Whether tourism has been a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions?

In my own opinion, tourism is a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions in Taiwan as well as the rest of the world. This is especially so in the case of Taiwanese aboriginal culture. I will use Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village as an example of commodification of culture.

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is a theme park with rides and attractions, and also the aboriginal villages where the culture, tradition and heritage of nine Taiwanese aborigines are showcased. The aborigines are hired by them to explain and introduce their heritage to the visitors and also perform their traditional dances etc. This is good in a way because it allows the preservation of local heritage and culture, and this creates jobs for the local aborigines. However, this will lead to the commodification of their culture.

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is a theme park; hence it essentially requires visitors to pay for the tickets in order for them to enter the park and enjoy the attractions. As the aboriginal villages are part of the theme park, this also means that visitors are charged before they are able to enter and learn about the local culture. Thus, this shows that monetary value is given to the culture.

Next, visitors who come may be more interested in the rides and attractions than the aboriginal villages and since the aboriginal villages are there, the visitors will take the chance to visit (culturally-attracted tourists). After they visit the village to learn about the culture, they want to have souvenirs and bring them home. This leads to a huge demand for souvenirs. Thus, the aborigines’ traditional cultural items such as handicrafts are mass-produced and then sold as souvenirs to visitors. The souvenirs may even be slightly modified just to adapt to the tourists’ demands. Even though this might increase the visitors’ understanding of the Taiwanese aboriginal culture, the visitors may not truly understand the real meaning behind their traditional practices and values. Thus, this may devalues the aboriginals’ culture. For example, these culturally-attracted tourists may just purchase them as a keepsake as they might not come back again to experience and learn about the culture. However, the souvenirs that they bought may hold a much deeper meaning to the aboriginal people.

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The case of Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village clearly shows that the local aboriginal culture has been commodified, commercialised and adapted to the tourists’ demand. Hence, the experience it provides is no longer authentic. Therefore, I agree that tourism is a major culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions.