What is it about?
Cultural experiences nowadays constitute the base of leisure and function as repository of the values of modern society (MacCannell 1976; Rifkin 2001). As a result, such cultural experiences, especially events and attractions, now play a key role in global society, due to their function as ‘factories of meanings’ (Rooijakkers 1999) for the visitors’ consumption. This means that traditional festivals might become in high demand for those seeking the appeal of authenticity. This is the case of the Guelaguetza, an indigenous festival in Mexico, which yearly attracts thousands of visitors nationwide and from abroad, all interested in experiencing ancient values and cultural expressions.
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Photo by Anelale Nájera on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Tourists make an intense and short-time use of a very limited number of heritage assets and cultural attractions. The reason is to be found in the fact that tourist experience in cities is measured in days and hours, even in minutes in the case of cultural attractions or seconds in particular sites. In addition, cultural tourists do not often repeat their visits to the same place and they are continuously looking for new attractions (Ben-Dalia, Collins-Kreiner & Churchman 2013). As a result of this, a process of selection of cultural assets takes place since only a few buildings and social representations are able to be adapted to the tourist visit. Furthermore, the cultural attractions they choose must be easy to comprehend, in order to meet their expectations and take into account the visitors’ limited knowledge of local history and culture (Meethan 2003; Ashworth 2009). The main difference between the selection of cultural assets made for locals and the one made for tourists is that, for the latter, only a limited choice is made, usually among the largest, most spectacular and unique resources.
Perspectives
The tourist’s approach to a local culture or ‘tourist gaze’ (Urry 1990) is built on socially constructed images, implying that sometimes they are flexible. These preconceptions mean that one of the main objectives of a journey is “to see what must be seen” (Delgado 2002); i.e. what is presented by tourist guides, leaflets, advertisements, movies, TV shows, webpages and social media. In the creation of the ‘tourist gaze’ markers are also crucial since they help identify places that ‘deserve’ a visit. As a result, signage, sculptures and urban landscape all help to reinforce a tourist’s selection of attractions. The power of markers has been widely studied in places such as Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has achieved a key role in defining which places are considered as authentically related to Shakespeare and which are not (Urry 1990).
Dr. Daniel Barrera-Fernández
Universidad de Sevilla
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This page is a summary of: Tourism pressure as a cultural change factor, September 2018, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9781315186320-36.
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