Page 66 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

tourism 1843

Tourism in Hawaii

By the early twenty-first century, many towns, cities against local residents. For the same reason, the
and regions around the world had become dependent tourist industry mounts public relations campaigns
on tourist dollars for their economic survival. In directed at local residents, the message being that
many of these tourist destinations, it a combination tourism supports us all and therefore we should be
of a pleasant climate, a scenic environment, and the hospitable to our “visitors.”
commercialization of the indigenous way of life that A recent campaign by the state-funded Hawaii Vis-
makes them popular. Hawaii is one such tourist itors Bureau is an example of how the tourist indus-
destination. try seeks to preserve Hawaiian culture because it is a
Tourism supports most of the island population in marketable resource. Big ads addressed to local busi-
one way or another, although not grandly for most; nesses were placed in newspapers. Under a picture of
approximately one-third of jobs statewide are directly a hula dancer in a grass skirt, one ad read: Keep it
or indirectly generated by tourism.The vital signs of Hawai’i. Hula is good for business. Sometimes we
the industry are continuously and anxiously moni- forget, but visitors to our islands have invested a lot
tored and reported in local papers: the rise and fall in of time—and money—to get here. For them, it’s a
the numbers of tourists, hotel occupancy rates, daily dream that’s finally come true. So let’s show them a
spending averages of mainland and Japanese tourists thing or two.Your business can add to the magic of
—all are indices of the total well-being of the islands. Hawai’i by sharing examples of our heritage and tra-
Protecting the fragile resource of the “aloha spirit” is ditions. Hawaiian music, a hula demonstration, or the
a concern of the industry and hence the state. Since simple gift of a flower can create lasting memories for
tourism is dependent on image, tourists are as easily visitors. Better still, your efforts give back to the com-
dissuaded from a destination by reports of crime and munity by helping preserve the true essence of
social conflict as they are lured to it by images of fun Hawai’i.
and romance. For that reason, crimes against tourists Source: Buck, E. B. (1993). Paradise remade: the politics of culture and history in Hawai’i
are often taken more seriously than similar crimes (pp. 180-181). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Modern tourism also carried with it a shift in values highly commercialized appeals to the larger public ben-
related to motivations for travel.Whereas earlier modes efits of recreation in such places.
of tourism, such as the pilgrimage, were often charac- If people could see increased leisure as benefiting peo-
terized by difficulties or, in the case of the Grand Tour, ple as well as providing healthier and more productive
with the distinctiveness of elite travel, the new, modern workers, then people also had begun to see dramatically
tourism came to be justified in terms of its benefits for increased opportunities to travel as benefiting society as
the masses and the industries that employed them. a whole and, more specifically, supporting the burgeon-
Thus, tourism and its leisure came to be increasingly ing nationalistic desires of the nineteenth and twentieth
described as a kind of recreation, emphasizing the phys- centuries.Thus, tourism worldwide has become a means
ical and spiritual health benefits to be gained from vaca- of both promoting and appreciating the interests of
tions away from the less-healthy urban environments in nations, if not of “imagining” their very being. Contem-
which the greater number of potential tourists was porary manifestations of these nationalistic interests
employed. In the United States in particular, many of include the much increased popularity of ecotourism (cel-
the popular beach resorts of today had their origin as ebrating the unique environments of places) and heritage
places of organized religious retreat. In much of Europe tourism (promoting the historical and cultural signifi-
the elite traditions associated with many exclusive beach cance of places).
and spa tourism locations were transformed during the The connection between innovations in transporta-
late nineteenth and early twentieth century by more tion and styles of tourism has continued with the