Name: Dian Kartika Intan

Class: 2A

Two Sides of Culture Adoption in Tourism

In the world of tourism, many tourists travel to places to interact with particular
cultures. As in Indonesia, the interaction of tourists and culture also occurs in other countries.
The interaction can be in the form of cultural adoption by tourists with an appreciation
purpose. However, cultural adoption that seems like a good activity can become a form of
cultural appropriation if not done properly. Therefore, some people think that tourists should
not adopt local culture due to the cultural appropriation indifference and the tourism industry
as its gate, yet some argue that without cultural adoption it will decrease the local income and
harm the culture itself.

One of the reasons why tourists should not adopt local culture is because many people
are indifferent to cultural appropriation. Mia Moody-Ramirez, professor and chair of the
Baylor University Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media said to
Health.com that cultural appropriation itself could be interpreted as a practice of using or
taking something from one culture without proper recognition or respect. A survey by Bahria
University's Student Institute of Professional Psychology showed that 78% of the participants
care about cultural appropriation, while 22% do not consider the issue to have a major
impact. Although small, the 22% figure indicates that there are still many people who know
about this issue but consider it negligible. In addition, the tourism industry also has a big role
in which a lot of tourism branding triggers a culture being appropriated. Taking as an
example from a journal presentation by Rosane K. Gertner, the Mexican tradition of "Dia de
Los Muertos" is often misinterpreted as Mexican Halloween. In fact, the tradition is a
memorial to the death of a loved one dating from 1800 BC. Another example is from Hawaii,
where many misunderstood traditions such as Tiki bars, Torch lighting ceremonies, coconut
bras, and grass skirts are misconstrued as Hawaiian culture.. “Dressing up as a Hawaiian is
very insulting. Being Hawaiian isn't a costume for me.” Said Kayomi Kayoshi which was
also mentioned in the journal. To conclude, the adoption of culture by tourists may trigger
offended feelings from locals and there are still those who think that it is not a problem.

Despite several compelling reasons, limiting the interaction of tourists and culture is a
threat to local incomes. For instance, in 2017 nearly 9.39 million visitors spent an estimated
$17 billion in Hawaii. At that time, the tourism sector was responsible for nearly 204,000
jobs. Imagine if suddenly the tourist attraction dwindled and many tourists left Hawaii
behind, many people would lose their jobs and the national income would also decrease.
Furthermore, culture adoption can help preserve culture and increase the recognition of the
culture globally. As well as Hawaii and Mexico, we have Bali as a real example of how the
interaction between tourists and culture could giantly impact a culture. IGA Ambari who
served as Secretary of the Bali Provincial Government Tourism Office in 2014 told
detikTravel that the Bali tourism industry began in the Dutch colonial era, many artists
unconscionably promoted Bali and made Bali as famous as it is today. Not only increasing
the number of tourists, getting to know a culture globally can also help keep a culture
preserved. One aspect of cultural preservation can be seen in the preservation of the language.
Quoted from Balipost.com, the number of Balinese speakers is one of the largest among
regional languages in Indonesia, with around 3,800,000 people today. The preservation of
this language is quite a good indication that Balinese culture is still preserved. In conclusion,
cultural interaction is a crucial aspect because it can be a pillar of a community's livelihood
and a way to maintain the culture's existence.

To sum up, apart from the lack of concern for cultural appropriation, the opposition to
tourists' cultural adoption is a result of the many examples of related cases caused by the
tourism industry. However, cultural adoption also has important aspects such as the backbone
of a community's income or as the protection of culture preservation. I opine that tourists'
culture adoption should continue because it has many good effects if it is done with full
respect and a genuine appreciation purpose.

Sources:

1. https://travel.detik.com/domestic-destination/d-2482726/sejak-kapan-sih-bali-jadi-
pujaan-dunia
2. https://www.balipost.com/news/2020/02/02/102088/Bahasa-Bali,Penjaga-Identitas-
Manusia...html#:~:text=Hingga%20saat%20ini%2C%20jumlah%20penutur,mencapai
%20kisaran%203.800.000%20orang.
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
332578850_The_impact_of_cultural_appropriation_on_destination_image_tourism_a
nd_hospitality

Gertner, Rosane. (2019). The impact of cultural appropriation on destination image,

tourism, and hospitality. Thunderbird International Business Review. 61.
10.1002/tie.22068.

4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354055032_Attitude_towards_Cultural

Haye, Faryal & Rais, Hooriya & Saleem, Maheera & Ishaq, Zarnaaz. (2021). Attitude
towards Cultural…

5. https://www.kompasiana.com/bahasa.kita/550def47a33311bd2dba7dbf/melestarikan-
bahasa-melestarikan-budaya

Early Risyaana R/07

● while 22% do not consider it has a major impact. You could explain it here to make it
more clear

Fayza Rosya Maharani/09

 ● tourist, getting > tourist but getting

Two Sides of Culture Adoption in Tourism

In the world of tourism, many tourists travel to places to interact with particular
cultures. As in Indonesia, the interaction of tourists and culture also occurs in other countries.
The interaction can be in the form of cultural adoption by tourists with an appreciation
purpose. However, cultural adoption that seems like a good activity can become a form of
cultural appropriation if not done properly. Therefore, some people think that tourists should
not adopt local culture due to the cultural appropriation indifference and the tourism industry
as its gate, but some argue that without cultural adoption it will decrease the local income and
harm the culture itself.
The first reason why tourists are better off not adopting local culture is that some of
them may be indifferent to cultural appropriation. Mia Moody-Ramirez, professor and chair
of the Baylor University Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media said to
Health.com that cultural appropriation itself could be interpreted as a practice of using or
taking something from one culture without proper recognition or respect. A survey by the
Student Institute of Professional Psychology of Bahria University showed that 78% of the
participants care about cultural appropriation, while 22% do not consider the issue to have a
major impact. Although the 22% figure seems like a small number, it indicates that some
people know about this issue but consider it negligible. In addition, the tourism industry also
has a big role in which a lot of tourism branding triggers cultural appropriation. Taking as an
example from a journal by Rosane K. Gertner, the Mexican tradition Dia de Los Muertos is
often misinterpreted as Mexican Halloween. In fact, the tradition was actually a memorial to
the death of a loved one dating from 1800 BC. Another example is from Hawaii, where many
misunderstood traditions such as Tiki bars, Torch lighting ceremonies, coconut bras, and
grass skirts are misconstrued as Hawaiian culture. "Dressing up as a Hawaiian is very
insulting. Being Hawaiian is not a costume for me." Said Kayomi Kayoshi who is also
mentioned in the journal. To conclude, the adoption of culture by tourists may trigger
offended feelings from locals and there are still those who do not think it is a problem.
Despite several compelling reasons, limiting the interaction of tourists and culture is a
threat to local incomes. For instance, in 2017 nearly 9.39 million visitors spent an estimated
$17 billion in Hawaii. At that time, the tourism sector was responsible for nearly 204,000
jobs. Imagine if suddenly the tourist attraction dwindled and many tourists left Hawaii
behind, many people would lose their jobs and the national income would decrease.
Furthermore, culture adoption can help preserve culture and increase the recognition of
culture globally. As well as Hawaii and Mexico, we have Bali as a real example of how the
interaction between tourists and culture could giantly impact a culture. IGA Ambari who
served as Secretary of the Bali Provincial Government Tourism Office in 2014 told
detikTravel that the Bali tourism industry began in the Dutch colonial era, many artists
unconscionably promoted Bali and made it as famous as it is today. Introducing a culture
globally can also help to keep a culture alive and preserved. The preservation of a culture can
be seen in the conservation of its language. Quoted from Balipost.com, the number of
Balinese speakers is one of the largest among regional languages in Indonesia, with around
3,800,000 people today. The preservation of this language is quite a good indication that
Balinese culture is still well-preserved. In conclusion, cultural interaction is a crucial aspect
because it can be a pillar of a community's livelihood and a way to maintain the culture's
existence.
In summary, the counteraction to tourists' cultural adoption stems from the lack of
concern for cultural appropriation and many related cases caused by the tourism industry.
However, Cultural adoption also has an important role such as the backbone of local income
or the protection of cultural preservation. I opine that the tourists' cultural adoption should
continue as it has many positive effects if done genuinely and respectfully.