Tourism and National Identity

Heritage and Nationhood in Scotland

Kalyan Bhandari

• Publisher: Channel View Publications
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781845414504
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

This book explores the role of tourism as a means to express 'nation' and 'nationhood'. Based on field research in southwest and central Scotland it shows how various historical accounts, cultural icons and images, events and celebrations create a meaning of the Scottish nation. It examines the narratives, either explicit or implicit, produced at heritage-related tourism sites and how these become interwoven with the ideology of a nation. This volume will be of use to researchers and students in tourism and heritage studies, Scottish studies, culture and identity, nationalism and national identity; as well as to tourism and heritage industry professionals and policy-makers.

1 Introduction

Tourism is important in the ideological representation of a nation. By representing a particular or chosen narrative of a nation, tourism transmits a meaning of the nation. In many instances, this meaning has been orchestrated and exploited by regimes to present a desired narrative of the country by either political manipulation or through contrived construction of interpretation at touristic sites. In other cases, tourism narrates the ‘national’ story through the way various events or sites are socio-culturally constructed, arranged and interpreted to tourists. Either way, such acts help present a particular way of looking at the society that tourists travel to and tourism becomes interwoven with the meaning or ideology of the nation which at times produces a ‘version’ of its national identity and in a way articulates its ‘nationhood’: this book is about such a role of tourism in Scotland.

This book examines how tourism as a carrier of national icons and images exemplifies the idea of nationalism in Scotland. Aspects of ‘nation’ or ‘nationhood’ represented in tourism have received some attention from scholars of tourism, but they are focused more on how tourism brings changes to local identity, specifically to local communities or host cultures. The larger area that tourism can have an effect on, the ‘national’ community, has been dealt with by few scholars, who have largely argued that through tourism a country will seek to stress its own particular character and uniqueness and portray itself in a way that flatters and reinforces national identity. This work looks into the collective identity embedded in Scottish tourism to see how Scotland represents a ‘national’ sense to visitors.

I set out to see the contemporary story of Scottish tourism through the lens of historical resources and focused on Scottish heritage attractions at three levels: national, regional and personal. Lowenthal (1975) writes that through time certain heritage assumes a national importance that symbolises a society’s shared recollections and represents national ideals. At the regional level, some familiar landmarks represent their collective past and can stir emotions and contribute to a local heritage experience. At the personal level, some heritage attractions draw people who possess emotional connections to a particular place. This is manifested by a search for historical roots and historical identity and an increased appreciation for one’s culture and family legacy (Timothy & Boyd, 2003). In this book I am concerned with the narrative, either explicit or implicit, produced in the heritage-related tourism sites at each of these levels in Scotland. However, the boundaries between the three levels are not absolutely distinct and there can be an overlap between them, for example regional heritage can extend beyond the national, personal heritage can intersect and extend beyond regional heritage, and personal heritage can extend beyond national heritage (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Different levels of heritage within a national context

I look into how the three different levels of heritage intersect to produce stories of Scotland and how these stories interact with each other to produce the ‘national’ narrative through tourism. The heritage of the city of Edinburgh, Robert Burns and Robert the Bruce, for example, are some of the important ‘national’ icons this book looks into. Burns and Bruce also represent the important heritage of the south-west region where the empirical part of this book is primarily based. I explore how at a personal level genealogical heritage plays a part in articulating a sense of Scottish nationhood.

The city of Edinburgh is one of the most revered capital cities in Europe. Scholars have often described capital cities as an embodiment of their nations. For example, Baedeker (1900) writes of Paris, ‘Paris is not only the political metropolis of France, but also the centre of artistic, scientific, commercial and industrial life of the nation’ (cited in MacCannell, 1999: 48). Edinburgh is the premier tourist destination in Scotland and hosts historical and cultural attractions that are strongly embedded within the identity of the Scottish nation. One of the most popular ways visitors encounter the city of Edinburgh – its history, culture and archaeology – is through a sightseeing tour of the city on an open-top tour bus. I will elaborate on how the guides on the tour busses assert Scottish nationhood and distinctive national identity in the city of Edinburgh.

The other two Scottish icons, Robert Burns and Robert the Bruce, are national heroes of Scotland. Smith (1991) writes that a nation provides repertoires of shared values, symbols and traditions that enhance the bond between its members. One such repertoire is produced through national heroes who are celebrated, as this reminds members of the nation of their common heritage, identity and belonging. In Scotland, celebrations of Robert Burns and Robert the Bruce are not limited to specific times of the year, but they are marked each day at tourist sites and attractions. Besides, they are venerated by millions of people every day through various other tourism outlets, brochures and websites where their images and stories are presented to tourists. I argue that Burns and Bruce are value-laden icons and their touristification evokes the emotion of Scottish nationhood.

But the heritage of Bruce and Burns is also regional, as they have strong associations with the south-west region of Scotland. Examining the way authenticity is articulated through the regional heritage of Burns, I argue that the poet is effectively mobilised to produce a narrative that enhances the authentic Scottish nationhood. This happens through a variety of ways: for instance, the region is characterised by ruralness (Gillespie, 2011). Rurality has been associated with being real and authentic and this is characteristic of Burns’ genre, as he is claimed to be the representative of the ‘common man’ in his writings. The presentation of Burns in tourism in this region matches the genre he represents: that is, to the tourists, Burns is presented in an authentic, rural and pastoral setting, mostly in the houses where he lived that have now been turned into museums. Scholars who have typified literary tourism argue that museums are the main destination of choice for literary tourists, as the dwellings are preserved and presented as original and authentic. While the touristic quest for authenticity is not new, the notion of authenticity at Burns museums has a close resonance with the ideals of nationalists, whose principal aim is to achieve authentic or ancient nationhood.

In contrast to Robert Burns, who has always belonged to this region, Robert the Bruce’s legacy with this region in terms of tourism is largely sketchy. Historically, there has been enough of a story of Bruce’s association with this region, but Bruce-related tourism was more or less restricted to being in and around Stirling, mainly at the Bannockburn war memorial. In the last 15 years, a trust dedicated to Bruce’s legacy in the south-west region has taken the initiative to revive his historical association with this region. Bruce’s heritage in this region has been recreated to develop sites as tourist attractions. This is not new, though. Heritage is ‘about negotiation’ – about using the past, and collective or individual memories, to negotiate new ways of being and expressing identity (Smith, 2006: 4, cited in Hodge & Baranek, 2011). But the effort to bring Bruce’s heritage to the region is not neutral or value-free, as Bruce promoters are aware of the ‘political’ significance of bringing him to the region. Bruce is not alone in being recreated for tourists. There is also an event organised annually to celebrate this region’s heritage, but much of the event is organised around Highland games, emphasising Highland culture. Recreating heritage in the region by introducing a more generic and homogenous heritage to this region helps tourism by providing a more identifiable image, but the fact I take note of, that both of these examples of heritage are inextricably linked to Scottish nationalism, cannot be ignored altogether.

I explore in detail how at a personal level genealogical heritage plays a part in articulating a sense of Scottish nationhood. Some scholars have ascribed the essence of the Scottish tourism brand to being founded deeply on its sense of history. One of the iconic marks in the history of Scotland is the Clearances in the Scottish Highlands (Prebble, 1982), and the consequent outcome of this time was Scottish emigration. Emigration from Scotland did not remain confined to the Highlands but was the trend across Scotland. The south-west region witnessed a considerable outward migration and the volume of emigration from Dumfries was markedly high (Brock, 1999: 163; also see Murdoch, 2010). The significance of this emigration today is that there is a large population of Scottish diaspora, for whom Scotland forms part of their personal heritage. I try to explain the way diasporas’ visits to their native land connect with the notion of ‘homeland’ nationalism. I depart from the fundamental approach that tourism is the ‘industry of difference’ and argue, on the contrary, that genealogical tourism is driven by the search for affinity and commonness: rather than travelling away from home, these tourists are travelling to their native ‘home’. I argue that the ‘commonness’ with their ‘native’ land reinforces the sense of affinity that resonates closely with the ideals of ‘nationalists’. Besides, genealogy has another dimension in the study of nationalism, which some scholars have viewed through two strands – ethnic and civic. The preference for bringing in Scottish-descendant tourists, additionally, also sheds light on the ethnic dimension of Scottish nationalism.

Overall, this book sheds light on the hitherto understudied aspects of the ‘nation’ and ‘nationalism’ represented in tourism. The issue has become highly topical as Scotland is on the verge of defining its identity one more time. At the time of writing, Scottish national politics is dominated by debate on the opportunities and consequences of independence: the proposed Scottish independence referendum is less than a year away. This book is informed by the contemporary political debate in Scotland and builds on earlier studies that have linked heritage, tourism and nationalism; and reasserts that ‘nation’ and ‘nationalism’ are ideologically enshrined in the concept of tourism. It shows how tourism can act as a means to express and represent ‘nation’ and ‘nationalism’ in various forms and narratives.

Tourism and National Identity

The nature of tourism that represents ‘us’ to ‘them’ gives rise to the possibility that presenting a destination as ‘the other’ is essentially the way that asserts the ‘national’ identity of the nation, because in doing so it helps in self-identification. The ‘process of self-definition and location is in many ways the key to national identity’, writes Smith (1991: 17). There is a growing interest in the way tourism interacts with national identity while creating a distinctive national character of the destination. Many scholars look into tourism through the lens of heritage and the way it helps shape national identity and nationalism (Cheung, 1999; Cohen, 2010; Henderson, 2001; Light, 2001; Morgan & Pritchard, 1998; Palmer, 1999; Pretes, 2003; Pritchard & Morgan, 2001; Tnsescu, 2006). They take the view that national identity and nation are complex constructs composed of a number of interrelated components: ethnic, cultural, territorial, economic, legal and political.

The use of many symbols, uniforms, ceremonies and monuments is an important method through which members of a nation are reminded of their heritage and cultural kinship. It is an important way in which the nation is narrated to its members. French sociologist Lanfant acknowledges the role of heritage tourism in shaping identity and depicting ‘nationness’ through a similar narration. She writes, ‘imperceptibly the place becomes determined by external forces and reconstructed from a touristic point of view’ (1995a: 5). The system of the promotion of tourism indirectly intervenes in cultural references, in the definition of the values, signs, supports and markers of identity (1995a: 8) and can greatly define and dictate the positioning of identity and foster a sense of distinctiveness under various circumstances and dispositions.

There has been increased interest in looking into the role of tourism in articulating national identity in recent years (Frew & White, 2011; Lepp & Haris, 2008; Park, 2010; Pretes, 2003; Pitchford, 1995, 2006; Shaffer, 2001). For example, in the American context, Shaffer (2001) describes how domestic tourism in the US, beginning in the late 1800s, was an integral component in the process of national identity formation. Citizen tourists forged common understandings of what it was to be an American through the consumption of patriotic landmarks, grandiose landscapes and the experience of moving westward. I have shown elsewhere that tourism image is closely bound up with the country’s culture and its national identity, and any change in the country’s national identity can demand a corresponding adjustment in the country’s tourism image (Bhandari, 2010b). I argue that the dictatorial Nepalese monarchy effectively employed tourism to bolster its image and construct a ‘contrived’ national identity to pursue aggressive nationalism on which the monarchy thrived politically.

In their edited volume Tourism and National Identities, Frew and White (2011) demonstrate that national identity and tourism intersect, overlap and traverse; and that this presents an opportunity for authorities to capture the imagination of tourists by referring to various aspects of national identity. They argue that gaining a better understanding of national identity is itself a worthwhile endeavour, and integrating this with links to tourism adds to its significance. The connection between tourism and national identity is apparent via the promotional activities of tourism authorities in relation to cultural activities, events and heritage. They recognise a need to better understand the multifaceted and complex connections between people and places, and argue for the development of national identity-related products.

However, developing national identity-related products is a difficult proposition as this can create contention within the country. There can also be debate on how such products should be packaged to tourists because they can be counter-productive: not all types of visitors may feel comfortable with the nature of such ‘national’ products. One important characteristic of national identity is that it is also a negative force and in many cases a source of aggression. According to Hobsbawm (1999: 169), nationalism by definition excludes ‘all who do not belong to its own nation, that is, the vast majority of the human race’. Thus, deliberately having products that boast of national pride can be highly political in nature. The ‘nationalistic’ sentiment present in those tourism products can create uneasiness in some types of visitors, especially if they are not part of that heritage or if they are from a former imperialist power.

Thus, the desirability of tourism products designed to exalt national pride can be debated, but developing heritage to tell the nationalist story can potentially help in building national identity, argues Pitchford (2008). In the same tone, Park (2010) argues that heritage tourism experiences are indicative of cultural primordials, which emphasise ethnic or racial origins and indicate innate cultural manifestations of the nation. She concludes that domestic heritage tourism is not just an act of the touristic consumption of heritage artefacts but also a reaffirmation of national meanings and values. There are certain attributes of nation that constantly give people a sense of oneness. It is a pride, a sentiment, a character that arguably make a people a nation, that endow them with a national identity, and these are the ideals embodied in the national symbols, ceremonies and customs of a nation (Palmer, 1999) – which are very much present in tourism.

There are numerous studies which have shown the ‘nationalist’ role played by tourism. Edensor (1998) has shown that the touristic narrative produced at the Taj Mahal in India varies to a great extent. For some the Taj is an evocative symbol of the colonial past, for others it is a symbolic centre of Islamic power and for many of the thousands of tourists who visit it each year it is simply a monument of love. Most importantly, he believes that at the Taj Mahal Indian nationhood is articulated and performed. Pitchford (2006) has shown that tourists who visit Wales are exposed to almost every piece of the national story in some form: museums and other attractions that focus on a group’s history and culture serve as a medium to project ethnic and nationalist messages and help to build a revalued collective identity. In another study of Wales, Prichard and Morgan (2001) argue that the influence of repressive and liberating historical, political and cultural discourses is importantly enshrined in tourism representations.

Scholars have made strong reference to the role of tourism and the ‘national’ manifestation of Scotland. Most potently, the historian Hugh Trevor-Roper (1983) recounts this role through three aspects of the Highland tradition of Scotland which form an intrinsic part of Scottish national identity. The first of these is the invention of a Scots-Gaelic epic poet called Ossian whose supposed writing was ‘discovered’ and ‘translated’ in the 1760s. Promoters of Ossian, Trevor-Roper contends, popularised the idea that Scottish-Highland culture was a distinct and ancient one. The second is the invention of the modern kilt sometime after 1727 by a Quaker industrialist named Thomas Rawlinson and its quick adoption in many parts of the Highlands and Northern Lowlands by about 1768. The third invented aspect of the Highland tradition of Scotland, Trevor-Roper argues, is that of tartan. Family tartans, as they are now generally conceived, probably never existed. Instead, tartans probably were regionally based with different patterns belonging to different areas of the country. What tartan one wore was mainly a decision based on preference or fashion.

According to Trevor-Roper (1983), the wearing of the kilt and tartan became popular in the 19th century because of the romantic interest in the idea of the noble savage and the exploits of the Highland regiments in India and America. Thus, following the lifting of the ban on Highland dress that was imposed after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, Highland noblemen, anglicised Scottish peers, improving gentry, well-educated Edinburgh lawyers and prudent merchants of Aberdeen – ‘men who were not constrained by poverty and who would never have to skip over rocks and bogs or lie all night in the hills’ – took to wearing the modern kilt as a new fashion. In this way, the entire Scottish nation adopted the bogus Highland symbols of kilt and tartan.

In her book Tourism and Identity in Scotland, Grenier (2005) again traces history to examine the role of tourism in asserting a distinctive Scottish identity. She looks into the various contributing factors in the development of Scottish tourism that left a significant mark on the shaping of its tourism identity. She draws a closer analogy between the growth of Highland sporting activity and British nationalism, as sports required the same sort of abilities as warfare. She says that promoters of tourism use history by presenting it as a loose collection of incidents with little sense of a unifying thread to emphasise Scottish differentness and downplay any threat posed by its independent past. According to Grenier, Scotland’s political nationalism assumed greater relevance after the late 19th and 20th centuries, when the state became more centralised with the expansion of politics to a greater percentage of citizens and in more and more areas of society. She maintains that tourism played a central, but deprecating, part in British understanding of Scotland and ‘triviality of the vision of Scotland’s past produced by tourism had significant consequences for the development of the country’s national identity’ (2005: 156). Grenier also believes that tourism representations in Scotland were highly selective and because of this representativeness of only part of the country they became symbols of the whole (2005: 159), pointing to the predominance of Highland iconography in Scottish tourism. What Grenier suggests is that the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands are separate entities and there is a dichotomy between them about which some authors, such as MacDonald (1997), do not really agree.

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