Negative Socio-cultural impacts
Commodification
One of the most common negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism is commodification. The dictionary definition of commodification is to make something into an object for commercial use. In terms of tourism, commodification refers to using a place's culture and the cultural artifacts of that particular place to make money and generate profit either to support its economy or for personal gain. In other word, tourism can turn local cultures into commodities. Religious rituals, traditional ethnic rites and festivals are performed to suit the needs and expectations of tourists (UNEP). For example indigenous people may put on special events for visitors such as demonstration of dancing or traditional …show more content…
The rings are traditional ornaments passed on from generation to generation. Padaung Women believe that the rings are meant to connect them to “the memory of their Dragon Mother” and some elders use the rings as a “portable family shrine.” The women originated from a branch within the Burmese Kayan ethnic group known as the Padaung tribe. They were displaced from their homeland due to political issues and settled in Thailand as refugees. Unfortunately, the Thai government is using them mainly as tourist attraction and they are somehow trapped in their tourism-driven camps. The women now have a decision to make, whether to take off their neck rings so they can relocate, or stay true to their tradition, and provide for their families through tourism. The Thai village officials have refused medical care, education, rightful wages, and technology to keep the camps as primitive as possible for the tourists (Theurer, …show more content…
However, their days are filled with continuous heat, hand woven scarves, and a desperate desire to make some money while posing for pictures. The camps have become a human zoo or have adopted the term zooification. The Padaung tribe is one of the modern world’s few matriarchal cultures and has a real dedicated sense of family and community. Nevertheless, many of the women have chosen freedom to their rings but some have become so dependent on their minimal income from tourism that they have chosen to keep their rings on and remain in Thailand.
Another example is the Kuna tribe in Panama, where the traditional art known as ‘Mola’ usually use on traditional costume for women’s outfit, has now been transformed into a commercial trade and has lost its spiritual value and quality. Kuna women are now making ‘Mola’ with designs of the American flag, cell phones and much more for the main purpose of meeting the westerns’ demand.
Indigenous people from the Busman camp in Botswana, take off their western style T-shirts to entertain tourists on their arrival. The Tuareg tribe in the Saharan parts of Niger, Mali, and Algeria are nomad people who used animal skin to cover their tents but now use plastic sheets. However, when tourists come to visit, the Tuareg people replace the tents with the traditional style made from animal hides (Mowforth and Munt,
Commodification
One of the most common negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism is commodification. The dictionary definition of commodification is to make something into an object for commercial use. In terms of tourism, commodification refers to using a place's culture and the cultural artifacts of that particular place to make money and generate profit either to support its economy or for personal gain. In other word, tourism can turn local cultures into commodities. Religious rituals, traditional ethnic rites and festivals are performed to suit the needs and expectations of tourists (UNEP). For example indigenous people may put on special events for visitors such as demonstration of dancing or traditional …show more content…
The rings are traditional ornaments passed on from generation to generation. Padaung Women believe that the rings are meant to connect them to “the memory of their Dragon Mother” and some elders use the rings as a “portable family shrine.” The women originated from a branch within the Burmese Kayan ethnic group known as the Padaung tribe. They were displaced from their homeland due to political issues and settled in Thailand as refugees. Unfortunately, the Thai government is using them mainly as tourist attraction and they are somehow trapped in their tourism-driven camps. The women now have a decision to make, whether to take off their neck rings so they can relocate, or stay true to their tradition, and provide for their families through tourism. The Thai village officials have refused medical care, education, rightful wages, and technology to keep the camps as primitive as possible for the tourists (Theurer, …show more content…
However, their days are filled with continuous heat, hand woven scarves, and a desperate desire to make some money while posing for pictures. The camps have become a human zoo or have adopted the term zooification. The Padaung tribe is one of the modern world’s few matriarchal cultures and has a real dedicated sense of family and community. Nevertheless, many of the women have chosen freedom to their rings but some have become so dependent on their minimal income from tourism that they have chosen to keep their rings on and remain in Thailand.
Another example is the Kuna tribe in Panama, where the traditional art known as ‘Mola’ usually use on traditional costume for women’s outfit, has now been transformed into a commercial trade and has lost its spiritual value and quality. Kuna women are now making ‘Mola’ with designs of the American flag, cell phones and much more for the main purpose of meeting the westerns’ demand.
Indigenous people from the Busman camp in Botswana, take off their western style T-shirts to entertain tourists on their arrival. The Tuareg tribe in the Saharan parts of Niger, Mali, and Algeria are nomad people who used animal skin to cover their tents but now use plastic sheets. However, when tourists come to visit, the Tuareg people replace the tents with the traditional style made from animal hides (Mowforth and Munt,