Essay on Lifestyle and Consumer Culture: Authenticity and Commoditization of Tourism in the Tourism Industry

Essay on Lifestyle and Consumer Culture: Authenticity and Commoditization of Tourism in the Tourism Industry

In much of the literature concerning tourism, the tourist is portrayed as seeking out an elusive concept of originality in local culture. This study will re-examine these issues in order to explore concerns with authenticity and commoditization. New cultural developments over time may come to acquire some patina to authenticity. Concepts of commoditization may not necessarily harm a people’s culture but at times may be important in saving it. The paper seeks out new conclusion from common assumptions portrayed by contemporary tourism narratives. It is from analysis of these conclusions that this paper hopes will help in creating new approaches to the study of tourism and its commoditization. The study seeks to aid in disseminating current information on tourism practices and also seeks to aid in the formulation of future tourism policies.

There are some basic assumptions that lead the argument on tourism authenticity and commoditization. Greenwood (1977) argues that tourism at times leads to commoditization of various cultural practices of the host community that were previously controlled by established economic structures. Local culture will often serve to provide samples of such commoditization. For example, a local communities’ customs turn out to be commodities for the tourism industry when their only aim is to satisfy the demands of tourists and not the local population. The problem with this idea is that tourism will change how the locals view their relationship with tourists. From a humanly perspective and into a financial one providing financial gain.

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Greenwood argues that, from extensive experience, local culture often gets changed or even lost when tourist start treating it as a place worth visiting and the locals in return view it as a money making venture. The meaning of their cultures eventually erodes in the minds of the locals (Greenwood 1977). He goes on to add that because nobody can lay claim to culture and its practices, anyone can easily use them in order to gain financially at the expense of the local population who practice it.

MacCannel (1973) claims that commoditizing often erodes the originality of the cultural practices of the local population. Another kind of authenticity is portrayed to the eyes of the tourist. This ‘authenticity’ is however a staged show designed to entertain the tourist. When the local population lose the meaning of their culture and practice, they will seek even better ways to look more exotic or attractive in order to attract more tourists and therefore more money (Boorstin 1964). He argues further that contrived cultural products increasingly find their way to tourist markets disguised as authentic cultural products. MacCannell observes that even tourists who are allowed to penetrate deeper into the society to gain that original experience are often cheated. The tourists are instead presented with a false “back” that is a front that the locals use to trick the tourists (MacCannell 1973). He points out the practice that locales have of giving certain locations descriptions like being a spot not normally visited by tourist or being out of the way as a method of enticing visitors to go there in their search for untouched places. The locals of the place are then coached to act as if they are the untouched native population that the tourist seeks (Cohen 1982).

This cultured authenticity is very frustrating to the tourist who desires to experience the genuine cultural experience of the local population. MacCannell proffers the argument that in every tourist is the consciousness which gives him the desire to experience firsthand the genuine local experience. The tourist may believe that he is heading towards this goal. What happens; however is that these points of genuine cultural experience are normally set up just as entertainment for the tourist (MacCannell 1973). MacCannell argues that for the tourist, there is no salvation from these practices. He states that the establishments which themselves run the tourism industry lie to the tourist and give them staged shows passed off as authentic cultural experience. He further points out that this deception is so prevalent that entire mass tourist systems lie the tourist and give them a false experience. The tourist in the end is resigned to experience an in-authentic experience. The modern tourist is thus dammed to experience a culture that is in-authentic.

From these assumptions of commoditization, it is evident that it is encouraged by it. These practices then destroy the cultural experience both to the local population who lose their culture and to the tourist who never gets to experience their culture. It is then easy to notice that the more successful tourism becomes to a local population, the more they invent ways to keep the touri