PHENOMENA of MIGRATING CULTURES & CHANGING TRADITIONS via tourism highway
ENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETATION in words and pictures"We travel, initially, to lose ourselves,
and we travel, next to find ourselves."-- George Santyana, The Philosophy of Travel
Opinions on TOURISM
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet:
All sheep and oxen and the beasts of the field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, [and whatsoever] passeth through the paths of the seas.Psalam 8:3 - 8 Natural; -- SLOW, OLD TIME
Globalisation, tourism, networking, media, consumerism - FAST, NEW AGE
MIDDLE LANE? Where are we travelling?
- RAB POSTCARDS FROM THE PRESENT Man is most unusual being in the natural history of Earth. Other spieces are faster, stronger and better addapted to their environment both through their physical bodies and through instincts but only man has the responsibility over himself, other spieces and over the natural God's order. God's creation ought to be loved and respected, because He created it with love. We have the ability to comprehend the world and share our understandings through symbols among ourselves. Anthropologists, specially of american academic background named this ability of humans 'Culture'. In this sense culture represents human understanding and action that comes from what we learn as members of society, while Tradition is defined as agreed behaviour and transmitted custums and beliefs among the generations. In my society ( croatian) in everyday speech the term culture corresponds both to civilisation and tradition, thus arrising the question whether we can distinguish between culture and tradition. Therefore hereafter in my writings these terms often overlapp in meaning. Preservation of the natural chain of order over frenzic progress of the modern savage or modern predator as well as changes that the human civilisation will have to pass through just to survive, actualise again the questions of the aspirations of man and society. But first let see what tradition / eg. culture is, then how much do we have it today and then whether the people anywhere can posses it ( hence aquire), loose it ( hence asimilate in other, or asimilate the other’s culture) ? Some of these thoughts can be disturbing as they shake the accepted general formula of any society. These learned formulas define our place within one own commune as well as relate societies between each other ( melts down to domination of the cultures unfortunately).
THE SPIRIT OF PLACE, IDENTITIES & CULTURE - the land of our ancestors
An 18 ct. widely appreciated italian traveller and explorer Alberto Fortis in his book 'Journey through Dalmatia' besides of his most known descriptions the exotic Morlachi,
honors the Rab islanders as being lazzy, forgeting ( not knowing) that these 3000 thousands souls that he found were just the survivers of once rich and numerouse population of 15000 who exported silk and gold to his beloved Serrenisima in 15ct.; just a leftover after the black plaque. Fortis perception was different. he was stunned that they did not exploit the quars sand ( couple of centuries that sand became most popular tourist destination on the island) and in Lun's thousand year old olive threes ( Lun on island Pag was once under Rab jurisdiction) he admired the wood as just a fine material for sculptures and furniture. It is not to take offense that this hired explorer and researcher of natural resources percieves land only as a potential, a container of goods.Dalmatia must thank this foreighner for a warm human describtion of european monsters; Morlachs - the residents of the dalmatian hinterland, for describing genuine village life in times when literate and rich gownsman have looked down on peasants just as black suits do today. One can relate only to other and different. We create/ learn and transmitt culture because it helps the community define itself in the world. I can only imagine Fortis's surprise if he, outside the roman towns, unexpectedly came accros or recognised the culture similar to his own or even superior to it. Even better, what if the highland countryman were recognised what nowdays europeans and world nations see in tibetan folks. Recognition is in the foundation of laurel and honor, but also of the trade. Morlachi are uneducated and coarse, but warm and generouse aborigines, sometimes romantic freebooter unimportant on the broader scale. Although descendents of the Morlachi live, of whom many wear fancy suits and drive expensive cars, culturally Morlachi do not exist any more, just the same as there is no more Samurai in Japan regardless the gene -pool.
Just as other societies, we have created the hybrid supstitutes of the lost too; from etno villages, folk- groups to variouse historical events.Interesting observation is given by Susanna Paasonen in her work Free Tourists in the Land of Plenty? from cyberdiscourse towards politics of location; "As a term, identity implies similarity to and difference from something, identifications as well as defining what one is not, or does not want to be. This also holds true for nationalities, which are precisely about marking people as internally connected and coherent collectives that are separate from other nations. Nations and nationalities are attached to images, landscapes, cultural products, famous people and common knowledge definitions that condense them into easily consumable packages. Since these packages can always be given new and different meanings, the logic of condensation is applicable in most encounters."
Cultural pluralism and the global cosmopolitan society
Is there really any cultural diversities in modern world? Maybe, if we agree that subcultural groupations ( from national to culturological movements: punk, new age, variouse cult-groups..) represent cultures. There is more difference among these groupations than between modern japaneese and american, or french, or german or italian or any other on national levels. The coexistance of different cultures implies recognition and keeping of the distinctive values for any particular culture, acceptance of differences among various cultures through the respect for the other and self, not their standardisation. Modern world is despite all the talks about cultural diversities & multiculturality, in reality devided only into tribal-communal under the impact of globalism and modernist cultures eg. slow time cultures and fast time cultures. The globalisation of the world parralels with the globalisation of the ideas and realms, globalisation is just uniformisation ( standardisation?) of the world(s).
Where is Croatia in all this, how and how much do we think of ourselves as the world- citisens, how much do we care about our own culture and how do we relate to global/ modernistic world and then again, how much do we know about our own culture/ tradition, is it present in reality ( life), how much of it is truely ours (in sense that culture defines perception of the world and modus vivendy accordingly), how much already got changed by all past and future integrations and then, could we, by analisying and sectioning of the history and traditions, accomplish anything in regard to recognising present day phenomena?
To deepen the absurd arrising from these unanswered questions further, let me pinpoint to a fascinating croatian trend in which the junkfood generation of the electronic age and mass-media nowdays lobbies for the pig slaughtering, wine christening and cheese with cream 'rights', lifting these folk shared practice to the piedestal of national cultural heritage, although they personaly wouldn't touch the manure or milk the cow, except if participating on some Tv reality show like 'The Farm'. See http://www.sirivrhnje.org
Clues:
Heritage without hiers, cultural tourism, heritage as project in making, new orientation in croatian tourism; sun, sea and art, culture instead of sun and sea,
HERITAGE IN CONTEMPORARY TOURISMWe are selling our heritage, just like english, italian or ausisess or any other culture.Heritage as such does not matter here or there anyway since it ceased to be integral part in lives of most of contemporary people anyway. It has been deduced to a nice hobby or entertaining event. History escaped from the novels and steped out of the movie screen to the today and stories / themes are numerouse.
Our ancestors built stone hedges that created the lace landscape on the hills and in wine yards to utilise the earth just as this generation builds motorways and apartment houses. Old landscapes are disapearing. In the spirit of omnipresent desire for material growth of modern societies, usefullness of ethnicity traces, monumets and own cultural identity as merchandise is self-understandable, as these values are directly connected with our consumer everyday lives. Just as we were selling "just" sun and sea ( read: natural beauties) before, that resulted in coastal and island environment degradation, nowdays we are importing "cultural products and cultural tourism strategies" and are remodelling our own heritage and identity for the sake of branding, positioning ourselves or becoming member of this or that political or market trend.Experiencing 'that something' became the goal and the purpose of the tourist endevours that ceased to be solely holidays. Hence, creating 'that something' became an motivational imperative for the proffesionels in tourist industry... Postmodernist concept of experience industry with best sold themes; History and Exotica.
In the overall mercantilisation, everything is touristically validated and sold. In Croatia Tourism is seen as very important for the young state and besides natural resources, one of the key factors for the croatian economic boom. It presents and promotes croatian culture; from books, to fine arts, performance arts to monuments heritage, museums, archives, then to folklore and other traditional arts and crafts.
However, the authenticity of the tourist scene and the authenticity of the tourist experience are two different notions.
There are authentic tourist scenes with invented events ( destinations, national parks, historical sights...) or constructed scenes ( theme parks) with genuine events and many other mixtures of the two.In comparison to scenes, Authentic Tourist Experience cannot be 'created', because just as any experience, it is deeply individual.
Furthermore, just adequate scenary, scenography/ costumography cannot not guarantee it. Some people think that they have had authentic experience just by beeing at the location, other expect to get involved, with lots of grades in between. If a man judges that he did not meet/ experience neither the people, nor the location or events, he would conclude that he did not achieve authentic tourist experience and missed the very goal of his travel. Tradition cannot be born again, the medieval stones are here but the spirit is gone. Both what we call tradition and culture were originally fully embeded in the folk lives, a way of living. Now culture is highly institutionalised, classified and ready for use in 'cultural tourism'. At the same time traditions are put up as scenes or "reconstructed". Present day medieval days are nothing but a carneval fake, and an entertaining one, although there are places on Earth where people still live like in Middle ages.. And that is the Mirracle on Earth; that for time travelling you do not actually need vivid imagination, but rather a particular location and the knowledge to recognise.And again a thought from the beginning; what is tradition / eg. culture? How much do we have it, can we posses it ( hence aquire), loose it ( hence asimilate in other, or asimilate the other culture)? Cultural tourism has been heralded as the saving grace but what exactly are people touring? What is worth seeing and what isn't? At the artificial events such as Rapska Fjera for expl. in order to fully understand the event and its purpose, we should be looking at the side effects such as distorting tradition, mercantilisation, presentation of the functionaries too.
Tourism is largly based on the artificial and created imagery and that determines where the tourism industry will go later. When something is made into an image through tourism, it automaticly becomes important. Not only does it speed up processes that are already in play, such as the political prejudices but also creates new monuments and things that would not normally be a tourist attaction. Not only does it alter the enviroment around the attraction, it also alters the idelogical enviroment creating thus a new form of visual language. Touris theory has it that the destination, in order to maintain its attraction for visitors, needs to maintain its appeal through commercialising the past and offering imagery of what tourists want to experience, because at the destination it is the image of the place that the tourist consumes, not the reality of day-to-day life of the host destination.
"The tourist consumes difference. But the production of cultural difference is not infinite. It is not "merely" imaginal. It is rooted in languages, landscape, architecture, custom, taste, smell. It is very physical. The more it is used up or taken away, the less remains." - The Caravan of Summer by P. L. Wilson
CULTURE TOURISM - INVENTING TRADITIONS
How many times did I hear the question: " Are you from Rab? " ( - in relation to you Londoner / or any place really that you might be from) - and how do I answer this question. How do you define yourself; through your ancestors, do you hold on to place, way of life, your job? Do you percieve yourself as the member of the same culture as your ancestors and how, what was similar what different, what preveils? Hence, can you explain the missunderstandings between the grandsons and their grandparents ( even better; their grand- grandparents) only by generation gap eg. 'new times'? Not only that the times change, people and cultures change too. In fact, cultures are constantly in the state of migration; they get merged, overlaped, transmitted, ravaged, invented... And what defines culture? Space, people and time.
The 'map':
Natural; -- SLOW, OLD TIME
Globalisation, tourism, networking, media, consumerism - FAST, NEW AGE
What about MIDDLE LANE?"The cultural offers cannot be defined in a touristic vacuum. They are drawn from and imposed upon the local lived cultures of the societies that host the tourist experience. These lived realities of the everyday lives of the everyday folk are often ignored in favour of historic cultures that are revitalised for the tourist experience. For cultural tourism folklore is often seen to be more important than the folk in the destination. " prof. A. Clarke in The Cultural Tourism Dynamic paper
In modern era ( 20/ 21.st ct.) cultural borders are erased in favour of dualism ( us modern and them primitive, or vice versa?) - Is it that simple?
With exception of cults who use it for self-reinforcement, people everywhere are aware of the myths and the legends, but will not structure their every day lives around the re-enactment of the rites and rituals of the times past.In modern era ( 20/ 21.st ct.) cultural borders are erased in favour of dualism ( us modern and them primitive, or vice versa?) - Is it that simple? With exception of cults who use it for self-reinforcement, people everywhere are aware of the myths and the legends, but will not structure their every day lives around the re-enactment of the rites and rituals of the times past. Another thought specially regarding present day life on island Rab; tourism has a great role on cultural changes, modern theorists ( see literature list ) say that the validity of tourist experience (eventuality) influences the time, the space and the identity of participants ( fox hunt, polo, wimbeldon, walk-abouts, carnevals, folk pig-slaughter custums) and I am going to dissect Rab tournament games and Rab medieval fest. Medieval Festival RAB FJERA - Authenticity and the pseudo-event in tourism Reviving history Rab Fjera is a medieval festival fair, with the presentations of the of the "medieval life on Rab" that started 2001, after 9 years of Rab crossbow revival. During the 3 days ( 25th to 27th July); people dress up in costumes and have kind of open air workshops of the "medieval life"... It is comprised of open air markets, crafts workshops, happenings on the town streets and culminates the last day with the crossbow archers tournament and the fireworks.
Medieval Festival RAB FJERA - studying Authenticity and the pseudo-event in tourism
MEDIEVAL FEST "Rapska Fjera" RAB CROATIA - reviving history, full article at http://www.mytravelguide.com/guides-and-advice/'Rapska Fjera' comes into being in certain contexts, for certain audiences, purposes and platforms. It is among the first tourist attractions of its kind that are currently booming all over Croatia. To name just a few of these popular event productions in tourism; Moreska on Korcula, Djurdjevacki Picoki, Varazdin Baroque evenings ... Most are based on some historical event or legend, but these events are nothing more than embodied and symbolised, well presented invented identities. Actually in each of these examples, we are looking at the commodified copies seeking to exploit the commercial potential of the tradition within the destination.Rab Fjera is a medieval festival fair, with the presentations of the of the "medieval life on Rab" that started 3 years ago, after 9 years of Rab crossbow revival.
During the 3 days ( 25th to 27th July); people dress up in costumes and have kind of open air workshops of the "medieval life"... It is comprised of open air markets, crafts workshops, happenings on the town streets and culminates the last day with the crossbow archers tournament and the fireworks.
Visitors can see traditional crafts; pottery, painting, fishing, coinage, stitching, basket weaving, carpentry, sculpting or learn the secrets of trade from the florists, honey makers, herbalists or even from the cross-bow archers who will explain the technique and the history of the crossbow. In a small gallery just off the square on the Upper street one can see the traditional island household from the past; women rippling wool, weaving, grain grinding, bread making and hear traditional gang song. If you never heard those, you might get hypnotised... Bellow the town is held a fisherman's and pirates party and at the same time the streets are run over with ladies, gentleness, medieval guards with prisoners, knights... So, it was fascinating to see the town transformating itself and it was fun to see people having fun :-) and I did lots of pics; see it here: [url]http://community.webshots.com/album/10489376AONwHaACkK[/url]The festival culminates with archers tournament on the main square and the fireworks.
If you want more details about Rab and this event look at [url]http://www.kristofor.hr/english-archers.html[/url]The chronicle says that Rab had its communal festivity days with archers tournament in the middle ages (14 ct.) to celebrate its patron saint. The archers tournament is recommenced in 1995. as tourist attraction and is presented as local traditon since... I doubt we can talk of tradition here, as presented in the tourist advertising. Fjera is addition on this group staging medieval - reneissance times. Forged tradition. Historical authenticity does not validate contemporary events, let alone identities. This kind of historical staging shows fragments of past using munuments and historical artefacts as proof of authenticity. One is sure only in fact that medieval days happened in medieval times. So why are those events staged? Answer is simple; for its commercial value.
The most important question for us is whether are we going to embrace this event as our identity, just as scotish did accept 'their' kilts. The members of the archers club and the active festival participants enjoy their staging convinced that they make very important role in island promotion. Some of them identified with their characters, some make strong social bonds, others use fiera as a great tool to promote own businesses. Most islanders lack deeper background understanding or are simply ignorant ( 'not my business') to be critical. Many aprove 'because it is good for the tourism'. Having seen it for the 3rd or 4th time one gets bored. Regarding the relations, we are no different from holidaymakers, we are all a mass of bystanders expected to spend couple of bucks on drinks or souveniers, to take pics and spread the word further... It seems that in contemporary society we all are becoming tourists / exhibition -goers.It is interesting to note that these archery revival concept goes back to 80-ties. and it would be very interesting to elaborate on why it wasn't possible to go forth with these events at that time ( social changes and collapse of federal state say some, is it?), who skidded then and who is pushing now, why the games started when they did ( broader historical context and trend- hype of the decade), why the San Marinezi had to initiate it for us ( cultural exports?) and another good question; should the Fjera and the tournament have got present shape or some other ?
Answers lay in the myths about past system and tourism traditions that function as concsience redeemer and hence a new reality in a cultural sense. They create a shared community of meaning which creates the basis for thought and action in attempts to fix the 'identity crisis'.Urban/ cultural Reality is anyway only human playground, not just 'selected' ones performing for the passive masses. Currently it seems many are satisfied and "Rapska Fjera" already won the Prize last year in Dubrovnik as the best croatian tourist product ( our mind-product !?), although is going on this summer only for a 3rd time. Also, similar festivals are booming accros the contry, all grounded in some "historical facts", stories or legends. But certaint compromises perhaps shouldn't be done ( as for expl. the re-designing of the Rab folks costume) no matter how much easier it is to use it then in tourist animating. On the other hand; folks dresses changed in time anyway, don't they? Underlying unease, accompanied Nostalgia, popular fascination with this kind of festivals and the story-telling how "it was better before" told by the participants are all understandable and fitting; people are remembering the world that does not exist. In all this arquing it is just questionable to what scale should we re-invent history, reanimate events, and recycle stories, legends and historical facts. But if we like the new patchworks that much to embrace it as truely ours, why not? We will fit nicely in the globalised culture of the modern entertainment world that enjoys the comodity in exchange for space; cultural and physical.
This is an example how tourism uses history the same way biologist use science in zoo. There are other too; Disneyland, Gardaland, dutch mini town and other theme '-lands', phenomens take various shapes: from staging "Calvary" to street basketball fest... Today, tourism is responsible for both the celebration and the loss of distinct cultural identities.
Rab Fiera is just an incomplete experiment , seemingly profitable but with which the so called organisers actualy donßt know what to do... ( because it is not of their creation). "Events are not choreographed in a vacuum of cause and effect. Context-bound interactions must rely on the attributes and behaviors of the individuals concerned and their environment." - W. C. Hunter in the paper Trust Between Culture: The Tourist, page 18.
Will Fiera outgrow current level of alleged authentic medieval market and flashy pageantry?
Hardly. There is no consistent plan for it and the 4th Fjera 2005 shows that it becomes something completely different of that what is talk about in its' presentation. 1 pancacke with nutella 10 kn, 3 slices of chees 20 kn, a glass of deluted wine 15 kn. Then some jewerly, all kinds of souveniers that have little to do with the theme... Rab cake souvenier and the wine in plastic bottles. Then some gents from the reneissance, baroque and the ladies from the 19ct. in the crowds of tourists and a couple of 'medieval' lepers.CUES FOR FURTHER FORMINGS of Fjera that yet do not exist
Ways of sustainable tourism:
- use local resourses, build image based on the idea of local diversity and variety of supply
- decentralise culture and tourism; induce co-operation between theses sectors
- take care about authenticity!- Under this one, Fjera promotion deffinitely needs honest correcton.Possible and yet not achieved or attempted additional contents that should be held in connection with Fjera manifestation:
- open workshops ( art, music, theatre, crafts...), with the results shown at Fjera & specialised short workshops for tourists during the festival
- children programm! ( not only showing children as the living exponats)
- education: expert lectures in history, arts and similar sciences connceted with the theme in which could the local community grow
Research Open directory on the 'living history' subject:
http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Living_History/By_Historical_Region/Europe/Renaissance/
- english
http://dmoz.org/World/Deutsch/Freizeit/Hobbys/Lebendige_Geschichte/Europa/Renaissance/
-deutsch
HERITAGE - TOKEN FOR THE FUTURE?Problem with the tourism is that this industry viewes places as an aggregate of tourist attractions, looking for cultural differences and local identities to package them as products. At the same time, the tourist as partial observer most oftenly cannot keep track of historical transformations, authenticity or origin. He can be critical only when it comes to personal comfort. The tourist is a model of modern man; seeking to get close to the roots of civilisation and own self by visiting and looking at packaged versions of the past. Culture provides orientation in the world we inhabit. Tourism migrates cultures and changes traditions. The pre-modern world has not disappeared, it has just been turned into zillions of tourist attractions but the mass of the tourist globalisation supersede cultural diversity and standardise tourist experiences and the experience of the perception of the world through the global World- Culture. Through its 'needs', the industry oftenly creates monuments, events and custums, reshapes the environment to be touristically validated. The growing volume of tourism also speeds up the process of monumentalization. Inherited architectural and artistic styles, political prejudices, religious myths and traditional customs are no longer meant to be transcended but touristically consumed without consideration. Heritage tourism, eco tourism, cultural tourism, volunteer tourism are just self-pretend cleverly labeled modern tourist products, invented just as all other before them ( exotic travel, adventure travel ...). Philosophy of sustainable travel is among the most popular issues nowdays; sensitivity to local communities, tourists ( replacement word travelers, visitors) as a powerful force in preserving and restoring the destinations they frequent. Ecotourism focuses on the conservation of natural habitats and the promotion of local economies without exploitation or overdevelopment. Community-based tourism aims to channel tourist dollars into the local economy by emphasizing tours and cultural programs run by members of the host community, often to the benefit of disadvantaged groups. Volunteer tourism range from conservation to humanitarian projects. All is about getting involved in the communities visited and sometimes the real question is whether to visit at all...
As an example, see this volunteer tourism project: http://www.crtp.net/ We are going towards the stage of Total tourism which transforms drug dealers shooting at each other or any other social phenomena in an exciting tourist scene and use it as 'product content'. Everything is allowed, everything is possible. Also, everything is subject to mercantilization, including the most marginal or banal. However; "the stories about the failure in the development of the so-called 'backward countries show not only an exterminating cultural and economic neocolonialism, but also the poorness of western culture, which identifies 'good life and 'standard of living' with the production and possession of things. Not all commercial goods which increase the GNP, are objective goods for persons, for society and for nature, but in many cases they partake of an evil or are one (detriment to health, exhaustion of resources, control systems...). The same can be said of 'services'. Freedom cannot confine itself to choosing among some given options, but, mainly, it must allow to create new options." - Martí Olivella.
Read this quote from an article in croatian art magazine Zarez ( nr. 129: http://www.zarez.hr/129/esej3.htm
Pod istim suncem isti dronjci, iste rane , Aleksandar Mijatovic:
"History mediated through tourism becomes surrogate for present instead its continuum. Tourists strive to perceive the authenthicity of everyday life that has already irredeemebly sliped away from his horizont of experience in his own homeland. His understanding is superficial and limited, not only because he stays in some foreign land for a wshort while or because he strives to achive the panoptical supremacy over it, but because the foreign land delivers itself nd this should be empfesised; openly collusive. Buit in such a way that the tourist rituals withdraw itself to grey spot, so the tourist fails to see through the decor and artificiality of the content. hence he does not reach for expl. true Dalmatian ( or true Aborigine or Scots for that matter a.r.) , because natives put their biological bodies into procjection of cultural images on the one hand, while the tourist cannot aproach other than sighseeing it, not by directly touching it. Therefore is cultural tourism all but strategy of tourism; it is rather articulation of all the prejudices, from economical to xenophobic about tourist and the tourism."
BUY A TICKET TO HEAVEN - The Tyrany of the Happiness
"Those transient in paradise surely have a right to expect friendliness from those blessed enough to inhabit; locals are part of the product, and as such have very definite and circumscribed roles thrust upon them. Discrepancies are opened up by a refusal to perform, or at least to maintain a level of presumably manic happiness. This is a common problematic; countries which have employed tourism as a development strategy often rely on their citizen’s ability to stage a foisted notion of tradition and collective psychology." - Gavan Titley, Global Theory and Touristic Encounters, 2000
Commercial presence of history in the present time is no proof of authenticity nor any kind of orientation mark for the modern individual for whom the only history is the yesterday's news. Modern man changes homeland for the world. Tourist towards himself and to other, but instead walking through the world he is sightseeing it as the big amusement park or endless museum in which his discretional look falls equally on identity or difference. Tourism is not just a travelling way for the domicile population to spend their free time. Tourism as the modern phenomena is the condition of the modern humanity - we are all tourist building Planetary society. This fatal Tourism is becoming Supreme Good, stalking itself wioth the epithet of cosmopolitanism and yet it does not carry that very basical readyness of 'I' to live the World with other people. As C. Jung puts it: Modern man will never find peace until he comes into harmony with the place where he lives. In this light, it is a true queastion whether there can be any Sustainable tourism at all, because it ought to contain this coexistance of diversities, with the emphasys on the guests not to expect or demand of hosting communities to replicate his reality and expectations. If you are concerned about sustainability/ diversity and endangered spieces you might be asking yourself whether you ought to travel to Amazonia or Nepal at all. But it is not necessary to worry yourself too much, the young generations there are already far more interested in Madonna, Harley Davidson and possibility of fast and good 'western' lifestyle than in environment/ culture/ identity protection. Welcome into the Global Tourist Humanity. It is no surprise that in search of our own distinctivness we pile up testimonies, documents, pictures and all possible visible signs of what once was. That has nothing to do with the genesis. We are puzzling out what we are in the light of what we are not any more. We have yet to learn to see the world around us.
The City in the Age of Touristic Reproduction by Boris Groys The tourist and the city dweller become identical. Translated from German by Nastasa Medved. url: http://artefact.mi2.hr/_a02/lang_en/write_groys_en.htm
Welcome into the Global Tourist Humanity.
It is no surprise that in search of our own distinctivness we pile up testimonies, documents, pictures and all possible visible signs of what once was. That has nothing to do with the genesis. We are puzzling out what we are in the light of what we are not any more. We have yet to learn to see the world around us.
THE CONFLICTING REALITIES OF THE TOURIST HEAVEN
Touristificated Mediterranean, Adriatic Islands;
Sustainable and non-sustainable Development-Practices,
Management and development policies,
ImpactsDevelopment explosion
Space best records the lapse of time. In our adriatic environment everything has been signed in stone, concrete and asphalt. The relations between new construct and the historical i.e. natural ambience along the adriatic coast and on the islands voice the fact that the croatian mediterannean cultural heritage nor the general environment preservation, despite UNESCO titles, are not integral part of our present culture. Croatian coast is far from "Meditteranean as it once was"as advertised by the National Tourist Board. Coast and the islands are degraded. Old urban kerns detoriate or get devastated and around them blossoms the unplanned settlement buildings without infrastructure, clear purpose and of course without any taste or architectual imagination. Term "Apartmanisation" reacently used in the media actually stands for suburbian dormitories along the shores. Urban design is both a product and a process, here definitely highly influenced and shaped through Tourism, but it seems that the potential of a harmonic townscape and the satisfaction of the population has been lost somewhere along the way.
The croatian tourism mainly stands for "tourism for all". It is poorely regulated, highly seasonal industry promoting non-sustainable methods, with exhausting effects on the local people and environment. VIP tourists say that all our hotels have a 'post communist' feel - they are all alike. The private accommodation sector also started to show its' "headaches", because at the destination the tourist consumes the image of the place, not the reality of day-to-day life of the host destination. Tourism became the El' Dorado land for the national 'grey' economy and its 'financial wizards' as well as for the global tour corporations, supported by the officials because of corruptive or short term financial interests. The main feature of croatian ( as many other) tourism industry is that the 'emitive' markets with the minimum expenses or investments earn far the highest income ( 4x- 5x), putting often impossible challanges to local infrastructure. It is also very interesting that the development crediting in the destinations is most oftenly done through the foreighn banks with much higher rates. It is clear whose industry tourism propels and no wonder that in the general globalisation of the world ( except in few alternative groups), there is no open dialogue neither locally nor internationally on this subject.
Homogeneity of touristic landscapes
Tourist landscapes become homogenuous all along Meditteranean.. The greatest part of Adriatic coast has been industialised already, not only because of the expansion of concentrated commercial centres, factory, harbor and steel mill installations, but through the various tourist inventions as well; from modern 'international' expression in our big tourist resorts ( for expl. riviera Porec, Umag, Pula, Makarska, Babin kuk in Dubrovnik) to individuall tourist building and add-on's. Croatian tourist trade currently does not maintain the survival of small local craftmens workshops of all kinds, small specialised shops, characteristic entertainment catering, nor the full employment or actual existance for the local population that is burdened by high taxes, considerably higher livery prices, bad communications, lack of possibilities and hence increasingly selling property. Also, the kind of tourists in 'private accommodation' changed drastically in the last decade, from long term visitors who stayed for weeks ( usually 3 weeks) with the local families, befriended with locals and explored the island to short stay tourists who save on cheep accommodations with the locals and bring their own holiday supplies ( from toilet paper to food and beverages). This on the other hand led to the explosion of cheep tourist building. Remaining island population is getting increasingly older, with younger population seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Those poorely inhabited Adriatic Islands may become nature reserves. On bigger or more developed/ populated islands the number of rental houses, cottages and whole appartment villages increases every day. They are inhabited only for 2 months a year, with the perspective of conflicts among weekend population and whole year inhabitants.. Results based on such tourism: Change or loss of indigenous identity and values, Reconstructed ethnicity, Commodification, Standardization, Loss of authenticity and staged authenticity, Adaptation to tourist demands, Culture clashes, Economic inequality, Resource use conflicts, Cultural deterioration, Conflicts with traditional land-uses, Depriving local people of access, Irritation due to tourist behavior, Job level friction, Physical influences causing social stress, Ethical issues, Crime generation, poor employment conditions: long hours, unstable employment, low pay, little training and poor chances for qualification to Child labour and finally Prostitution and sex tourism. We are only to go through american example of town replica's and theme resorts ( “Disneyfication” ), booming of golf resorts and mega marina's. In better cases we will get programms of built environmental landscape bubbles ( parks, camps) for sustainable development in overall non-sustainable regions. Our space and landscape is under peaceful urban Invasion, vastly already devastated. However people happily travel so fast on the highways to their relax- resorts and fail to see the the devastated landscape along the way or the devastated landscape on their destination ( because it is not percieved as such). Environment changes of aestetic value are under dictum of the fast consumer values, nice ilustrative examples are cruise- liners in Adriatic. In notorious obsession with 'touristic progress' it is little thought of long term impacts of ever multiplying presence of ships and yachts in the Adriatic. The full impacts of their pollution not only on the marine life but on the coastal area as well as the noise pollution, have yet to be investigated and evaluated. The Mediterranean Monk Seal has disappeared from the Adriatic just arround the first explosion of nautical tourism. The cumulative impacts on life of less sensitive marine spieces and underwater flora & fauna needs to be assessed. Some of other serious but overlooked pollution issues with cumulative effects that cause grave environmental derangement; light pollution, chemical pollution ( cumunal waste, pesticids and other toxics, air pollution...), physical pollution with non-degradable or slowly decomposable elements... We are not living in an environment that we think we are living in. With all this urban changes in the landscape, we are also loosing our identity orientations. Through this excessive building and its infrastructure the whole settings have become non mediterranean and we still continue to behave as if this space is limitless. Energy environmental exhaustion is also mirrored in aestetical landscape infringement. This is not the land of our ancestors any longer.
When the expatriats return after long years of absence, they see this the best; either their birthplace is in wreck or changed so much that they can hardly orientate. And so goes with the people because the desturction of the heritage leads to the memory loss in the identity... Change of Identity - maybe for the future we create that is not such a bad thing. Only, is it possible in a way we want it? Croatian tourism has taken a wrong turn. It is also questionable whether such an industry should be a main corner-stone of any state economy..
However, in finding suitable solutions sometimes the right questions give the right answers. "If the three pillars of sustainable development — public welfare, economy and environment — are to be effectively built into tourism, the contradictions of current tourism strategies must be recognised and understood." - from the paper “Red card for the tourism?“ - DANTE, Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Nachhaltige TourismusEntwicklung:
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/%20IYE/quebec/cd/statmnts/pdfs/piause.pdf
Tourism as a Development Tool
- Adriatic identity - "MEDITERRANEAN AS IT ONCE WAS" - irony of the tourism marketing, maybe more appropriate: Adriatic: destination "under construction"
The MYTH for the incoming destinations outside developed Western sphera Tourism generates foreign exchange, as well as employment and government revenues through taxes, developes the region through hotel construction and in the operations of accommodation entities throughout the country. Tourism stimulates production of goods and services in a wide range of sectors and sub-sectors, e.g. construction, furniture and fittings, agriculture, fisheries, food growing and processing and light manufacturing, health water, education, handicrafts, as well as transport, telecommunications and financial services. The best and most profitable export tool. The dispersion of tourist assets throughout the country creates pockets of economic growth in each of the regions. The development of the tourist industry is a national priority. Government should therefore provide the necessary resources. The safety and comfort of visitors is a high priority. Passenger facilitation should be enhanced to encourage the influx of tourists. The pursuit of sustainable tourism development should be a major focus of Government activities in the sector. Existing barriers to growth of the industry should be removed; educational training of the population, development and expanding infrastructure capacities, encouraging international financial institutions, acquisition of land for tourism development, encouragement of private investment in the tourist industry...
Characteristics:
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
ECONOMIC SLAVERY
LANDSCAPE DEVASTATION
POLLUTION
EXPROPRIATION
CORRUPTIONCroatian example "In Croatia tourism is accounting for around 5.5% of employment and generating just over 30% of total exports of goods and services. Originally, the tourism sector was developed to maximise foreign currency receipts rather than profits. Although it provides a market for other sectors, such as food processing and retail trade, it remains a relatively low value-added industry. In 1999 "hotels and restaurants", the category in the national accounts that best captures the industry, accounted for only 2.6% of GDP, less than half its share of employment. Tourism has been held back by the low quality of hotels and other infrastructure, most of which dates back to the earlier period and was aimed at mass package tourism." "Although tourist arrivals collapsed when war broke out in 1991, the current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus in 1993- 94 because imports were subdued in view of the depressed state of the economy.
However, since 1995 the country has run persistently wide current-account deficits. Even though the tourism sector recovered after the end of the war, this was insufficient to offset the sharp increase in the trade deficit. " - inserts from the http://www.intracen.org/worldtradenet/docs/networking/country_papers/paper_croatia.pdf strategy of development: "If you fly along the coast you will see a lot of land that is not in use," says Ruskkovic. "We have located forty two locations that would be excellent for golf courses, and we are now working on ownership issues." She states that only a few of these locations are government owned. "We are on a good path towards making a deal with people who are owners of land and give them options. They can leave the land and come into a joint venture. On land that is not used- the owner will have to pay the tax. That will make it so that it?s much better for them to construct a golf course rather than to leave it as empty land." - published by International Reports: http://www.internationalspecialreports.com/europe/01/croatia/privatized.htmlhttp://www.nfi.at/english/Arbeitsbereiche/tourism/EcoTour/documents/RoteKarte-eng.pdf- DANTE, Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Nachhaltige TourismusEntwicklung
Tourism is viewed positively as a development option but there is limited co-ordination of tourism activities and insufficient collaboration between the public and private sector or corrupted co-operation where existing... In addition, the island is dependent on uneven geographical and seasonal tourism influx. Just like in Crete, as pointed out by Dr Konstantinos Andriotis; "Tourism has modified traditions and has affected the environment and society. Since community perceptions match reality (what is on the ground from development), problems are real and it is necessary to find solutions for their amelioration." Croatian tourism has definitely taken a wrong turn. It is also questionable whether such an industry should be a main corner-stone of any state economy.. However, in finding suitable solutions sometimes the right questions give the right answers.
Case study island Rab - What is at stake?
- ecologicaly healthy island environment / land and the sea, island resources
- human potentials ( emigration, insufficient educational and advancement possibilities, aging of the population) and heritage ( change in the way of life influences environment and structures in it)Synopsis:
- devastation of the landscape, cultural heritage without heir
- tourism impacts and challanges, few charactgeristics of the turistic building;
- seaside construction on terrains with easy access, oftenly in fields
- dying of the historical towns, popularity of the new settlements
- individual building; disappearing of traditional roofs ( "kupe"), appearance of 4 confluence roofs, cheep material usage; most common concrete, balkonies constructed in simple concrete deck, metal fences, plastic windows, typical unbalanced add ons on the houses, copycat models
- unproportional construction and installation of the infrastructure; problematic public illumination, setting up of electric, telephone wires, fuse plants, variouse antennas, air conditioning exterior units etc..
- old seaside towns - museums without residents, cultural sanctuary trendConclussion:
People exploit nature, other creatures and people as if they were their own, using them for their own goals and funny whims. Since time immemorial man always continues to think that he has power over nature. If this is true, does that mean that he is entitled to its destruction? Although we are capable for that, man in the full sense of the word has no right to destroy / destroy nature because it is not all just for him and because of him.Change of viewpoint and attitude is required; recognise earth as paradise.
Although tourism has inflicted enough damage, with redesign and better management and accountability on the principles of sustainability can still preserve the remaining places for the soul and restore a lot.
Rab from a different angle
Kristina Maškarin 2004 / 2005
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