Free Custom «The Relationship between Tourists and Locals» Essay Paper

The tourism industry is one sector of the economy whose workers and clients encounter face to face communication for efficient service delivery. This mutual understanding between these two different groups enhances closeness at both individual level and in international relation between/among countries. The emergence of tourist attraction may be historical or natural depending on the type of services visitors appreciate: culture tourism and site seeing. Due to the interaction at local and international level either monetary or otherwise, tourism industry has both negative and positive benefits. This essay is going to analyze how tourism affects our daily lives by referring to two different scenarios: tourism in Hawaii and tourism in Barbados. Also, focus will be laid on the consequences of interpersonal relationship between guests and hosts Chapter Review of Jane Desmond's "Staging Tourism" LiteratureHawaii remains one of outstanding tourist attraction centers for one main reason. The abundance of performances by mainly female dancers has always caught the attention of tourists making tourism in Hawaii a main economic source. The presence of predominant female dancers is the focal point of Hawaiian tourism industry. Important questions can be asked concerning the unmatched success of Hawaiian tourism. Is the bodily magnificence evidenced in live dancing sessions the main attraction for tourists? Could there be historical or other reasons behind the dominance of dance in the face of Hawaiian tourism? A close monitoring of tourism in Hawaii reveals a number of reasons, cultural difference not withstanding. Cultural diversity can be an attraction to a visiting guest given the allowed bodily presentation of dancers; hence the notion that Hawaiians have commoditized their body physique, gender, and race.Tracing the history of tourism in Hawaii back dates to 1920s as tourism had already become a promising industry in the islands. (Desmond, 4), "A formal system of tourism infrastructure-hotels, travel companies, a tourist service bureau, special tourist publications, new vigorous advertising on the mainland, and so forth-had replaced the more haphazard services rendered to visitors during the nineteenth century." The success of tourism in this area could be linked to aggressive marketing to lure tourists. The industry slowly became one of the main economic king pins for Hawaii by the late 1920s. After a decade lapse, cultural tourism was added to the overall tourism experience; for instance, the live performance of hula at recreational joints. These early and timely efforts by the industrial players became significant in shaping the appreciation of live dance acts following positive public reception of the idea. The tourism industrial set up was already set and in spite of the effects of World War II in the mid century, the industry was already firmly in place.Today the Hawaiian tourism sector is the biggest income earner for the island making it backbone of the economy. "The tourist industry is the leading source of income for the state, generating $11 billion a year in revenue, representing a quarter of Hawaii's gross state product and employing nearly a third of all workers," (Desmond 13). The main positive rewards of tourism industry are the earnings a country reaps from foreign and domestic tourists. The proceeds of the earnings can be used to promote infrastructural and facility development; for example, state of the art hotels and other hospitality facilities. (Mason 1956) concurs with this economic aspect of tourism by noting "contribution to government revenues." Contrarily, the tourism industry faces social rigidities emanating from the social classes in the society. Tourism attraction sites attract mainly white, middle-class audience. The working class and the rich also take part in the sector in total disregard to ethnic and racial factors. The proportions though do not represent the actual mainland population as far as racial figures are concerned. The distance of Hawaii from the mainland means that vacations can be mainly accessed by working classes and middle class who are able to purchase tourists' products with ease. Tourism industry in Hawaii has also led to tourist jamming that causes traffic jams mainly in Honolulu's H-1 highway, shortage of facilities such as homes, and an emerging criminal acts among other ill domestic issues.

 

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Chapter Review of George Gmelch's "Behind the Smile" LiteratureTourism job involves a one on one interaction between workers and customers making it an interesting industry when it comes to behavior change and adaptability. Employees in the industry come from modest academic and social backgrounds and they interact with guests who originate from distant countries with different cultural practices. In addition, these guests have high level incomes and different lifestyles. The interaction of these two groups is unique because while on the other end one is in for leisure, the other party is on duty. In addition, one is rich materially but with limited local cultural information while the other is financially tied but rich in cultural capital. In general, the differences between the two groups are asymmetrical and nonrepetitive. Most guest-host relationship in Barbados involves a white and a black mainly because majority of hosts are black while most guests are white. Race is an issue in management of hotels as most clients prefer to be hosted by fellow white hotel managers. As a result, the management of hotels is mainly reserved for the whites whom guests find comfortable to deal with. (Gmelch 26), says, "While urging its employees to be color blind, The tourism industry in Barbados itself has its own record of racism. Hotel management still remains disproportionately white. Services provided to local black Barbadians in hotels and restaurants are often slow or indifferent. Many resorts discourage locals from using their beaches." This illustrates the levels of racial abuse in the tourism industry.The economic success of tourism in Barbados lies in the mutual relationship between guests and the hosts. This is because the guests pay for the services and the more hospitable a recipient is, the more a country is bound to benefit significantly from tourism. It is likely that a tourist would return to a destination that offered him/her good treatment. It is on this basis that the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) lays emphasis to the locals to be friendly to guests. "The current national tourism slogan is 'Tourism success means Bajan progress.' Aired on radio and television, it reminds Barbadians of the importance of being courteous to tourists, which includes smiling and helping tourists when they ask for directions or have questions," (Gmelch, p. 28). To further boost the level of hospitality in the tourism industry, the Barbados's administration has set up its own Hospitality Institute to offer professional services for their guests. Experts view the investment in the tourism sector especially in human resource development as the most significant aspect of sustainable tourism. In the contrary, most private investors in the sector consider training as cost ineffective and see marketing as the most important issue to address. This skepticism in professional training in hospitality industry is also viewed with suspicion by the society as most people do not consider the field as lucrative.

Tourism industry encounters sex and romantic dramas: the most talked about guest-host encounter. Intimacy exists in females-beach boys' relationship. This form of relationship escalates when beach boys who sell products to tourists get personal as a result of one on one interaction. This form of relationship is known by the locals and any foreign tourist arriving in Barbados without company is seen to have another agenda in mind; seeking for a relationship. "Some women come to Barbados hoping to have a relationship with a black man. Locals say it began in the early 1960s when many French Canadians began to visit the Caribbean on inexpensive charter flights, (Gmelch 30). Foreign female tourists are obsessed with the idea that beach boys give sexual satisfaction; hence, they are fantastic lovers. There is a striking difference between tourism in Hawaii and the case for Barbados in that while the former's main attraction is the dance done by female dancers, the latter's case is the reverse. In Barbados female tourists are attracted to male masculinity and the notion that the Bajans are great love makers.Another issue emanating from Caribbean tourism is neocolonialism also referred to as leisure imperialism. The proponents of the idea argue that tourism involves power struggles in which metropolitan nations have substantial gains compared to the less developed tourism dependent countries. This issue takes as back to the historical times when labor and racial relationships was common in the colonial past. The influence of foreigners in the tourism industry has faced criticism from Caribbean intellectuals who see it as neocolonialization. The first social issue in is the fact that most Afro-Caribbean hosts serve white guests. This can be likened to the old plantation system in which enslaved workers served white masters. To add to the first point, there is economic gain that is mainly enjoyed by the metropolitan nations. The metropolitan countries exercise control of the tourism sector compared to the developing countries. To arrive at the Barbados, the most common mode of travel is by air; though few travelers use cruise ship or private boat. The airport which serves the Caribbean particularly Barbados is modernized with good roads leading to the immigration offices. Though the facility is modern, it becomes busy and overstretched when it reaches peak tourism season. At this point clearing with the immigration department becomes an uphill task. It is embarrassing for Barbados to lose millions of dollars due to congestion at the immigration department yet a lot of money is spent in advertising the tourism sector. When guests arrive at the port, clothing is a salient feature that can be seen as they come in long pants due to winter colds in Europe and North America. Later the visitors can be seen enjoying the warmth of the island by basking in the beaches with shorts while at the same time buying souvenirs decorated in native style.From the above argument, it can be said that the tourism industry has both benefits and short comings. Whereas the industry is a major foreign exchange earner, it has led to deterioration of cultural practices due to different lifestyles that guests come go with to a host nation. The ability of metropolitan countries to influence the sector in their own benefit has created suspicion among the elite in the society. Nonetheless, tourism is a recreational activity that employs a wide range of workers in the hospitality profession.