Heritage as a Tourism Commodity: Traversing the Tourist–Local Divide

Abstract

In developing tourist attractions, government planning authorities and entrepreneurs face a challenging task trying to cater to the interests of foreign visitors while meeting the needs of the local community. This paper presents the case of tourism development as a dynamic process in which the “tourist–local divide” is negotiated and the welfare of both groups monitored. This argument is empirically developed with the aid of two case studies on heritage tourism in Singapore: the adaptive re–use of old shophouses after their conversion into boutique hotels, and the re–invention of street activities as tourist sites. The commoditisation thesis advanced by many tourism writers is critiqued. I argue that heritage development is geared towards Singaporeans as much as it is towards tourists, and the effects of commoditisation are not always negative for the host community. Rather than a static object, heritage is an ever–changing product influenced by the combined effects of economic development, tourism and socio–cultural forces at the local scale. For this reason, the notion that commoditisation leads to “inauthenticity” is re–evaluated and a more optimistic prognosis on heritage tourism is offered.

Singapore's Little India: A Tourist Attraction as a Contested Landscape

“…In insider±outsider dynamics, it is presumptuous to generalise that all tourists will share a sense of alienation towards place, and that all residents are inextricably linked by feelings of local solidarity. Similarly, it is presumptuous to assume that tourist±local relations are always combatory since insider±outsider alliances do exist too (Hitchcock et al, 1993;Chang, 1997).…”

A cultural hospitality framework for heritage accommodations

“…Heritage hotels and resorts have become important cultural and historical venues for showcasing distinct ethnic heritage environments across the globe (Chang, 1997;Timothy & Teye, 2009). Such built heritage-oriented settings significantly facilitate local and regional development in that they expand the heritage tourism offerings of local regions (Chhabra, 2010;Dinçer & Ertuğral, 2003;Murzyn-Kupisz, 2013).…”

Industria turística y especificidad cultural: El caso de Collingwood en Ontario

“…Residents also get to enjoy new public spaces as well as development of historical sites they otherwise would not have been able to afford, or at least would not have made a municipal spending priority (Chang et al, 1996). In other words, the commodification of place can mean enhancements that need negotiating between tourists' needs for symbolic consumption and locals' need for urban improvement of "zones of discard" (Chang, 1997). Small rural communities are pragmatic if anything.…”