive factors associated with aboriginal culture involve the use of stone technology and red ochre pigment in painting (Crawford & Tantiprasut, 2003 p.111). The country did not undergo the evolution experienced by other nations namely; Iron Age, Bronze Age, Palaeolithic, and Neolithic ages. Stone is therefore a crucial part of the aboriginal culture since it sets it apart from the modern world experiencing an advanced technological level. The beauty of the preservation of ancient practices of Australian people especially in areas separated from the mainland for thousands of years is what makes Australia a fascinating tourists’ attraction. Maori culture is the indigenous culture of New Zealand dating 1000 years ago and make up 15% of the overall population in the country (Horn & Book, 2009 p.11). Apparently, the Maori people discovered New Zealand and settled in the area hence becoming an integral part of the nation’s history. Most of the Maori people settled in the north island in isolation but over time interacted with the European immigrants. Colonisation robbed the natives of the large parcels of land initially owned by the community, which triggered tension between the European settlers and Maori people. Australia and New Zealand have various similarities in their approach to indigenous tourism making them a perfect point of comparison in regards to this form of tourism. Their culture and history almost follows a similar route that tourists tend to confuse one for the other. The proximity of the two countries also contributes to this confusion. However, each country has its distinct history and an indigenous population that set the stage for tourism in the respective countries. Studying the indigenous culture in both countries helps in understanding the importance of this culture to the locals as well as the nation’s economy (Lew et al, 2008 p.40). It also highlights various efforts put in place by stakeholders to capitalise on the unique asset that places the countries at an advantage over other nations in relation to tourism. Government Support The ministry of culture and heritage in New Zealand contributes immensely to cultural preservation in the country. It promotes the use of Maori language to the global world to trigger interest in the language and lifestyle of the New Zealand natives (Horn & Book, 2009 p. 38). It collects common Maori words and phrases and prepares audio recordings that guide foreigners in the familiarisation with the language. The audios guide in the pronunciation of the words as well as educate on their meaning and proper usage in communication. This way any foreigner visiting the nation feels comfortable learning and using the language in communication with the locals. They also continue learning the language after leaving New Zealand and long for a repeat of the experience. The Maori language commission assists in the tourism experience for foreigners by offering a guideline for the correct pronunciation of various places in the country. Places in New Zealand have almost two names attached to them due to the two naming systems; Maori and English names. The commission tries to solve the problem of confusion to tourists by giving them standard place names as well as their proper pronunciation. The government has included Maori traditions in the designing of the country’s tourism strategy. The traditions put emphasis on hospitality and proper treatment of guests, a concept prominent in the tourism marketing strategy. The government therefore contributes largely to the marketing of the indigenous culture to the outside world hence attracting many tourists to the area. The Australian government has been on the forefront of promoting indigenous culture to the global world through advertisement on its website. The government has enhanced the preservation of indigenous culture, which acts as a major tourist attraction to the region. The Queensland Indigenous Arts Marketing and Export Agency is among various government bodies established to promote the indigenous tourism in Australia (Crawford & Tantiprasut, 2003 p.88). The Australian indigenous cultural heritage offers information about the aborigines and their cultural practices. This information is open to the entire world and offers a gateway to be acquainted with the indigenous cultural practices that are different to those of the rest of the world. This triggers interest to the global world and makes them interested in having a firsthand experience of the culture. Absence of government support on national projects may spell doom since the government holds the ultimate authority on the legality of operations. Involvement of the government is therefore an important aspect in ensuring the success of a project. Reliability of government information is another positive element of its involvement in promoting indigenous tourism. The Australian government knows that the aboriginal culture is a valuable asset not just to the tourism industry but also to the entire economy. Capitalising on this fact therefore places Australia at an advantage of succeeding in the tourism industry. The Environment Environmental conservation is a strategy used in the marketing of corporate organisations as well as nations. In the verge of global warming due to the high level of industrialisation in the modern world, conserving the environment attracts the attention of individuals as well as humanitarian institutions since it translates into the conservation of humanity. New Zealand has succeeded in the adoption of this strategy in attracting tourists to the area by promising them magical views of nature as well as the spiritual connection with nature (Zeppel, 2006 p.74). The Maori culture features the philosophy of kaitiakitanga that involves a high level of respect for the natural environment. This is a major philosophy for the new Zealanders who participate actively in the conservation of the natural environment and hold a high level of respect for nature and its gifts. Environmental conservation in the area involves the setting of restrictions to undertaking various activities in the forested areas to maintain ecological balance. This ensures that the natural environment that attracts tourists remains intact in the present as well as the future. The aboriginal culture values environmental conservation since their culture thrives in the wild. The Australian climate and landscape is harsh for humans living in the wild since the country is mostly a desert with very harsh conditions. For survival purposes, the aborigines developed incredible skills in the use of their simple stone tools and make their lives easier. Hunting is their main economic activity through which they learnt to preserve the natural environment and incorporate it into their lifestyle. Their initial hunting habits attribute to the extinction of certain animal breeds in the area until they learnt the art of rotational hunting. This involves the movement of hunting expeditions to different areas to allow for breeding of animals and prevent their extinction. Nature is an important part of their culture since the people shared a strong connection to nature and the spirit world (Hinch & Butler, 2006 p.50). The moon, sun, waterfalls, stars have a special part in the traditions of the aborigines. The high level of connection to nature is very inspirational to the outside the world with tourists longing to become a part of this experience. The religion of aborigines revolves around nature hence the absence of natural environment would rob them of their godliness. The destruction of the environment therefore feels like the destruction of their lives since their lives are in harmony with nature in the areas they occupy. Environmental conservation is an attraction for people across the world since it assures them a vacation with a difference and it enables them to connect with nature and feel like a part of the aboriginal community. Artistic Approach Art is the perfect avenue available to human to facilitate their expression of emotions, ideas, as well as maintain a record of important events. The Maori culture involves a wide range of art; carving, group performance, weaving, oratory, and tattoos. This art has facilitated the preservation of the Maori culture over the years and prevented its erosion by the wave of modernisation. The oral culture is rich in legends and folklore that explain the creation of the world and the origin of the people that excite foreigners in learning the extraordinary creation myths. Carvers have managed to capture this story in artworks to demonstrate the occurrence of events during creation (Zeppel, 2006 p.61). Carvers assist in the remembrance of major events in the history of the people by carving characters featured in the events. Museums in New Zealand hold several artefacts that celebrate the indigenous culture as a way of preserving the heritage of the locals as well as an avenue for tourists to learn about their culture. Narrators are available at the museums to enable the tourists understand various artefacts and relate them to the history of the nation. Tourists can purchase artefacts from locals as way to remember their trip to New Zealand and gain an interest in making repetitive trips to the area. Artefacts businesses therefore facilitate the marketing of tourism in the country by integrating the people’s culture into tangible items. The country’s economy therefore benefits substantially from indigenous tourism through the increased level of business transactions. The artistic approach to indigenous tourism has therefore proven very beneficial to the tourism industry in the country. Indigenous people make use of art to preserve and promote their culture to the outside world. Aboriginal art mostly consists of sculptures, rock paintings, beadwork, barks, and baskets as well as rock carvings (Hinch & Butler, 2006 p.100). Many indigenous people earn a living from selling these traditional artefacts to tourists who purchase the items as souvenirs. Oral tradition is also an important aspect in the aboriginal culture that involves tales about their land for which they share a strong connection. Ground drawings and dances accompany the stories to make them captivating and memorable to the audience. Aboriginal music features a distinct musical instrument that makes it easily recognizable. The didgeridoo is the musical instrument that emits a low and vibrating hum making the music famous around the world. The music features in events such as funerals, circumcision, and sunsets that the community celebrates. National parks in Australia help in the preservation of indigenous culture by holding sites containing artwork and rock engravings that tell the story of the people. These sites facilitate the narration of the people’s dreaming stories that explain the origin of their ancestors. Wildlife service programs and national parks operate in conjunction with indigenous locals to involve them in the preservation of their cultural elements that are a major tourist attraction. Language is an important aspect in the learning of indigenous culture of Australian people. The people have preserved their culture in oral history narrated from generations to generations to keep their heritage alive. Hundreds of indigenous dialects existed adding to the cultural richness of the people. The Internet Globalisation may appear as a major threat to traditions and culture but may ironically be the backbone to preservation and promotion of traditions. Westernisation is responsible for cultural erosion in many parts of the world through the high level of influence of the dressing, feeding, and communication of people across the world. In New Zealand, things are not any different but the locals have found a way of turning tables into making globalisation as an opportunity to promote their culture. Maori culture is widely advertised on the internet by various tourism agencies and individuals wishing to promote the awareness of this intriguing culture (Lew et al, 2008 p.52). The various web pages on the internet with information concerning the Maori people include advocacy sites, news sites, information sites, and marketing sites. They offer comprehensive information of the daily life of the Maori people, their beliefs, foods, social lives, and other aspects to make it easy for the global world to learn more about them. The language particularly offers the most efficient marketing strategy when it comes to the culture since it attracts people into gaining interest in learning more about the culture. Several websites offer English translation to the Maori language and demonstrate the usage of common phrases such as salutation. This encourages tourists to make use of the language in their communication with the locals and gives them confidence of proper pronunciation. Direct participation of the foreigners on the online community has helped in promoting the Maori culture even to individuals who have never been to New Zealand. Many people appreciate being a part of a cultured world with so much richness in traditions and beliefs still preserved in their art and folktales. The internet therefore offers the country a lucrative opportunity to capitalise on the indigenous culture as a marketing strategy to attract more tourists to the region. The internet offers an important platform for Australian tourism and particularly the indigenous tourism. Available internet resources offer information on the indigenous culture in the region to enable the global world familiarize with their lifestyle (Zeppel, 2006 66). The resources feature the history of the people and various myths associated with their origin. Various preservation methods such as artefacts, beliefs, and traditions also feature in these resources. Tourists can access unlimited information regarding the indigenous people and their way of life by visiting websites containing relevant information. Indigenous people have created websites where they use it as a platform to tell the world their personal experiences. They are able to connect with the world and make updates of their lifestyles and various rituals that they observe on a daily basis. Transactions involving cultural artwork also take place across the internet where potential buyers and sellers interact and shipping of items follows. The internet has increased the awareness of the aboriginal culture and its practices. Richness of the indigenous culture is one of the major reasons for the large number of tourists visiting Australia. Despite having various tourists’ attractions in its landscape, the culture enhances the tourism experience in the region that involves a high level of connection with nature. Language Language is a major part of the Maori culture and is one of the main marketing points for the culture (Higgins, Rewi & Olsen, 2014 p.65). New Zealand has embraced and set the language as the official language of communication in the country. The first step of learning the indigenous culture involves learning the Maori culture used all over the nation. Place names posses Maori names that might seem hard to pronounce at first. The food among other aspects of the New Zealand lifestyle has Maori names hence the need to learn the language while visiting the area. Various guides assist foreigners who have difficulty with pronunciation of the complex words. This makes the tourism experience more exciting since New Zealand feels like a different world. Learning the Maori language is therefore an important step in learning the Maori culture. The language is constant hence remains the same regardless of the region one is in. Integration of English into the language makes it easy for tourists to navigate in various regions of the country and communicate effectively with locals. New Zealand uses Maori language alongside English and sign language as the official languages hence giving tourists a wide range of communication modes. This prevents confusion posed by the use of a new language unfamiliar to the tourists by offering them communication options that facilitate the transfer of information. Integrating language into cultural promotion seals the deal and makes the country a tourist destination of choice. The language aspect lacks in the indigenous population of Australia due to the presence of a wide range of languages. There exists different indigenous groups of people in one group hence the absence of a common language to refer to as the indigenous language. It creates difficulty for foreigners seeking to learn local languages since they seem to vary from one region to the other. Australia had over 400 tribes who developed their unique languages and mode of communication as well as culture (Hinch & Butler, 2006 p.43). Some cultural aspects therefore differed due to the separation of these tribes into their respective groupings. Therefore, cultural aspects in one region may differ from those in another region and language faced the highest level of variation. Indigenous communities therefore identify with numerous languages making it difficult for Australians and foreigners to familiarize with each of them. Additionally, the official language in Australia is English and the indigenous language lack prominence in recognition as a mode of communication. The country can therefore not rely on language to promote the indigenous culture since this would result in confusion. However, some tourists portray interest in learning the indigenous language and the locals are kind enough to teach them a few words. Eliminating language as the main marketing strategy for indigenous tourism therefore does not disadvantage the tourism industry since the culture has rich traditions and elements that by themselves attract a large number of tourists to the country. Cuisine Food is an important aspect in the culture of people since it brings them together through its preparation as well as the dining time. The kiwi food of New Zealand has contributed greatly to the development of the tourism industry in the country by promoting the unique aspect of the culture. Food and beverages are among the leading exports of the country that tell the story of the Maori people to the world (Lew et al, 2008 p.43). The food has a reputation for its high quality, uniqueness, as well as its richness in ethnic influence. In addition, its specialist chefs and award winning produce have also marked New Zealand as a tourist direction of choice. Restaurant menus feature indigenous food, which has undergone contemporary innovation from specialist chefs to make it interesting for tourists. National and regional events also feature indigenous foods to maintain the heritage of the people of New Zealand. The Maori people were mainly hunters and gatherers and their meals included fish and birds spiced with local roots and herbs. With colonisation came potatoes, sugar, pumpkin and wheat from the Europeans, which the people quickly adopted them due to food shortage at the time. The modern New Zealand cuisine is a fusion of indigenous food with the European influence as well as an Asian touch making it unique and different from cuisines found in other areas. Indigenous food includes healthy organic choices that help to attract more tourists since people have become increasingly aware of their health. Traditional food is associated with health consciousness since it lacks genetic modification as people in the olden days lacked the technology for that (Lew et al, 2008 p.77). The country has fertile lands and suitable climate for agriculture hence the richness in food produce to grow the traditional cuisine. This makes the gastronomic experience in New Zealand the best in the world hence triggering increasing interest in food lovers across the globe. Private dining is an emerging trend in the industry that allows tourists experience home cooking of indigenous meals from specialist chefs. It allows tourists in lodges and hotels pick a meal of choice, the ingredients and the chef to prepare the meal. By designing their personalised menus, the tourists directly participate in the making of traditional meals hence enhancing their experience. The modern new Zealanders still incorporate traditional meals in their menu by mixing western foods with indigenous meals. In promotion of the aboriginal culture, food is an important element that facilitates the understanding of the people. Living in a harsh environment made it difficult for the indigenous people in Australia to access an ample supply of food. This meant that they had to utilise the available foods and incorporate them into their meals. Hunting was the major activity of the people that enabled access to food for the families (Havecker & Malykke, 2000 p.123). The traditional meals feature plants, seeds, insects, birds, and other animals hunted in the bushes. Unlike in New Zealand, the indigenous cuisine does not face extensive promotion since it involves foods that tourists are not familiar. Traditional foods are not very popular and Australians have replaced this with modern cuisine that attracts a large number of tourists. They have perfected the art of developing the gastronomic experience in the country by incorporating fine wine available in the region. Australia has also acquired a prominent position in the gastronomic tourism industry through the nurturing of specialist chefs who are widely celebrated in the country. Restaurants in the country feature celebrity chefs who make the tourists’ experience in the area remarkable. Traditional foods also feature in some restaurants menus for tourists who prefer to have the traditional experience. The breath taking views of the landscapes in Australia enhance this experience and contribute to the satisfaction of tourists visiting the region. Despite the absence of attention to indigenous food in Australia, it still features in local restaurants menus to keep the culture alive. Conclusion The analysis of indigenous tourism in Australia and New Zealand reveals various similarities as well as differences. Both nations recognize the crucial role played by indigenous culture in the promotion of tourism. The culture offers tourists a unique experience while visiting the regions due to the authenticity of the Maori culture and aboriginal culture in New Zealand and Australia respectively. Differences emerge due to the marketing approaches adopted by the countries in regards to cuisine and language. The marketing strategies adopted involve the direct participation of indigenous people in creating awareness of the existence of their culture hence attract tourists to the regions (Hinch, 2007 p.79). Creating awareness is the first step towards inviting foreigners to join in the appreciation of the indigenous culture. Detailed information regarding the language, beliefs, and food enhance the marketing strategy by enabling tourists learn about the culture. From the analysis, it is evident that both countries use similar approaches to promotion of indigenous tourism in form of government involvement, environmental conservation, art, and use of the internet to advertise to the global world. Subsequently, indigenous tourism proves helpful to the local economy through the increased business transactions and some of the locals earn a living from sale of cultural artefacts. Despite the differences, both countries are succeeding in promoting their indigenous tourism and presence of government support promises further success. References Crawford J., & Tantiprasut L. (2003). Australian Aboriginal culture. Sydney: Tourism Australia. Havecker C., & Malykke Y. (2000). Understanding Aboriginal culture. Sydney: Cosmos Publishers. Higgins R., Rewi P., & Olsen R. (2014). The value of the Maori language: Te hua o te reo Maori. Wellington: Huia Publishers. Hinch T. (2007). Tourism and indigenous people: Issues and implications. Amsterdam: Heinemann. Hinch T., & Butler R. (2006). Indigenous tourism Australia. Sydney: Tourism Australia. Horn G. M., & Book W. (2009). The Maori. Chicago: World Book. Lew, A. A., Hall A., Michael, C. & Allan, M. W (2008). A companion to tourism, Malden, Ma: Blackwell Publishing. Ryan C., & Aicken M. (2005). Indigenous tourism: The commoditization and management of culture. Amsterdam: Oxford Publishers. Zeppel, H. (2006). Indigenous ecotourism: Sustainable development and management, Cambridge, Ma: Cabi. Read More