Executive Summary

Case Study: Social and cultural aspect of tourism on host countries.
 

The report is conducted on the social and cultural impact of tourism on the host country of Cologne. The report outlines the positive impact in the forms of higher and enhanced standard of living, and greater and better understanding of culture is induced by tourism but the erosion of traditional culture and rise in crime is also reflected in the report. The report uses an attitude survey as the methodology in the report.

The report underlines and covers the social and cultural impact of tourism on the host countries. The report presents a cohesive depiction of the various influences of tourism on the host countries. It can be observed that tourism is growing at a rampant rate in the current age and this casts both positive as well as negative influence on the host countries. The report is conducted in the city of Cologne in Germany. It is a city comprising of rich heritage and depicts ancient architecture and heritage structures. The city attracts a lot of tourists and one can observe cultural interaction and cross cultural inferences in the city. The city experiences various effect of tourism and the report highlights the effects in terms of social and cultural aspect.

The attitude survey was used for this case study in which residents were made to give their views and perceptions about tourism on the host nations. Attitude survey is an important tool in assessing the social and cultural impact of tourism on host countries. It is an empirical study of the social and cultural inferences on the host country and the residents and evaluates the host citizens’ attitude towards the impact of tourism. A questionnaire was used to include the data and information required for the case study. Secondary data was used for this report. Case study analysis was used as the methodology. “Primary and secondary data collection method” was used for the purpose of the case study. Qualitative and quantitative method of collection was used. Different questionnaire were provided to people of host countries on their response towards tourism and the impact casted by tourism on them. “Positivism research approach”, “deductive approach” and “descriptive approach” are used for the case study. “Primary data collection” method involves analytical study. Attitude survey and questionnaires were used for the study and research purpose. The use of scholarly articles and case studies would be critical and helpful in analyzing the research topic and developing a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of the impact of tourism.    

Tourism affects the social and cultural aspect of the host nations. They contribute to the value system, social and cultural system, and moral grounds of the host nations. 

Firstly, it can be seen tourism lead to the great communication of the host countries and the residents of the country with the tourists. Secondly, there is a greater level of interaction and association with the tourists. Thirdly, tourism development causes displacement of local people from their lands and the prospect of tourism development is attained at the cost of decline of indigenous industries. For example, beaches are privatized for developing tourism and fishermen have to lose their jobs. Fourthly, tourism leads to loss of identity of local community and the belief of the community. Tourism encourages certain practices that lead to tourism development but loss of social community’s identity. Tourism turns local cultures into commodities when the local beliefs and the religious norms are amended and changed according to the expectation and outlook of the tourists. This is termed as reconstructed ethnicity. This is an adverse effect on the local community’s culture as the tourist influence and amends the local cultures. Thus, one can see the erosion of local cultures due to the invasion of tourist culture.  For example, to increase the turnover certain products, which promote the tourist’s country’s art and craft are sold and an excessive practice of this leads to loss of social identity. Certain spots are termed as tourist spots and therefore tourists establish a sense of domination in such areas and therefore the demand of tourists for art and culture of leads to changes in human value. Sacred sites and heritage sites are not given respect and are treated as commercial place.  Fifthly, impacts of tourism can be seen on the lines of crime rates and prostitution. For example, certain tourists indulge in crime and immoral conduct that affect the social setting and the host country’s practices. Tourism also affect the culture of the host countries. Firstly, the direct and indirect associations with the tourists foster greater communication and understanding of the tourist by the host countries. The tourists indulge in personal interaction for obtaining knowledge and understanding of the host’s culture and lifestyle. This helps in the greater understanding of the culture of tourist and induces cross-cultural interaction (Scherrer & Doohan, 2013).

Methodology

Secondly, the host nation tries to inculcate and replicate the life style of tourists. They emulate the lifestyle of the tourists and try to induce it in the standard of living. The standard of living and lifestyle is majorly influenced by tourism. The local hospitality towards tourism has increased due to better understanding and influences the motivation of tourists. Development of tourism industry inculcates and develops better understanding of different cultures around the world and gives the host country a taste of cultural diversity. It also leads to cross cultural management and work atmosphere. The invasion of foreign and global giants in host country, one can notice and infer the importance and significance of cross cultural interactions. It creates a rich vein of cultural bio diversity and provides a platform to the host country to evaluate and incorporate salient features of different cultures. For example, the effect of western tourists on developing country is the emulation and attempt of the locals to conform to similar standards of technology used by the tourist country. 

Thirdly, cultural commercialization and derogatory impacts on the traditional culture of the host nation is observed from time to time (Figini, & Vici, 2012). In host country, which is Cologne in this case, it is observed that tourists demand for local arts and craft, souvenirs and other cultural objects. The craftsmen and artists have responded to the demands by producing output according to the demands of the tourists. This leads to changes in the style and form of local art and architecture and consequently affects the local culture. Fourthly, tourists due to callousness and lack of awareness failed to offer respect and reverence to the local customs and moral beliefs. This causes dissatisfaction and an atmosphere of unrest and hostility towards tourists. Sacred and heritage objects and places are treated as commodity and not given enough respect. This leads to dissatisfaction and tension among the locals since the disrespect and the cultural gap creates a stir among the people often leading to misunderstanding and misinterpretation.  For example, many tourists disregard the dress code offered to women in Muslim countries and the consumption of alcohol openly in public. This causes disrespect and dissatisfaction among host countries. Fifthly, the host countries are appointed at a lower level in tourism industry, while the foreigners are appointed at a higher level. This dissatisfaction is one of the adverse impacts of tourism on the lines of culture. Job inequalities cause dissatisfaction among local communities and the host countries towards tourists. The cultural diversity gets hampered by inequality and biased attitude meted out to the locals. This in turn creates a tension between the locals and the tourists. It also severely hampers the economic growth of the host countries and the growth and development of the host countries.  

Certain recommendations for reducing the negative impact of tourism are put forth from the case study. The restriction on the number of tourists in specific areas needs to be curtailed. The government needs to increase the fee involved in tourism to curb the negative impact of tourism and also put a check on anti-social activities induced by tourism. Eco tourism needs to be advocated to preserve the environmental conditions and also reduce social conflicts. Green tourism can be promoted to safeguard the cultural and historical diversity and initiate ethical approach. Proper allocation of job opportunities should be distributed to the local as well as the foreigners and proper job training needs to be provided. Local culture and traditional social beliefs and art and culture should be encouraged and promoted to enhance its importance and value. Preservation and upliftment of indigenous industries of the local community must be promoted. Better campaigns and programs need to be developed to help tourists develop a better and a cohesive understanding of the local cultures and the different nuances of the local culture and the different beliefs of the social community should be established. More journals and publications need to be made on the local culture that spreads more awareness and information about the local culture and practices. 

Findings

Conclusion

The conclusion drawn from this report is that tourism comes with a positive as well as negative impact on the social and cultural side of a host country. It can be seen that a country suffers from the boons and banes as well from tourism. The positive traces can be seen from the cultural interactions between the locals and the tourists. It can be seen the cross cultural effect tend to lend cultural diversity and the positivity can be inferred from the change and the upliftment in the lifestyle of the people. The better and detailed understanding of different cultures initiates a sense of peace and communal harmony among people. This lends a strong impact and therefore, cultural diversity can be observed. Cultural diversity can be observed in workplace and it develops a strong work atmosphere, with different people belonging to different culture and lifestyle. Various positive elements of different cultures are incorporated within the host country to develop a strong cultural norm of the country. It affects the social structure and social norm of the host country and affects the life style of the host residents and also upgrades their lifestyle. However, there are negative impacts on the traditional culture of the host country and causes anti- social activities and crime are also initiated by tourism. One can see erosion of the local culture to fit the demands and needs of the tourists. This leads to a shift in the local culture and style. Too much incorporation of elements from different cultures leads to the loss of the local culture’s identity and values. Loss of indigenous industries and jobs are seen to accommodate the needs and demands of tourism. Disrespect and lack of awareness about local cultures lead to misunderstanding and social unrest. It creates a rift between two cultures and consequently develops a sense of hostility among the local towards the tourist. This arises due to the lack of respect and understanding of the local culture by the tourist. The biased attitude in terms of job allocation also creates a stir and leads to dissatisfaction among the people. 

Reference List

Aitchison, C., MacLeod, N. E., Macleod, N. E., & Shaw, S. J. (2014).Leisure and tourism landscapes: Social and cultural geographies. Routledge.

Briassoulis, H., & Van der Straaten, J. (Eds.). (2013). Tourism and the environment: regional, economic, cultural and policy issues (Vol. 6). Springer Science & Business Media.

Crouch, D. (2013). Leisure/tourism geographies: Practices and geographical knowledge (Vol. 3). Routledge.

Figini, P., & Vici, L. (2012). Off-season tourists and the cultural offer of a mass-tourism destination: The case of Rimini. Tourism Management, 33(4), 825-839.

Kim, J. H., & Ritchie, J. B. (2014). Cross-cultural validation of a memorable tourism experience scale (MTES). Journal of Travel Research, 53(3), 323-335.

Lozano-Oyola, M., Blancas, F. J., González, M., & Caballero, R. (2012). Sustainable tourism indicators as planning tools in cultural destinations.Ecological Indicators, 18, 659-675.

Mostafanezhad, M. (2013). ‘Getting in Touch with your Inner Angelina’: celebrity humanitarianism and the cultural politics of gendered generosity in volunteer tourism. Third world quarterly, 34(3), 485-499.

Moura, F. T., Gnoth, J., & Deans, K. R. (2014). Localizing cultural values on tourism destination websites: The effects on users’ willingness to travel and destination image. Journal of Travel Research, 0047287514522873.

Muskat, B., Muskat, M., & Blackman, D. (2013). Understanding the cultural antecedents of quality management in tourism. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 23(2), 131-148.

Nickson, D. (2013). Human resource management for hospitality, tourism and events. Routledge.

Raj, R., & Griffin, K. A. (Eds.). (2015). Religious tourism and pilgrimage management: An international perspective. CABI.

Salerno, F., Viviano, G., Manfredi, E. C., Caroli, P., Thakuri, S., & Tartari, G. (2013). Multiple Carrying Capacities from a management-oriented perspective to operationalize sustainable tourism in protected areas. Journal of environmental management, 128, 116-125.

Scherrer, P., & Doohan, K. (2013). ‘It’s not about believing’: Exploring the transformative potential of cultural acknowledgement in an Indigenous tourism context. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 54(2), 158-170.

Theresa. L & Guido. S (2012). Cross Cultural Interaction between tourists and a destination’s local residents in Andalusia, Spain. Advancement in Hospitality and Tourism and Marketing Management 23(2) , 58-70

Yvette R. (2012). : International Tourism: Cultures and Behaviour, 40 – 41. Routledge

Zeng, B., & Gerritsen, R. (2014). What do we know about social media in tourism? A review. Tourism Management Perspectives, 10, 27-36.