Managing the Negative

Socio-cultural impacts of
Tourism

Ramon Benedicto A. Alampay, Ph.D.

Asian Institute of Management

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

 Outline

The Community’s Perspective on Tourism

Tourism and its Impact on Society and
Culture
Children, Women, and Indigenous People

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 Community Perspective on
Tourism
Maximizing benefits for local people

Reducing or ameliorating the negative impacts of tourism

Does the tourist attraction/development present the local community

perspective?

Have community leaders been identified and actively consulted?

Religious or cultural sensitivities associated with the use or presentation

of heritage resources

Active roles for local people in negotiating the presentation,

management and operation of the attraction

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 Impacts on Culture and
Society
Tourism Cultural
Industry Resources

Tourists Residents

Tourism Local Way

Development of Life

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 Expected or Desired Benefits
to the Community
Additional income and
employment for residents
Diversifies the local
economy
Strengthens local identity
and sense of purpose
Can help conserve and
maintain the use of places
that are important to the
local people

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 Impacts from the use of
Socio-Cultural Resources
for Tourism
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 Tourism uses social/cultural
resources as inputs to production

Cultural sites as potential

destinations
Arts and culture as
thematic enhancements
Social norms and
traditions manifested in
the local brand of
“hospitality”

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 Cultural Sites as Tourist
Destinations and Attractions
Positive Negative

Support conservation and

enhancement initiatives Physical damage to the
Additional funding for site from congestion,
maintenance and vandalism, etc.
enhancement of the
resources Tourists may crowd out
local users
Enhances brand image of
the destination Risk of non-authentic
Enhances community additions to the cultural
awareness and pride for site
heritage

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 Local Ways of Life as Elements
of the Tourist Experience
Positive Negative

Local traditions
Old traditions can
may be demeaned
be strengthened or
by
reintroduced to
commercialization
new generations
Potential
Develop local
resentment of
brand of
tourists by
“hospitality”
residents

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 Local Products and Services as
Tourist Products

Positive Negative

Prices of local products

and services may rise
Additional income and with increased tourist
employment demand
opportunities for locals
Market-driven
Upgraded quality of modification of
local products and traditional goods and
services services that drastically
change the essence of
the products

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 Guest-Host Encounters

Cultural
understanding/
misunderstanding
Demonstration
effects

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 Tourism Development and
the Local Ways of Life

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 Managing the
Impacts of
Tourism on
Three Key Groups

Children
Women
Indigenous People

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 Children and Tourism

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 Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism
Suppliers of tourism services adopting the code commit themselves to
implement the following six criteria:

1. To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual

exploitation of children.

2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel

destinations.

3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common

repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children.

4. To provide information to travellers by means of catalogues,

brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.

5. To provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations.

6. To report annually.
http://www.thecode.org
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 Empowering Women &
Overcoming Gender Stereotypes for
Responsible Tourism

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 Sexist
Stereotypes
Stereotypical jobs
and roles for women
Stereotypes of
physical or
intellectual weakness
relative to males
Women as sex
objects

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 Key Concerns for Women in
Tourism Communities
Trafficking of women for sex tourism

Risk of AIDS and drug addiction

Physical abuse

Income and employment opportunities for women

Skill and competency limitations

Social/cultural barriers to participation (gender stereotypes)

Participation in tourism planning and management

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 Case Study: 3 Sisters Adventure, Nepal
http://www.3sistersadventure.com/
http://www.3sistersadventure.com

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 Lucky, Dicky and Nicky Chhetri operate
the first and only female-owned trekking
agency in Nepal.

Saw a need for female guides when

women travelers returned from treks
reporting incidents of inappropriate or
harassing behaviour from their male
guides.

Now train approximately 20 to 25 young

women twice a year to build capacity for
women in the industry, also a first in
Nepal.

http://www.3sistersadventure.com/
http://www.3sistersadventure.com
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 International Awards and
Recognition

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 As part of the program, 3
Sisters guides take classes
in English conversation,
leadership, health, and
nutrition.

Some graduates have used

their seasonal wages to
continue their education;
others have started their
own businesses

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 Tourism and Indigenous
Cultures

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 Indigenous Cultures and Tourism

Revitalization of culture
by preserving traditions
and transmitting
knowledge to new
generations

Economic incentives for

cultural heritage
conservation

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 Indigenous Cultures and Tourism

Commodification of
indigenous culture
Introduction of consumer
culture into traditional
community life
Biopiracy and theft of other
indigenous knowledge
Loss/lack of control over
decision-making

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 Case Study
Lamlifew Village Museum & B’laan School of Living Tradition
Malungon, Sarangani Province, Philippines

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 History
The women of the village
formed themselves into the
Lamlifew Tribal Women’s
Association, and established
an enterprise based on
traditional beadwork and
weaving.

LTWA was registered with

the Philippine Securities and
Exchange Commission,
likely the first such formal
entity instituted by a
Philippine indigenous group.

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 History
Technical assistance,
advice, and other
support from:
the Indigenous
Peoples Development
Program of the
Provincial
Government of
Sarangani

The Philippine
National Museum

Marian Pastor Roces,

an independent
curator and president
of a museum
planning agency.

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 A village museum independent of any regional or
national agency
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 A village museum independent of any regional or
national agency
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 Formally launched in December 2007
at the Museum of the Filipino People

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 Key Themes

“At-Risk” Protection

Disadvantaged Empowerment

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 Thank you.

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