Cultural Tourism in Southern Africa

Haretsebe Manwa, Naomi Moswete, Jarkko Saarinen, Haretsebe Manwa, Naomi Moswete, Jarkko Saarinen

• Editorial: Channel View Publications
• Año: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781845415549
• Categoría: Business
• Categoría: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry

This volume provides an accessible overview of cultural tourism in southern Africa. It examines the utilisation of culture in southern African tourism and the related impacts, possibilities and challenges from deep and wide-ranging perspectives. The chapters use case studies to showcase some of the cultural tourism which occurs in the region and link to concepts such as authenticity, commodification, the tourist gaze and 'Otherness', heritage, sustainability and sustainable livelihoods. The authors scrutinise both positive and negative impacts of cultural tourism throughout the book and explore issues including the definition of community, ethical considerations, empowerment, gender, participation and inequality. The book will be a useful resource for students and researchers of tourism, geography, anthropology and cultural studies.

Part 1

Perspectives on Cultural Tourism

1Introduction

Haretsebe Manwa, Naomi Moswete and Jarkko Saarinen

Introduction

Traditionally the southern African region’s tourist product has been strongly dependent on the natural environment and wildlife. However, southern Africa is endowed with a wealth of, and diverse cultural resources that include, but are not limited to, ethnic groups, languages, communities, traditions, heritage, religions, museums, townships, battlefields, San paintings, rural landscapes, cuisine, vineyards, etc. Indeed, the attraction and recent success of southern Africa in tourism development has been based on its diversity rather than on a single ‘product’. The White Paper on Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (DEAT, 1996), for example, states that the attractiveness of the region is based on relatively accessible wildlife, beautiful scenery, unspoiled nature and diverse traditional and township cultures (see also Republic of Namibia, 1994; Robinson, 2001; South Africa National Heritage and Cultural Tourism Strategy, 2012). The White Paper suggests that the competitive advantage of the country is no longer based on natural elements only, but increasingly includes man-made environments. This notion refers to the increasing role of cultural tourism and local communities in the future of tourism in the region. The emphasis on cultural tourism has been a central objective of post-apartheid tourism policy in South Africa since 1994 (see Van Veuren, 2001). This had an influence on the wider tourism policy of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and nowadays tourism is viewed as an essential sector of regional and national reconstruction and development in the region (see Binns & Nel, 2002; Rogerson, 1997; Visser & Rogerson, 2004). The Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) in South Africa, for example, is aimed at economic empowerment of local communities and places strong emphasis on cultural tourism.

As a result of the increasing roles of culture and people, many countries in the region regard the promotion of tourism as a viable strategy that can be used to attract visitors, capital and foreign investment by utilising both wildlife and local cultures for tourism (see UNWTO, 2008). This diversification trend towards people and local cultures, however, is relatively new in the region and the utilisation of culture and community-based tourism is often characterised as being complementary to wildlife, safari and wilderness tourism (Manwa, 2007). However, the growing importance of culture and people as tourist attractions is evident already. For example, over one-third of international tourists visit a cultural village during their stay in South Africa (Department of Tourism, 2014; van Veuren, 2004: 140).

Conceptualising Cultural Tourism

Although cultural tourism has interested the attention of researchers for a long time, there has been no agreement regarding what cultural tourism entails (Debeş, 2011; Hausmann, 2007; Kastenholz et al., 2013; Smith, 2009). This is also reflected in the subjects covered in the chapters of this book, which range from arts festivals to carnivals. Hausmann (2007) outlines some of the commonalities in most definitions of cultural tourism:

(1)Cultural tourism is a form of special interest. It is contended that cultural tourists do not differ from other tourists in that they also have limited time and resources.

(2)Cultural tourism refers to the use of heritage sites and their offerings and value to visitors.

(3)Like other tourists, cultural tourists wish to consume a variety of culture-related services and experiences.

(4)Cultural tourism must consider the preferences of the tourists.

(5)Cultural tourism is a complex phenomenon.

Richards (1996: 24) has defined cultural tourism as ‘all movement of persons to specific cultural attractions, such as heritage sites, artistic and cultural manifestations, arts and drama outside their normal place of residence’. Thus, the tangible and intangible cultural elements of destination areas are the key resources for cultural tourism and the cultural tourists’ motivations.

Cultural tourism and the global-local nexus

Due to the increasing attractiveness and promotion of culture and people, many rural places, communities and cultures in the region are currently tied to global economies and larger cultural and political networks through the development of tourism and related socio-economic activities. Travelling for cultural experience has always been part and parcel of tourism, starting with the Grand Tour (Hibbert, 1969). The Grand Tour was the manifestation of the globalisation of cultural tourism; often associated with the elite, young men from the British aristocratic classes and from other parts of northern Europe travelled to continental Europe for educational and cultural purposes (Weaver & Lawton, 2006: 61). Undertaking such a tour enhances the participant’s status as a member of the elite (Burkhart & Medlik, 1981: 4).

Increasingly, Western society is alienating its people, a sense of self is being lost. As a consequence, people are seeking escape from the stressful everyday in other places and cultures. Travel to ‘exotic’ places which have not been affected by modernity provides novelty and existential authenticity, by being true to oneself in strange cultures and with strange people (Boorstin, 1969; Cohen, 1979; MacCannell, 1973; Uriel, 2005; Wang, 1999). People from more culturally distant places are motivated to travel for cultural reasons and seek deeper experiences, whereas tourists from culturally proximate regions are less interested in cultural tourism and seek superficial entertainment-oriented experiences (McKercher & du Cros, 2003: 46).

The interaction between hosts and guests can result in a number of impacts (Wall & Mathieson, 2006). Some scholars, such as Doxey (1976), see the interaction as a continuum of the level of local community’s tolerance of tourists (Table 1.1). According to Doxey, the early stages of contact are characterised by indifference among residents regarding the presence of tourists, which grows to irritation and hostility as the tourism destination develops into a mass tourist destination.

Table 1.1 Doxey’s irritation index (irridex) model
Host perceptions of tourists	Characterisation
Euphoria	Visitors are welcome and perceived very positively
Apathy	Visitors are taken for granted. Host–guest relations become formalised
Annoyance	Saturation point where the local people have doubts about evolving tourism
Antagonism	Open expression of irritation, even hostility, that influences the reputation of the destination negatively
Source: Doxey (1976).

There have been varied and often contrasting reactions to Doxey’s theory. For example, Mathieson and Wall (1982) note that the volume of tourists in comparison to the local population impacts on attitudes towards tourists. In cases where the number of tourists is greater than the number of local residents, there is bound to be hostility towards tourists because the local community is overwhelmed access to basic amenities becomes restricted (Horn & Simmons, 2002). Racial composition of tourists, cultural background and socio-cultural differences between tourists and residents are other factors which can influence cultural understanding between hosts and guests (Faulkner & Tideswell, 1997; Huimin & Ryan, 2012; Ryan et al., 2011).

Other views discount the theory that transformation of a destination into a mass tourism destination negatively influences the hosts’ reaction to tourists. Instead, they attribute negative attitudes to the lack of benefits from tourism development. This is the basis of the Social Exchange Theory (SET) (McGehee & Andreck, 2004). The proponents of SET argue that communities will support tourism only if the benefits derived from it exceed the costs that the community has to endure. Tangible benefits such as employment, empowerment or direct participation in the tourism industry are a definite guarantee of support for tourism development (Nunkoo & Gursoy, 2012; Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2011, 2012; Ward & Berno, 2011).

People generally have preconceived ideas about foreign cultures which have culminated in prejudices and fears. Cultural interaction between hosts and guests can result in cultural understanding which fosters peace and global understanding among people from different parts of the world (Besculides et al., 2002; Borowiecki & Castiglione, 2014; Nyaupane et al., 2008; Pearce, 1995; Simpson, 2008; Suntikul et al., 2010). Once there is interaction and understanding of other cultures a feeling of appreciation and understanding of self, one’s country and other cultures ensues (Cohen, 1979; Coulson et al., 2014; McKercher & Chow, 2001; Pearce, 1995, 2010; Yu & Lee, 2014: 235).

Other scholars contest the view of cultural understanding, instead they contend that interaction can re-enforce held prejudices towards other cultures (Yang, 2011). An important point is raised which is pertinent in developing economies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where most rural communities are barely literate and cannot meaningfully interact with tourists. Those representing the local people and their culture often portray a staged and inauthentic culture of the local people. Salazar’s (2012) studies in Tanzania point to the lack of representation and interpretation of the local Maasai culture as an example of this. The tour guides and communities that were presenting the Maasai culture to tourists belonged to the Meru tribe. They staged a fake Maasai culture, banking on the widely held myths and prejudices about the Maasai. In the process they denigrated the Maasai and depicted them as backward. In this instance there was no cultural exchange between hosts and guests.

This is in contrast to experiences of indigenous peoples in developed economies like Australia and Canada. In these countries, aboriginal people have successfully used cultural tourism to valorise cultural identity and heritage (Debeş, 2011). Cultural tourism has empowered indigenous communities as they use it to effectively educate tourists about the aboriginal culture. Moscardo et al. (2013: 552) caution against assuming that in developed countries like Australia interaction with tourists always brings positive exchanges. Their studies in Queensland, Australia, have pointed to hostilities and resentment towards tourists, where residents have reported ‘tourists being poor drivers, stories of culturally inappropriate or insensitive behaviours and the introduction of drug use and sexually transmitted diseases to residents’. Perhaps for cultural understanding and learning to take place there must not be too vast a difference between guests and host cultures (Jarvenpa, 1994).

Studies in different parts of the world have also shown that development of cultural tourism, especially in marginal areas, can be instrumental in creating jobs in areas with limited options for residents’ productive employment (Besculides et al., 2002). Residents also see tourism as a means of helping them to learn about, share and preserve their cultures (Besculides et al., 2002; Butler et al., 2014). For example, Butler et al.’s (2014: 199) studies in Malaysia note the pride of Malaysians from different ethnic backgrounds in religious-centred heritage attractions which have the potential to foster a collective national identity if promoted effectively.

Proponents of th...