Infrastructure
Although it would be possible to have the most attractive tourism resource, without the appropriate infrastructure a tourism venture may die or be very destructive to its setting. The Antarctic, for example, would be a very attractive tourist destination, but getting tourists there, providing for their needs, and protecting the environment, are all major obstacles to developing the resource. It may be possible to satisfy some infrastructure requirements such as transport and accommodation, but disposal of garbage and human waste would be an especially difficult task. Provision of appropriate infrastructure often highlights issues
20
CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: AND OPTIONS
ISSUES
Figure 1.17 Market trends in Australian tourism
of competing interests that exist in a region. For example, investment may be diverted from building of flood-mitigation dams in agricultural areas to provision of wharves for tourist ferries.
Service Industries
Tourism development may help some local commercial and industrial enterprises such as laundries and food suppliers; on the other hand, it may damage them because major projects supply their own services. The goods and services used to support the main industry, say, a resort, may actually be imported, thereby considerably conflicting with the local economy and society. A whole 'raft' of new goods and services previously unknown in a place may have to be provided for the visitors, thereby creating new and profitable industries for the local population -see the photograph in Figure 1.18 on page 22. Although these goods and services may also be attractive and useful to the local residents, they can be -and often are - destructive to aspects of traditional cultures. An example of this dislocation is the conflict that arises between the tourism industry and its setting when bars and discotheques are provided, as in places such as Suva and Fiji.
b The dominant building material in the Figure 1.11 scene is concrete, whereas in the Figure 1.18 scene it is timber. State why you believe these two materials have been chosen, and comment on their appropriateness for the landscape and climate.
Finding out and making decisions: will our future and our world benefit from tourism?
Several tourism issues have been raised in this chapter so far, and many more will be considered later. Issues, by definition, involve more than one point of view, and resolving them requires careful consideration of all the conflicting opinions' aspects. If we are to make sound decisions about any issue involving tourism, and if we are to act wisely, we have to know and understand the answers to the following key 'issues' questions.
Key questions
Activity 19
a Compare the photograph in Figure 1.18 on page 22 with that in Figure 1.11 on page 11 by describing the two settings.
●What prompts our interest in this tourism issue?
●What is the issue?
●What is at the place in which the tourism issue is
located, and why is it there?
●Where are the human and/or environmental
2 1
TOURISM
(biophysical
or built) phenomena of this place located precisely?
Who uses this place?
Who is involved in the tourism issue? Who has a self-interest in its outcome?
How and why has the issue arisen? What conflicts are involved in the issue?
When do these events mostly occur there? (State their chronology or sequence.)
What alternative decisions can be made? What impacts would each one have? Whose interests would be served most by each alternative? Which alternative best serves the interests of the environment, both biophysical and built? How can the self-interests be balanced democratically to achieve
socially, economically and environmentally
responsible outcome?
How is the issue likely to be resolved? How should the issue be resolved?
How would you respond? How would you justify this response?
Finding answers to these and other questions is the beginning of a process that leads, through investigation, to decisions being made and action being taken. This is the process that geographers and geography students have to follow as they decide and act. The key questions listed are related to tourism issues, but similar questions can be posed in a more general way to provide a framework for investigating and making decisions about any issue.
In each chapter of this book, the following eleven 'issues' questions are adapted and repeated in order to guide you through the processes of inquiry, decision making and action.
CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS
Mountain amd alpine tourism - potential conflicts
The most popular tourist destinations are located at sea level, and we will study several of them further on in the book. Just as desirable, if not as frequently visited, are the high-altitude tourist destinations found in the world's mountainous regions. These locations vary greatly, from the Himalayas' jagged, snow-capped peaks, to the verdant green, rounded slopes of Wales's Brecon Beacons, to the dry, bare rockfaces of central Australia's Kata Tjuta domes, of which Mount Olga, at 546 metres, is the tallest - see the photograph in Figure 1.19. Although the locations vary, all attract large and continuous streams of excited and marvelling tourists.
Figure 1.19 The Kata Tjuta domes, including Mount Olga, central Australia
Why are mountains so attractive to tourists? What is it about tourists that makes mountains irresistible to them? Table 1.7 on page 24 lists a few of the reasons.
Mountains' popularity attracts so many tourists that issues of concern are raised about the negative impact the tourists may have. By examining an issue common to various types of mountain and alpine tourism, in a range of the world's localities, we will discover the importance of posing the issues questions used throughout this book.
What prompts our interest in this issue?
Most mountain tourism locations are reasonably remote from dense settlement; the nature of the terrain, the altitude and the climate usually guarantee this. When, therefore, we notice high concentrations of tourist amenities and tourists in these places, this may bring to mind several issues about tourist activities' potential impacts.
W
hat
is the issue?
■ - _
Specific mountain or alpine tourist destinations will perhaps give rise to specific issues of potential conflict between tourism activities and their biophysical, social and aesthetic settings. This introduction to the inquiry process will investigate the broad issue of whether tourism can proceed in this place without damaging the environments that sustain it.
In some cases the impacts may be mostly social; in others the damage may be mainly biophysical; in others again the impact may be degradation of the beauty of the attraction itself.
3 9
What is at this place, and why is it there?
Activity 20
a Write a brief comparison of the shapes and other physical characteristics of the landscapes shown in the photographs in figures 1.19 and 1.21 above and on page 24.
b Both Uluru - see Figure 1.20 on page 24 -and the Himalayas - see Figure 1.21 on page 24 - are popular with people who are interested in climbing. They do not, however, attract the same tourists. Explain why this is the case, in terms of accessibility, costs, and amount of skill required.
c Examine Table 1.7 on page 24 and try to find examples of locations, anywhere in the world, to match four of the mountain characteristics mentioned.
From the east coast of Papua New Guinea, the Highlands Highway climbs through rugged mountains until it passes through Tari Gap and then drops down into the broad Tari basin in the Southern Highlands. The mountain peaks near Tari Gap are frequently shrouded with clouds, which makes flights in small aircraft hazardous through the gap. A little way down the slopes, at about 2500 metres, is the very comfortable Ambua Lodge tourist resort - see the inset photograph in Figure 1.15 on page 17. The resort is remarkable for its remoteness as well as its beautiful setting overlooking the Tari basin.
The lodge is set on a spur a few hundred metres below the mountains' line at which the dank, lush, green rainforest gives way to the more open bush of the moss forest found in the cool, almost incessantly misty-foggy zone above about 3000 metres. Not far away, despite their closeness to the equator, a few
23
TOURISM
Table 1.7 Why mountains are attractive tourist destinations
Mountain characteristic
Examples of tourist responses
Elevation
Steep - even sheer - slopes
Dramatic shapes - these depend on the forces acting on different hardnesses and types of rocks - for example ice on dolomite or granite.
Mountain climates are often different from coastal or lowland climates.
Alpine characteristics related to a combination of elevation, slope and climate
Relative remoteness, inaccessibility
Wilderness
Tourists seek high places for the views. People sometimes enjoy the hint of danger found in high places. Mountains tower over us and make us feel puny and insignificant.
Most tourists are plains or foothills dwellers, because most of the world's people live near the coast. Steep slopes are consequently somewhat alien and beguiling. Both elevation and steepness challenge most of us to climb - see, for example, Uluru in the photograph in Figure 1.20.
Shapes inspire imagination and often awe; some even amuse - see, for example, Kata Tjuta in the photograph in Figure 1.19 on page 23.
Depending on the season, the climate may attract tourists for winter snow sports or for respite from plains heat during summer-for example Simla in northern India.
Tourists respond by seeking activities related to these. Some examples are
special plants and animals unique to the place - for example the twelve types of Bird of Paradise near Ambua in the Papua New Guinea highlands
snow skiing - for example at Aspen, Colorado in the United States
mountain climbing - for example in Nepal and Pakistan; see the photograph in Figure 1.21.
The urge to 'get away from it all' seems to be satisfied in mountainous areas. The very characteristics that have hindered usual economic activity and settlement make mountain environments attractive to tourists seeking a refuge from other people. Naturally, too many tourists can easily spoil this feature.
The wildness and its relatively untouched nature seem to stir some primal appreciation of natural beauty. Although not all wilderness is mountainous, the steep slopes seem to add to the place's wild beauty.
Figure 1.20 Tourists
commencing the challenging climb of Uluru
Figure 1.21 Himalayan
peaks, looking from Skardu in Pakistan towards China
CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: AND OPTIONS
ISSUES
peaks are so tall (more than 4000 metres) that they often have snow cover. This region has always been so chilly that humans have never settled at the altitude but visit from the basin's lower slopes in order to hunt and forage for food in the forest.
The fact that the surrounding rainforest only barely survives makes it vulnerable to relatively slight disturbances. The carving of the Highlands Highway through its valleys and on its slopes has disturbed the soil and vegetation and disrupted the animal and bird life considerably.
Modern urban ways of life and technologies have been familiar in the region for only a little more than twenty-five years, therefore the host community's way of life is especially susceptible to the impact of foreign values and behaviour. The local peoples work closely with the tourist company located at the resort in an attempt to minimise this impact while continuing to benefit from the cash that enters their economy through tourism. On the negative side, they, like the locals in Bali, are being encouraged to develop a marketable 'culture' for the tourist trade. This may have the ultimate effect of devaluing their real culture. See the photographs in figures 1.22 and 1.23, the notice in Figure 1.24 and the cartoon in Figure 1.25.
The factors that make Ambua so attractive to tourists also result in its being left exposed to a range of potential impacts. It may be very fortunate that, at the time of writing, it remained so remote and costly to visit that it was not suffering the impact of mass tourism.
Activity
21
a
Figures 1.22, 1.23 and 1.24 depict aspects of indigenous
culture that have been developed as a commodity for tourists.
Suggest ways in which these cultures may benefit from the
activities and what the dangers are for each community.
b i Tourists travel to other lands in order to see different ways of life and enjoy experiences such as the ones depicted in figures 1.22, 1.23 and 1.24. Although for many tourists these experiences confirm the cultural stereotypes they hold, sensitive and aware tourists can gain greater understanding through this type of visit. What stereotypical views might uninformed tourists hold about these cultures?
ii How could tourism be organised in these ;- places in order to minimise the impact on the local communities and to avoid reinforcement of stereotypes?
Figure 1.22 A Hull woman showing tourists how she makes grass skirts far her sans, as her ceremonially dressed husband, the village head man, looks on - near Tari, Papua New Guinea
Figure 1.23 A tourist, whose hair is equally as striking, peering at a Hull man's wig - near Tari, Papua New Guinea
Figure 1.24 A notice inviting tourists to take part in a cremation ceremony in the Balinese hill village of Batuan
Figure 1.25 Newspaper cartoon ('roggo', the Advertiser, Adelaide, 16 December 1993)
TOURISM
c Although some tourist destinations exhibit stereotypical degraded physical environments and poor living conditions for the local people, they also have many positive human characteristics from which tourists could learn a lot. How could tourism be organised in these places so that tourists can return home with a balanced understanding of the peoples they have met?
d Write a five-point code of ethical behaviour for tourists who are visiting other countries and meeting people from them.
●Using roads and tourist-vehicle access points
●Driving
●Motorcycling
●Four-wheel-driving
●Fishing
●Deer hunting
●Hunting species other than deer
●Cycling
●Canoeing and boating
●Climbing and abseiling
●Undertaking aerial activities
●Participating in commercial tours
●Participating in competitive events such as hang
gliding and skiing
Where are the human and/or environmental phenomena of this place located precisely?
It is very important to map and know the precise, relative positions of the various phenomena evident in mountain and alpine tourism. The separation or adjacency of specific features may have a major influence on any potential impact. For example, Ambua Lodge resort's considerable distance from the nearest village may help to protect villagers from thoughtless tourists' unwanted and unmanaged visits. Often because of the terrain and/or climate, many of the tourist amenities are built a reasonable distance from and at much lower altitudes than the mountain attractions themselves. Sometimes it is simply by way of a careful management plan that this type of separation is guaranteed.
The 'Proposed Management Plan for the Bogong Alpine Area' drawn up in 1989 for Victoria's Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands is a plan of this type that seeks to manage resource use, manage visitor usage and conserve and protect the significant natural and social features. Although the area is best known for its winter snow-recreation activities undertaken at Falls Creek, and for the fact that large numbers of its tourists are served by the nearby township of Bright, throughout the year the range of other visitor activities is very wide - see the following list - and potentially injurious to the alpine environment.
Some tourist activities undertaken in the Bogong Alpine Area and requiring management
Walking
Horse riding
Camping
Cross-country skiing
Oversnow-vehicle driving
Downhill skiing
Who uses this place?
In the case of the Bogong Alpine Area, the answer includes a wide range of tourists and the people who serve their needs, as well as established local communities engaged in entirely different and potentially conflicting economic activities such as cattle grazing, mining and forestry. Tourism may hinder these activities, and vice versa. When a decision has to be made about whether to log a forested slope, for example, it involves not only foresters but tourists and tourist operators. Opening up a bushwalking track may impact on cattle grazing, therefore stock owners would also have an interest in the issues - see the two maps in Figure 1.26 on page 27.
Activity 22
a Examine the list of tourist activities on this page and in Figure 1.26 on page 27.
b From the list, choose four activities that occur in the Rocky Valley Recreation Development Zone within the Bogong Alpine Area.
c State what type of damage could be caused by each activity and how its impact might be minimised.
In spring and summer in alpine regions such as those in Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany, graziers move their dairy cows up the slopes in search of grass as the snows recede, only to return to lower altitudes, and often the protection of barns, for the winter. This process of transhumance involves adapting the dairying activities to the seasons, a factor that has to be accounted for in the tburism industry's management. In these places, although walking the alpine slopes in summer is a very pleasant and
26
TOURISM
c Although some tourist destinations exhibit stereotypical degraded physical environments and poor living conditions for the local people, they also have many positive human characteristics from which tourists could learn a lot. How could tourism be organised in these places so that tourists can return home with a balanced understanding of the peoples they have met?
d Write a five-point code of ethical behaviour for tourists who are visiting other countries and meeting people from them.
Where are the human and/or
Environmental phenomena of thi place located precisely?
●Using roads and tourist-vehicle access points
●Driving
●Motorcycling
●Four-wheel-driving
●Fishing
●Deer hunting
●Hunting species other than deer
●Cycling
●Canoeing and boating
●Climbing and abseiling
●Undertaking aerial activities
●Participating in commercial tours
●Participating in competitive events such as hang
gliding and skiing
Who uses this place?
It is very important to map and know the precise, relative positions of the various phenomena evident in mountain and alpine tourism. The separation or adjacency of specific features may have a major influence on any potential impact. For example, Ambua Lodge resort's considerable distance from the nearest village may help to protect villagers from thoughtless tourists' unwanted and unmanaged visits. Often because of the terrain and/or climate, many of the tourist amenities are built a reasonable distance from and at much lower altitudes than the mountain attractions themselves. Sometimes it is simply by way of a careful management plan that this type of separation is guaranteed.
The 'Proposed Management Plan for the Bogong Alpine Area' drawn up in 1989 for Victoria's Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands is a plan of this type that seeks to manage resource use, manage visitor usage and conserve and protect the significant natural and social features. Although the area is best known for its winter snow-recreation activities undertaken at Falls Creek, and for the fact that large numbers of its tourists are served by the nearby township of Bright, throughout the year the range of other visitor activities is very wide - see the following list - and potentially injurious to the alpine environment.
Some tourist activities undertaken in the Bogong Alpine Area and requiring management
Walking
Horse riding
Camping
Cross-country skiing
Oversnow-vehicle driving
Downhill skiing
26
In the case of the Bogong Alpine Area, the answer includes a wide range of tourists and the people who serve their needs, as well as established local communities engaged in entirely different and potentially conflicting economic activities such as cattle grazing, mining and forestry. Tourism may hinder these activities, and vice versa. When a decision has to be made about whether to log a forested slope, for example, it involves not only foresters but tourists and tourist operators. Opening up a bushwalking track may impact on cattle grazing, therefore stock owners would also have an interest in the issues - see the two maps in Figure 1.26 on page 27.
Activity 22
a Examine the list of tourist activities on this page and in Figure 1.26 on page 27.
b From the list, choose four activities that occur in the Rocky Valley Recreation Development Zone within the Bogong Alpine Area.
c State what type of damage could be caused by each activity and how its impact might be minimised.
In spring and summer in alpine regions such as those in Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany, graziers move their dairy cows up the slopes in search of grass as the snows recede, only to return to lower altitudes, and often the protection of barns, for the winter. This process of transhumance involves adapting the dairying activities to the seasons, a factor that has to be accounted for in the tourism industry's management. In these places, although walking the alpine slopes in summer is a very pleasant and
CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: AND OPTIONS
ISSUES
Walking
track
Special
Protection Zone
Conservation
B
Zone
Kilometres
VICTORIA
alpine
resort Storage
Bogong
National Park
Rocky
Valley Recreation Development Zone
Recreation
Development Zone
Conservation
A Zone
Activity 23
a Figure 1.27 on page 28 depicts a setting for potential conflict between the dairy and tourism industries. Suggest how tourism may be managed in order to avoid this clash.
b State the similarities that exist between this situation and the multi-purpose use of Victoria's Bogong Alpine Area.
Figure 1.26 a A location map of the Bogong Alpine Area; b the Rocky Valley Recreation Development Zone (Source: Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands, Victoria, 1988)
NEW SOUTH WALES
Kosciusko National Park
27
Figure 1.27 An alpine meadow near Oberald,
Switzerland
Who is involved in the issue?
Figure 1.28
A hang-gliding competition from Tegelberg, near Fussen. Germany
The lastmentioned group usually requires advocates to speak on its behalf. When decisions are being made about issues involving tourist impact on a park's biophysical environment, the people who support non-human interests may include rangers and special interest groups, such as those in North America's Rocky Mountains who seek to protect wolves (demanding that the hunting season be shortened and bag limits be introduced).
Activity 24
a Choose one of the places shown in Figure 1.28, 1.29 (page 29) or 1.30 (page 30), or any other of the world's alpine areas.
b Prepare a 'skeleton' management statement for the place that takes into account multiple activities and that protects the local environment and community. Use a map and other illustrations in presenting your ideas.
How and why has the issue arisen? What conflicts are involved in the issue?
Any study of a tourism issue requires careful analysis of how the conflict arose, and this applies to any potential impact in a mountain locale. It may be noted, for example, that avalanches are frequently occurring near a ski resort and that they pose a threat to tourists' lives, local graziers' economy, and safe road or rail access. Before the possible and probable causes, of conflict can be identified, researching the issue will involve examination of not only the current site but of what was nearby beforehand and of what changes may have taken place. The natural occurrence of avalanches may have become a hazard because a chalet was unwisely placed in the avalanches' usual path. Tree removal for a ski run may have made a slope's snow less stable - see the photograph in Figure 1.29 on page 29. Sometimes, providing avalanche fences in order to protect people, chalets, roads and railway lines gives people a false sense of security, causing them to ignore the real dangers of major avalanches.
CONFLICTS OVER TOURISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS
Figure 1.29 Avalanche barriers near Oberald, Switzerland
When do these events mostly occur there? (State their chronology or sequence.)
Just as knowing where activities are occurring may provide a clue about the causes of environmental impact, so may the activities' timing. For example, if a particular road has never beforehand suffered from rock slides or mud slides, the fact that a slope above it was recently cleared for skiing may be useful evidence for explaining the slides occurring at present.
What alternative decisions can be made? What impacts would each one have?
Decisions that support one extreme point of view or the other rarely satisfy many people. It may be best, for example, to protect a national park by excluding all tourists all the time. Although this would be frustrating, it may be necessary in extremely unique circumstances. Much debate exists at present about the
extent to which the Antarctic should be opened to tourism. The Antarctic is an especially vulnerable and precious biophysical environment. Making management compromises whereby a balance of views is sought may not satisfy anyone completely but it is often the best way to proceed.
An example is the fact that the tens of thousands of tourists who visit America's Yellowstone National Park each summer's day are restricted to visiting only about 5 per cent of the park's total area. If the number of tourists attempting to enter California's Yosemite National Park on a summer's day exceeds the limit over which park damage would probably occur, the excess tourists are turned away.
Before these or decisions like them are made, many alternatives are considered, and each one's relative impacts on all the issue's aspects are assessed. When we are about to decide on any issue, it is very important that we list all reasonable solutions along with their benefits and disadvantages.
How is the issue likely to be resolved? How should the issue be resolved?
Predicting how an issue is likely to be resolved demands some understanding of the decision-making process and of which parties probably have the greatest influence. The investigator also has to know which rules - formal and informal - are being applied in the decision-making process. In countries such as Australia, the United States and Britain, well-established procedures and sets of rules usually exist in order to help the interested parties to negotiate a reasonably satisfactory settlement.
Controlling people's activities in tourist environments is a commonly used way of resolving potential tourist impacts. In Canada's Banff National Park, for example, the extremely popular tourist destination of Lake Louise has required careful management of tourists, including their education. The photograph in Figure 1.30 on page 30 depicts tourists reading interpretive signs that explain the Lake, the Victoria Glacier, and the place of these in the Columbian Icefields.
In other countries that have very different cultures and traditional economies - for example Bhutan and Papua New Guinea, rich companies may easily sway local decision makers by offering desired commodities such as electricity or reticulated water for local villages. If a universal land-titles system or an established parks organisation does not exist, tourism-development control may be minimal, thereby impacting badly on the environment or the local community. Even in countries such as Australia, wealthy people who invest in tourism activities often have more say in the decisions.
29
TOURISM
Figure 1.30 Lake Louise and the Victoria Glacier, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
How would you respond? How would you justify this response?
It is proper for investigators to have their own opinion about what should happen. Although they do not have the right to impose this opinion on other people, they may introduce it into the decision-making process. They, along with the other parties involved, may attempt to influence the making of the final decision. Would you have supported the closure of Yosemite National Park in order to protect it from the hordes of visitors on some days, or would you have supported another solution? Whatever course of action you recommend, you have to be ready to back up your position with sound evidence and persuasive argument.
Conflict, coexistence and Interdependence
In this chapter we have begun to raise questions about the relationships between tourism and its host communities and biophysical environments. The three may at times conflict, coexist or function interdependently. Although conflicts often persist throughout the tour-
ism activity's life, they may arise following periods of apparent coexistence or interdependence. Tourism proposals and developments may progress through stages of conflict to coexistence or interdependence. Throughout the book we will examine various examples of each of these types of relationship.
Activity 25
a The Grampians (Aboriginal name Gari-lwerd) is a very popular mountain region in western Victoria that attracts tourists from Victoria and the rest of Australia. The township of Halls Gap, shown in the valley in the panoramic photograph in Figure 1.31, is the tourists' main host community. Examine Figure 1.31 and attempt to identify the host community's dependence on tourism. Take into account the peaceful coexistence enjoyed by the township and tourism, as well as the potential for the arising of conflicts between tourists and the local people and between humans and the biophysical environment.
b An Australian-govemment-funded report on housing and rental accommodation in Cairns in northern Queensland partly blamed the tourism industry for the fact that families on average incomes were forced into financial hardship. Tourism, so important to the regional economy, contributes to the problem by usually paying lower wages, triggering property speculation leading to inflated housing prices and rental accommodation, and initiating the conversion of older inner urban houses to holiday accommodation.
i State the points of conflict between
tourists and local workers.
ii Identify the people who gain or lose
from the situation.
Figure 1.31 A panorama of the Grampians (Gariwerd,), western Victoria. The Halls Gap township is in the valley.
30
CHAPTER ♦ TWO
T
ravellers
over time
What do tourists look for?
When we are deciding about where to go for a holiday, a trip overseas or within Australia, many decisions have to be made. We acquire impressions of environments, places, cultures and societies from a variety of sources. We research places by making inquiries of people who have travelled, specialist organisations and travel agents, and by reading about places in newspapers, journals, special publications and tourist brochures. We thereby form a range of impressions of places, environments, people and travel options and then make a decision based on all the planning and on the knowledge acquired during our preparations. Not all tourists have the sole intention of being tourists - they may be involved in business trips and in visiting friends or relatives and may take in some of the tourist attractions incidentally.
During visits or holidays, the impressions acquired from our earlier planning and reading may not meet our previous expectations. Opinions are often 'clouded' by the glossy presentation involved in selling the tourist product, be it a nearby location or a distant land. Experiencing weather unsuitable for being outdoors, or missing that spectacular view because of fog and cloud, for example, may change a tourist's entire impression of a place or environment. The resulting impression may actually also be a more positive one than that portrayed in the research. Sometimes, choosing tourist destinations and accommodation is difficult because of the
Canyon, Arizona, United States
large number of potential choices or because of the bewilderment created by the existence of a large amount of information in brochures and travel guides.
The image and the reality
The image in the travel brochure and the reality are often dissimilar, as revealed in the following four paragraphs and their accompanying photographs.
How can a professional photographer's picture of the Grand Canyon, taken under ideal circumstances for a glossy brochure, always resemble all travellers' first actual experience of the place, when they may have been surrounded by hundreds of other tourists? Although at first he/she may have been attracted by the photographic image, his/her actual experience would have to be better than any photograph - see the photograph in Figure 2.1.
Cruising Sydney Harbour in the rain on the only day you have free on your itinerary for visiting Sydney would be extremely disappointing when all the
31
T O U R I S M
images you have formed are of a spectacular sundrenched
harbour - see the photograph in Figure 2.2.
Visiting Indonesia's Borobodur Temple, a World Heritage List
'Wonder of the World' near Jogjakarta -see the photograph in Figure
2.3 - surrounded by thousands of other tourists and subjected to
the oppressive heat and humidity of July fails to detract from
the unique experience that could not otherwise be enjoyed through
simply reading about the place.
Walking Hong Kong's streets with thousands of other residents,
salespeople and tourists in a confined space subjected to
oppressive traffic noise, fumes and smells is an experience that
cannot be enjoyed through watching even the best TV documentary -
see the photograph in Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.2
Sydney Harbour and the Opera House
Figure 2.3
Borobodur Temple, Java, Indonesia
For most tourists and travellers, the experience is usually unique - this is, after all, the reason why they have decided to travel in the first place.
W hat is the issue?
Why is perception important when we are discussing tourism? What has perception got to do with tourism?
People's impressions of a place, environments and people are acquired through their perceptions. Although these may often be very close to the reality, sometimes they are nothing like it. What do we mean by this? Think about some of the perceptions you may have had of places before visiting them and about the experiences or impressions of their reality you acquired once you visited them.
Figure 2.4 The streets of Hong Kong - always busy, day and night
W
hen
we intend to visit a country or several countries, our perception of
the place/s includes a variety of images of many of the locations.
These images are promoted by many groups and may not form one
general image. Each year Australia, for example, is a destination
for more than three million
32
TRAVELLERS OVER TIME
tourists who bring a great diversity of perceptions and expectations and, therefore, the ability to make the best of the experience, depending on their length of stay. They have perceptions of places and environments they intend to visit and of the Australian people as a whole. Although most Australians who set out to visit our near Asian neighbours have the impression that most Asian places, environments and people are alike, an incredible diversity exists, from Indonesia to Malaysia to Singapore to China to all the other countries.
Stereotypical images
The reality of the places we visit or the experiences we have may not always match our stereotypical images - see Figure 2.1 on page 31- These images are carefully fostered by the tourism authorities and related businesses in an attempt to attract many tourists. People who work in the tourism industry try hard to ensure that visitors' experiences closely match those presented in the publicity, in the hope that when the tourists return home they will reinforce the popular images portrayed in the advertising. Although tourists may be given a carefully crafted experience, it should be recognised that most of them are entirely satisfied with the product presented to them, because it was exactly as they had expected.
Table 2.1 on pages 34 and 35 sets out some common stereotypical images of popular tourist destinations, along with some observations on the reality of the settings and lifestyles.
d i As a class, discuss where we can obtain information about the wider aspects of the environment and the people's way of life in popular tourist destinations that the tourism industry usually presents as stereotypical images.
ii Prepare a list of potential sources.
e i Choose an example of a tourist destination you are familiar with, one that is probably in your local area.
ii Gather information both from the tourism industry and from sources that have no vested interest in tourist promotion.
iii Compare the descriptions, and any accompanying illustrations, you gathered for part ii.
f i Can we rely on any information we receive from a local resident who is apparently not directly involved in a place's tourism industry?
ii What would help you to understand why the person holds his/her particular opinion?
iii Justify your response to part ii.
g On 24 August 1993, the Eiffel Tower had its one-hundred-and-fifty-millionth visitor. The tower has six million visits per year, or about 30,000 per day, making it France's most visited tourist attraction. Find out about any other very popular tourist destination, for example the Statue of Liberty in New York, or a local site in your capital city, or a historical town.
Activity1
a i Using an outline map of the world, locate the tourist features listed in Table 2.1 on pages 34 and 35.
ii Place numbers at the locations and use a key in order to identify the places and features, for example (1) Taronga Park Zoo, Australia; Australian animals.
b i Collect and examine tourist brochures, booklets and newspaper cuttings in order to find two other examples of common images used in publicity.
ii Add these two examples to your map.
c i How might you be able to find out more about these places' real characteristics
and their people's way of life?
ii If you can find reliable information, use it in order to complete the examples on your map.
Icons
As Australians we are brought up in schools and in society to have images of countries and places that are based on our limited exposure to the natural environments and cultures. The tourism industry is increasingly referring to these images as 'icons' - see the examples in Table 2.2 on page 36.
By contrast, we do not often see the way in which Australian icons are presented to potential tourists in other countries.
Promotional literature - posters, brochures, booklets and general travel documents - gives an impression of Australia that we may find curious. Some of these icon presentations used in brochures are shown in the collage of photographs in Figure 2.13 on page 37. Some of the itineraries suggested in the literature may also seem strange to seasoned Australian travellers - see Table 2.3 on page 36.
3 3
TOURISM
T able 2.1 Some popular tourism images, and observations on the reality
Stereotypical images
Some places associated with the images
Observations on the reality
Cute Australian animals everywhere: the 'cuddly' koala, the 'unique' kangaroo, the 'weird' platypus - see the photograph in Figure 2.5 on page 35
Big or dangerous animals, for example lions, tigers, sharks and elephants - see the photograph in Figure 2.6 on page 35
Novel experiences, for example riding an elephant or a camel
Romantic life on a luxury-liner cruise - the love Boat' image
Tropical beaches and surf
Tourist 'musts': things and events that are so well known they have to be visited - see the photograph in Figure 2.7 on page 35
The excitement, entertainment and nightlife of big cities
Los Angeles - image: 'City of Angels', due to its luxury, wealth and glamour - and Rio de Janeiro - image: 'City of the Carnival', for its fun; see the photographs in figures 2.8 and 2.9 on page 35
Snowcapped peaks
Internationally recognised icons -see the photograph in Figure 2.10 on page 35
Quiet rural landscapes; images include quaint villages, country lanes, hedge-rowed fields and gently rolling slopes - see the photograph in Figure 2.11 on page 35
Australia, especially major tourist destinations such as Sydney and the Gold Coast
East Africa, Sumatra and Port Lincoln in South Australia
India, Thailand, northern Africa and central Australia
The Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean Sea
The South Pacific Ocean, Bali, the Caribbean Sea and Hawaii
The 'Changing of the Guard' at Buckingham Palace in London, and the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower in Paris
New York, Paris, Tokyo and Bangkok
Disneyland, Beverly Hills and Hollywood in Los Angeles, United States; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mount Everest in Nepal and Mount Fuji in Japan
The White House in Washington, DC in the United States, and the Great Pyramids of Egypt - one of the 'Wonders of the World'
Southern England, for example the Cotswolds and the Home Counties
Most Australians and tourists have seen these animals only in the confines of zoos and fauna parks.
These animals are usually seen only in controlled settings, for example Woburn Abbey lion park, or at great expense on wildlife safaris.
Although the experience may be fun and look good in a home video or photo album, it may be smelly and back-breaking and entail allergic reactions.
The reality often involves bouts of seasickness, crowded cabins on the lower deck - the steerage -and the enforced company of boring people; wealthy travellers fare better.
The image of idyllic, palm-fringed beaches is often spoilt by sunburn, mosquitoes, sandflies, stinging jellyfish, rotting seaweed, tropical thunderstorms, hurricanes and the uncontrolled use of jet skis.
Tourists may have to queue for hours, only to find that the attraction they have travelled so far to see is obscured by hordes of other tourists.
The city that tourists visit coexists with normal city life. Nightlife glitz can hide the drudgery, congestion, poverty or pollution evident during the daytime.
The reality is also a blanket of obscuring smog, derelict or ugly buildings, traffic jams, homelessness and crime.
In reality, the environs of these awe-inspiring images may be hidden by urban smog or may obscure the hard lives and poverty suffered by local peoples. Masses of tourist-scattered litter often mar the locales' beauty.
The urban poor and powerless groups of citizens can be found within a couple of kilometres of these icons. Egypt's Pyramids are now on the outskirts of Cairo and are being degraded by industrial pollution and the concentration of visitors; also, too many hawkers are detracting from the romantic, historical atmosphere.
The serenity of these scenes is often shattered by the large number of competing users, for example farmers, leisure seekers, recreational ists, tourists and local businesspeople. Many of these uses conflict, thereby creating a less than peaceful atmosphere.
34
Table 2.1 continues.
TRAVELLERS OVER TIME
T able 2.1 (continued)
Stereotypical images
S ome places associated with the images
Observations on the reality
Building styles; a wide range of images including pagodas, temples, cathedrals, traditional housing and monuments - see the photograph in Figure 2.12 below
London, Bangkok, Singapore, Cologne and New York
The publicised, traditional buildings are nowadays often hidden by the dominant, modern skyscrapers of the commercial heart of many of the world's major cities.
Figure 2.7 The
'Changing of the Guard' ceremony at
Buckingham Palace, London, England - photographed by a
185 centimetre-tall Australian
tourist!
Figure 2.8 Los
Angeles: freeways and a blanket of obscuring smog
Figure 2.5 English
tourist Stephanie Farrow and friend at Cleland Wildlife Park, South
Australia
Figure 2.9 Copacabana
Beach, Rio de Janeiro: one attraction of the 'Carnival City'
Figure 2.10 The
Great
Pyramids at Giza, Egypt, and the city of Cairo shrouded in the
background
Figure 2.12 A
non-stereotypical image of Cologne Cathedral, Germany
village of Abbotsbury, Dorset, England
35
T O l" R 1 S M
f i What
types of impressions of Australia would the Canadian visitors have
when they left?
ii What
impression would the visitors have of the Aboriginal people and of
rural Australians?
Activity 2 continues on page 38.
Table 2.3 A thirteen-day itinerary for Canadian tourists
visiting Australia
D
ay
Travel details and Highlights number locations
(Source:
Adapted from Brendan Tours booklet 'Australia, New
Zealand & the Orient'., 1992-93)
C ountry or place Icon
I ndia The Taj Mahal
London 'Big Ben' and the Houses of Parliament
Paris The Eiffel Tower
Italy Venice and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
New York The Statue of Liberty
Canada The Rocky Mountains
The United States The Grand Canyon
Rio de Janeiro Corcovado (The Mount of Christ)
Zimbabwe Victoria Falls
Egypt The Great Pyramids
Lebanon The cedar trees
Peru The Inca ruins
Antarctica The king penguins
China The Great Wall
Activity 2
a i Describe the icons shown in Figure 2.13 on page 35 and explain why they are commonly chosen for promoting Australia in brochures and advertisements.
ii Are these images true ones of Australia? Think of any other images not included in Figure 2.13 and explain why you have chosen them.
b i Collect a range of travel brochures and leaflets about Australia.
ii List the icons that represent each state/
territory and capital city.
iii Categorise the icons as either physical attractions or cultural features.
c Do the icons suggest anything about what
Australia and Australians are like?
d Referring to Table 2.3, make a general comment about the proposed itinerary based on factors i to iv as follows.
Factors
i Distance travelled and time spent travelling
ii Number of places visited during this time
iii Number and type of highlights - natural and
cultural environments
iv Mode of travel
e i Draw a small outline map of Australia.
ii On the map, put a dot for the places mentioned in Table 2.3 and put a line for the air routes used in order to get to each destination.
iii Using a map scale, measure the distance travelled on each leg of the journey as well as the total distance travelled over the thirteen days.
Arrival in Sydney from Canada
Sydney
From Sydney to Melbourne
Melbourne
From Melbourne to Alice Springs to Uluru
From Uluru to Alice Springs
From Alice Springs to Darwin
From Darwin to Kakadu National Park
From Kakadu National Park to Darwin
10 From Darwin to Cairns
11 Cairns
Great Barrier Reef excursion
Depart from Cairns for Canada
(Transfer to hotel from airport)
Ku-ring-gai National Park
Sydney Harbour
City tour of Sydney
Afternoon: to Melbourne
Cruise on Yarra River
Fitzroy Gardens
War Memorial
Olgas and 'sunset strip' in order to photograph Uluru
Tour of Uluru
Outback bush barbeque
Alice Springs: historical telegraph station, Royal Flying Doctor Service and "School of the Air'
Afternoon: to Darwin
Kakadu wildlife and birdlife
Boat cruise to many locations
Obiri Rock (Aboriginal rock drawings)
Scenic flight over Arnhem Land Escarpment
Morning flight
Afternoon: free time in Cairns
Train ride to Kuranda
Aboriginal concert
Afternoon: butterfly sanctuary
All day: Green Island and the Reef
36
TRAVELLERS OVER TIME
5
Figure 2.13 A
collage of photographs of icons commonly used in promoting
Australia as a tourist destination
TOURISM
Activity 2 (continued)
g During the high season from December to March, the cost for Canadians to travel to and around Australians $C (Canadian dollars) 5328, whereas in the low season from May to August it is $C4878. Account for the price difference.
h i What do you think about the holiday suggested in Table 2.3 on page 36?
ii What alternatives may exist for this type
of traveller?
iii What other options would Australians visiting these places have?
Who is involved in the issue?
As the world becomes more 'known' due to the variety of images the media creates for us, increasing numbers of people are influencing our decision to travel and are promoting a wide choice of destinations. Tourism has become the world's fastest growing industry, and the number of choices for travel, be it brief or extended, is astounding. Although some
sections of the media are directly involved in promoting tourism, other avenues of media time (for example current affairs and television commercials) and presence have an indirect effect as well. Governments, private individuals, large corporations, small companies and other groups devote a huge number of resources to attracting a percentage of the tourists to perceived attractions and facilities. Many tourists base their decisions on the reservoir of images of places, environments and people that is built up.
How do we gain these perceptions? How do overseas tourists perceive Australia as a tourist destination?
Figure 2.14 below and on page 39 is an interview with Stephanie Farrow, a single, well-travelled visitor in her late twenties who was touring Australia during early 1993, having completed part of a world tour through parts of Africa and Asia. After several months in Australia, Stephanie was asked a range of questions about her perceptions.
Stephanie's interview
Australianplaces visited
Cairns to the Whitsunday Islands Mount Isa to Alice Springs to the Yulara resort Katherine to Darwin to Kakadu to Litchfield Broome to all the Western Australian coast Perth to southern Western Australia Adelaide to Mount Gambier Melbourne to Sydney
Stephanie, how. did you perceive Australia before you visited it?
I knew it would be big and hot, with vast stretches of nothing. I expected to see lots of kangaroos and snakes and spiders.,Expected lots of contrasts: rainforest, bush, stunning coastline and: fantastic beaches. Didn't expect any really cold areas or buildings that were not completely .modern.
Where did you get your impressions?
From books,- both large, glossy, picture books and novels, TV programs - 'Neighbours' and 'Home and Away'!, films - 'Crocodile Dundee' commercials - 'Castlemaine XXXX’ photographs, and descriptions from friends who had already visited.
How accurate were your perceptions on arrival and later on in your visit?
I was pleasantly surprised to see an early settler's cottage, old colonial buildings and so on. My perceptions were fairly accurate, although I'd still underestimated the size of the country. I'd definitely underestimated how cold it could get and I had no idea you could get snow. I'd not envisaged the bush being quite as flat and treeless as it was. Size and distance always made an impression: even Ayers Rock; [Uluru ] was bigger than I thought it would be!
What was your opinion of Australia as a tourist destination during and after your visit?
It's afascinating place: it lived up to my expec- tations! It was a frustrating place in that there were a lot of beautiful places that were inacces- sibletp people who didn't have their own trans- port. It was good to see so many national parks and protected areas. Most tourist facilities were pretty well organised and serviced. A few tour ist 'attractions' were a little disappointing-usu ally due "to publicity 'hype' and the distance involved in getting there; it didn't always merit the trip.
38
TRAVELLERS OVER TIME
What tourist attractions were considered highlights?
Ayers Rock [Uluru] was excellent, as was the whole of the 'Red Centre’. The Great Barrier Reef was definitely a highlight, especially when com- bined with a sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands. For me, the tourist attractions were very much the natural wonders and the wildlife, rather than the towns or the 'traditional' tourist attractions - theme parks, adventure parks and so on.
What do you think is the difference between a tourist and a traveller?
Tourists want a holiday from, work/routine/ whatever, rather than a trip that is hard work.
Figure 2.14 Stephanie's itinerary and interview
Travellers don't want things to be too organised for them: they want to get closer to the way of life of the local people, rather than stay in an airconditioned hotel that cooks food they could eat at home and that provides all the comforts of home.
Travellers seem generally very interested in the country they are visiting. Australian travellers are seen as being good fun and lighfhearted, usually full of energy and enthusiasm and having the ability to get things moving. They also have a sense of humour.
Overall I had little contact with tourists as such, and I gained no impressions of how they are perceived as tourists.
PS Please do something about the flies!
Married and in their forties, Margaret and Paul Jupe travelled to Europe and the Middle East between April and June 1993. Some of their perceptions are shared in the interview in Figure 2.15 below and on page 40.
The Jupes' interview
The places they visited
Singapore: one-night stopover
Egypt: 7 days - the Sinai-Red Sea camping section
Jordan: 7 days - Kings Highway and desert camping safari
Israel: 14 days - four-wheel-driving and camping
England: 14 days - the Cotswolds, Devon and Cornwall bed-and-breakfasts
Majorca (Spain): 7 days - hotel accommodation Hong Kong: two-night stopover
How did you gain your perceptions of your destinations before you left Australia?
Because our intention was to visit the Middle East, we wrote to Jordan's and Israel's embassies in Australia. They sent us maps and information that showed the 'tourist' aspects of their countries, and this was somewhat slanted. Our perception, probably formed by reading and listening to media reports over the previous ten years, was one of a 'danger region' of the world, of the people's being volatile in nature, of conditions of poor sanitation, and of its being 'hot as hell' - in short, it was going to be tough to travel, dangerous at times, and you would be ducky not to contract something.
How accurate were your perceptions initially and later in your visit?
Completely inaccurate: how we perceived the place afterwards was in complete contrast to our earlier thoughts. Our fear and concerns based on all our earlier perceptions were completely unfounded. We were actually embarrassed that we had had such a naive attitude when we left. We learnt a lot.
What is your opinion of Europe and the Middle East as tourist destinations?
The people, trusting, friendly, enthusiastic to communicate; they actually cared about hdw you viewed their country; they rarely tried to 'rip you off, and they made the whole experience very memorable. The country: magnificent. History oozes from every part.'Old' is measured in thousands of years. All the biblical and monumental stories were there to be seen. It's no wonder three of the seven 'Wonders of' the • World' are found in this region. The conditions: The temperature was about 30 to 35 degrees Celsius most of the time. The regions varied and were not all desert landscapes. North Israel, for example, is much like Canada's British Columbia -trees, water arid so on.
Figure 2.15 continues.
39
T O U R I S M
Figure 2.15 (continued)
What tourist attractions did you consider to be highlights?
Camel trekking in the Sinai, the hidden city of Petra, the Roman town of Jerash, Jerusalem, the Lebanese border fortress, the Negev Desert in Israel, the Golan Heights, and the Red Sea reefs. When you visit a country, you realise how important history is to its fabric . . . To see Jericho - the world's oldest city, dating from the thirteenth century bc - and then to see Petra - a city of 50,000 people that was chiselled and carved from 1000-feet-high sandstone cliffs - is a sight to behold. No one attraction sticks in your mind; it becomes a kaleidoscope of feelings and emotions that is hard to describe.
How are Australian tourists seen by their host
communities?
Egyptians and Jordanese people absolutely love'
Aussies. They thought we came from a long way
Figure 2.15 Margaret's and Paul's itinerary and interview
away to see their countries, and they are generally very happy to help you when you tell them you're not English but Australian. At times I thought the word 'Aussie' equalled 'beer". Israelis are different: they are friendly but are always on guard; they have a natural distrust of any foreign power.
How are overseas tourists seen by Australians? Aussies are generally receptive to all cultures. Although some are beer swilling and painful in crowds - not unlike Americans - most have a friendly, 'couldn't care less' attitude to other tourists. The result, often, is that they are quite helpful, that they are prepared to share what' they have, and that they usually involve a group's less enthusiastic members in activities in which they would generally not be included.
Travel certainly broadens the mind. Not all the times are good, but the experiences we had in the Middle East will stay in our memories for the rest of our lives.
All three interviewees had amazing experiences and sought to experience the places' sights and culture first hand. The perceptions and impressions they acquired at home were often not the same as those acquired on their arrival or on tour. Everyone's experience of travel is different, and any two groups visiting the same places will rarely share the same experiences.
Activity 3
Use the questionnaire in Figure 2.16 in order to interview some people who have recently travelled overseas or within Australia.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1 How did you acquire your impressions and perceptions before, you left?
2 How accurate were your perceptions initially and later in your visit?
3 What is your opinion of [Australia or the overseas location] as a tourist destination following, your visit?
4 What tourist attractions did you consider to be highlights?
5 [For overseas travellers:] How are Australian tourists viewed by their host communities?
6 How do. you view overseas tourists wfio are visiting Australia?
Figure 2.16 Questionnaire
How do tourists gain an