For cultures and traditions, since they are passed down from decades ago, mostly still have their roots, even though there are some slight changes due to the modern society being globalised and also tourism.
Examples
Food
Some of the food is modified to suit tourists’ tastes buds, such as Taiwan sausages with cheese flavour etc instead of just the original flavour. This may lead to the original and authentic food being out of trend if the new flavour is more popular.
Festivals
One of 2008 Tourism Initiative is to select 12 folk festival activities with local characters established, guidance for internationalization, development for tourism, and commoditization, and upgrade their content for promotion in the international market. An example of a festival that is slighted commodified to fit the international stage is the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which the Tourism Bureau has been holding for 20 years to attract visitors and raise the international profile of the cultural charms of Taiwan. Traditionally, the festival has been celebrated by carrying hand lanterns. The Taiwan Lantern Festival adds a high-tech to this traditional custom, bringing the event to the international stage.
Indigenous groups
For the indigenous groups, some of their cultures have been commodified so as to meet the needs of tourism; what the tourists want to see, as discussed earlier on in the cultural changes brought about by tourism. However, is commodifying cultures and traditions really a bad thing? What if some of them want to accept the process?
An example of a successful Indigenous-owned and –managed ecotourism venture will be in Southern Taiwan in the Tanayiku National Ecology Park, homeland of the Tsou people and sought by urbanized Taiwanese. Their lands were threatened by the environmental impacts (overhunting their creek) of unsustainable tourism from which they were totally excluded. The levels of biodiversity in the creek (the prime attraction of the Park) became incredibly low and the migration of youth towards the city have sparkled the revival of the Tsou culture. In fact, the strong Tsou cultural values linked to the ownership of their traditional land have allowed them to lobby the Taiwanese government and enabled the Tanayiku Environmental law that made fishing in the creek an illegal act. Six years later, enough time for the Tsou to re-introduce fishes, restore the creek and set up ecotourism projects, the creek was re-opened and the Tsou constructed facilities for tourists (restaurants, toilets) and developed a monitoring program for the fishes, provided guides for tourists and employed conservation officers to manage tourists and their impacts on the environment.
Today, the park welcomes 450 000 tourists per year, generating around US$ 900 000 income that allows funding for educating young Tsou. Moreover, more businesses are flourishing around Saviki village (the nearest town) and the other surrounding villages.
The Tsou have re-gained their role as ecological stewards without the Taiwanese government financial support which adds even more self-confidence and self-determination among the Tsou community. They have accepted the commodification of their culture (customs and recipes in “ethnic food restaurants” have been modified to satisfy tourists) that they actually see more as an ecocultural renaissance than ecological colonialism.
For those who want to accept commodicfication, should we respect them and not see it as a negative impact?
Overall, it is felt that it is it is very unlikely that cultures and traditions in Taiwan will alter despite being commodified. Traditions and cultures are what is passed down from the past, but does it signifies the way of living? As the world changes, the way of life, without any doubt, changes too. Cultures such as pop culture, is it a culture? If it is, then is it considered commodified? Whatever it is, the most important thing for people is to live happily, to live the way they want. We have to respect each other’s cultures and traditions, whether they want to preserve or not, it is not up to us (tourists, researchers etc) to decide, but they themselves.
Information Sources:
http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-04112005-220028/unrestricted/ChengShu-yunFCSEMay05.pdfhttp://www.indigenousexperience.net/tourism-impacts.php
http://www.indigenousexperience.net/tourism-impacts.php
http://etd.lib.ttu.edu/theses/available/etd-04112005-220028/unrestricted/ChengShu-yunFCSEMay05.pdf
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