Growth of tourism has brought about many changes to the country. One obvious impact can be seen in the change/ loss of indigenous identity and values (the Maori tribe). It is caused by the loss of authenticity (staged) and adaptation to tourist demands. As tourism has increased rapidly in New Zealand, increasing amount of international tourists are becoming attracted and interested in the Maori culture and traditions. Thus, in order to meet the demand, many places in New Zealand started to set up guided tours relating to the Maori culture. This can be seen in an organisation that conducts such tours. Culture North carries out different cultural tours such as the waka trail. Not only that, this organisation also boast about her being the most experienced Maori cultural tourism operator, showcasing real and authentic culture of the Maori.
In the Waka Trail(right), visitors will participate in a traditional welcome in one of the oldest Marae by the local Maori. As part of the tours organised, the Night Show showcase modern day descendants of Maori culture that will approach guest with an authentic welcome and re-enact the story of their forefathers with stunning audio and visual effects. Another example is the Mitai Maori Village. In this village, visitors will be immersed in the different cultural elements such as cultural performances, war canoe and the hangi meal. In Auckland museum, visitors just have to pay a price to enjoy the cultural performance too. From these examples, we can see that such staged authenticity is in place so as to meet the different demand of the tourists.
Traditional Maori Performance
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2I1icer8A
There has been standardization where these cultural performances (above) are similar to one another. In this case, there has been a lost in the indigenous identity as such performances are carried out every night, losing the sacredness. Not only that, there has been commodification as well to the culture. There has been rise to the sale of souvenir of Maori items (right). For example, Maori weapons, carved Waka and masks are on sale in many of the retail shops. This means that the Maori culture expressions, traditions and beliefs are simplified into simple cultural items. Visitors can simply purchase the item and deem as understanding the Maori culture.
Such heritage commodification definitely results in a loss in the indigenous identity and values because it could be “represented” in souvenirs. Also, it can be seen where there has been erosion in the local dialect and language. As the second highest tourists arrival are from Europe (Tourism Satellite Account, 2010) where English is the common language, New Zealand has since adapted such as language and assisted in breaking down the language barrier (English is one of New Zealand’s official language). As English are use in most, if not all tourist destinations and attractions, this has caused the Maori language to struggle for survival even till this day
While on the other hand, it is undeniable that growth in tourism has bring about re-evaluation of culture and traditions of the Maori too. Tourism growth in New Zealand has encouraged the interest in conservation and sustainability of the Maori culture. Being the third highest percentage in tourism-characteristics industries (Tourism Satellite Account, 2010), cultural and recreational services are highly sought by international tourists. This has caught the attention of the government and has taken action so as to preserve the Maori culture. The efforts are relatively successful because the Maori population had increased 7.4% between 2001 and 2006
The government effort of encouraging interest in conservation and sustainability in the culture is prominent throughout the whole New Zealand. Also, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Maori language is on the verge of extinction. Thus, because of tourism growth in the industry, the government had realised the need of retaining the language, thus recognising the Maori language as New Zealand’s official language in 1987. Programmes such as the Kura Kaupapa Māori and Kōhanga Reo movement are introduced to recover the Maori language too.
With tourism growth, there has been an emergence of museums that displays on Maori lifestyles, culture and traditions. One excellent museum is the Far North Regional Museum where there is a comprehensive display of Maori carving styles and other art forms. Another museum is the Whangarei Museum (right), where it also, displays stunning Maori artefacts. Staged cultural performances in a way or so, has actually preserved the culture and traditions. Ignoring the authenticity element, at the very least the traditions is practiced daily to meet the tourists’ demand. As New Zealand is constantly developing, these traditions may be abandoned by the Maori people long ago. However, due to tourism growth, it has created a “force” to keep the tradition going.
Another change is that tourism growth has increase the number of facilities developed for tourism. One example is the upgrade of Queenstown Airport. This renovated and upgraded airport had open recently in 2007. Upgraded with a new arrival hall, cafe lounge and extensive landscaping definitely redefined the airport. Also, this upgrade is to curb with the increase in international travellers and flights coming into the airport. Well-known for her outdoor activities, many tourism facilities have emerged and that it revolves around this element.
Queenstown famous for its bungy jumping activities has developed many such facilities to meet the tourists demand. To name a few, the Shotover Canyon Swing is the world’s highest rope swing where one can jump off a cliff platform, reaching a speed of 150km per hour. The Bungee Rocket is another facility that satisfies tourists that wish to have an adrenaline rush. Other facilities developed for tourism include the various museum mentioned earlier. Below is a video on Shotover Canyon Swing.
Shotover Canyon Swing
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzYn_lUzzpk
It is obvious that these facilities that are developed will benefit the local residents as well. For example, the upgraded airport will provide New Zealanders a better transportation system and up-to-date facilities. This airport not only serves the international travellers, but at the same time serving domestic travellers, achieving the best of both world. While many of the outdoor activities facilities developed has provided fellow New Zealanders a place to spend over the weekends. These outdoor activities are great for family and the locals now get to enjoy it. Museums that are developed to provide knowledge to the tourists can be patronised by the locals too. As these museums showcases the Maori culture, local younger generation will learn more about New Zealand, and perhaps will trigger their interest towards their country’s culture and traditions. It also acts as an education platform for schools to carry out educational tours to enrich local youths about the Maori lifestyle, since most of the youth in New Zealand are influenced by the pop culture.
Another change is that tourism growth has brought about a force for peace. Since tourism requires travelling which brings people into contact with each other, there has been an increase in mutual sympathy and understanding between the Maori and tourists. The education elements in the museums and different cultural performances have allowed cultural exchange and understanding between people and cultures. The Maori people are often deemed as barbaric because of the various rituals they carried out.
One example is the Haka, where vigorous actions are displayed. Another example is the Hangi where this cooking method is deemed as unhygienic. It is due to these practices carried out by the Maori where people have misconception about them. Coupled with tattoo over their faces, there has been prejudice towards them. However, because of education element in tourism, tourists then understand these are ways of the Maori to express their cultural traditions. As such, there has been a reduction in prejudice towards them. We can clearly see that in the case of New Zealand, tourism has acted as a force for peace. While at the same time, tourism growth have also encouraged civic involvement and pride, where it has raised the local awareness of the financial value of natural and cultural sites. This can be seen where admission fees are collected at the different cultural museums and at various cultural performance.
One other change that resulted from tourism growth is perhaps the attitude of the host. According to the Doxey’s Irridex, New Zealand has moved from the euphoria stage to the apathy stage, where tourists are taken for granted, and that relationship between the host and guest are more formal. This also means that New Zealand is more prepared for the tourists. It can be seen where many infrastructures are developed for the tourist, and these are measures taken to prepare New Zealand for the voluminous amount of tourists. The behaviour of New Zealand has evolved to revitalisation stage where they preserve, display and boast cultural resources to tourists. In conclusion, tourism growth has brought about many changes to New Zealand, out of which some are negative and positive.
Reference: Images from Google Image, Doxey Irridex's table adapted from: http://www.iipt.org/conference/europe2008/web_resource/Final%20Presentations/Concurrent/3/B/Albert%20Postma%203B.pdf
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