There are two related questions needed to be answered with at least 300 words for each (600 in total). The prof asks to read the article/book before do the writing, but I can provide you some other students’ writing and you can know the main ideas and write something on your own. Therefore you don’t need to do anything reading.
1. Struggle over the resource security
In their introduction to Tourism, Power and Culture, Donald V. L. Macleod and James G. Carrier state the following about part 1 (chapters 2 to 5) of the book, which we read last week and this week:
“[T]he first part, Tourism and the Power Struggle for Resources, deals with the struggle over resources at the tourist destination, where different groups experiencing different levels of power seek control over physical resources” (2010, 15).
Question
How does the chapter by Hitchcock and Darma Putra, which focuses on terrorist attacks in Bali, illustrate the struggle over resources, in this case security?
STUDENT 1:
The security of a tourist destination heavily impacts the success of the tourism industry in that place. As said by Hitchcock & Darma Putra (2010, 90), “tourism can only thrive under peaceful conditions”. This highlights the importance of this resource in particular. There is a battle between the country’s government and terrorists to maintain a safety within the tourist environment because without that particular resource “tourism arrivals [can] crumble” (Hitchcock & Darma Putra 2010, 90) similar to the situation in Jamaica once it was deemed unsafe. In the aftermath of the bombings the Bali Government placed heavy emphasis on trying to rehabilitate the country’s reputation and continue to portray the image of the “safe haven” (Hitchcock & Darma Putra 2010, 101). The country’s government even went as far as to make changes in the policing policies in order to emphasize the safety of tourists. This shows how essential security is to the success of the tourism industry. In attempts to make Bali appear as more secure to tourists, they introduced beach policing or “polisi pariwisata” (Hitchcock & Darma Putra 2010, 100) showing the extent of the efforts that the government was willing to undertake in order to combat the unsecure climate in the country at the time. Evidently this was all in vain due to the fact that there was a second terrorist bombing incident only 3 years later in 2005. This back and forth between the Bali Government and terrorists shows clearly the struggle over security in the country as both sides require security (or a lack thereof) to achieve their goals.
STUDENT 2:
Security is an important resource in tourism because “tourism can only thrive under peaceful conditions” (Hitchcock and Darma Putra 2010, 90). Tourists will not travel to places where they will be at risk and so for a tourism industry to be successful at a particular region, visitors must be able to feel safe. However, as Hitchcock and Darma Putra illustrate, it is difficult to completely secure a place, especially one where dangers like terrorism is a reality. Tourism organizations do not have much influence on their nation’s peace and security agendas (Hitchcock and Darma Putra 2010, 91), nor do they have much influence on the media, which plays a major role on mitigating the danger. No matter how secure a destination may be, if the media paints it to be high-risk, then people will not visit. The 2005 Bali bombings were especially damaging because the bombers’ pre-recorded confessions & message of upcoming attacks were widely circulated (Hitchcock and Darma Putra 2010, 102). There were also the travel warnings from the Australian government that further discouraged people from travelling to Bali.
Hitchcock and Darma Putra also shed light on the issue of policing and the history behind its complexity. The bombings led to policy changes in Bali, but with a legacy of corruption and inefficiency, Indonesian police already had a reputation of being seen as distrustful (Hitchcock and Darma Putra 2010, 100). There is also the discussion on ‘user-friendly police uniforms’, showing just how deep these feelings of distrust and lack of faith in police were. Cultural and historical considerations such as this, provided by an anthropological viewpoint, help unravel the complexity of security and why it is such a struggle to harness it in tourism. There are many factors, from the media and their influence over the consumers/tourists to local knowledge like the history of policies, that are necessary to understand the struggle over security.
STUDENT 3:
The chapter by Hitchcock and Darma Putra illustrates how local authorities struggle over the resource of security to influence mediators’ presentations and tourists’ perceptions of tourist destinations. As the authors describe, “tourism can only survive under peaceful conditions” (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 90). This demonstrates how the scarcity of security mirrors the scarcity of other resources, as when tourist destinations lack security, there is a significant power struggle between different groups in society.
Primarily, mediators, especially the media, possess significant power in the struggle for security, as their presentations of tourist destinations fuel tourist perceptions. As the chapter describes, many consider that “it is not, however, direct threats to tourism, such as terrorism, crime, and infectious diseases that are seen as a cause for alarm, but negative reporting in general” (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 92). This media influence in the struggle for security is evident in the Bali case study. To compromise the global perceptions of Bali so that Westerners leave the region, the terrorists in the Bali bombings focused on tourist destinations, as “The deaths of foreign nationals would be likely to generate external publicity that the government could not suppress” (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 103). In this case, both the terrorists and local authorities recognize the importance of the media as it is moreso the perceptions of security that overshadow tourist destinations’ realities.
As a result of the media’s presentations, the perceived lack of security has a major effect on tourists, as without security, tourists are not inclined to visit certain destinations. Although tourists have very little direct control over the resource of security, they indirectly fuel a shift by the local authorities. This is demonstrated by the case study in Bali. Following the 2002 bombings in Bali, the tourism industry’s contribution to provincial GDP decreased by 12.53% (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 104). In response to this decline, local authorities struggled to increase the resource of security by prioritizing a visible police presence (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 100), tripling intelligence officers (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 100), and implementing beach policing (Hitchcock and Putra 2010, 100). This response demonstrates the local authorities’ struggles to heighten the security of the region, as with an improved global perception of the destination’s safety, its tourism industry can ultimately thrive.
Reference
Hitchcock, Michael., Darma Putra, Nyoman. (2010). “Cultural Perspectives on Tourism and Terrorism” in Tourism, Power and Culture: Anthropological Insights, edited by Donald V.L Macleod and James G Carrier, 90-106. Bristol: Channel View Publications
2. What can apologies bring to the table?
Consider last and this weeks’ readings. What contributions do you think has anthropology made to the study of struggles over resources in the context of tourism?
STUDENT 1:
Anthropology has made a significant contribution in adding a new dimension for the analysis of resource distribution especially in a tourism context. In the past, tourism has always been analysed through an economic lens as viewed as an activity of economics rather than a multifaceted industry that affects real people and impacts their daily lives. Moreover, previously tourism was always analysed from the perspective of the foreigner; anthropologists have aided in shifting this perspective to a more host centric point of view. With regards to resources, often little thought is given to how much of the host country’s resources are being expended on tourist activity without replenishment. This is where the contributions of anthropology are important; anthropologists have broadened perspectives on resource use and how local resources poured into tourism can affect the lives of local people on micro and macro scales.
This adds a new layer for discussion on the effects of tourism and the pros and cons that are associated with tourist activity within a country. This is exemplified in the reading from last week where it was noted that tourists are responsible for more water usage than local people as well as water previously used for the development of the agricultural sector was redirected to the tourism industry. In my opinion, anthropologists seek to introduce the view point of local people and involve them more in discussions about resource use with regards to tourism and how that industry impacts their lives. This is so important in order to understand tourism as a whole as only acknowledging the experiences of the visitors is one dimensional and ignores an entire population which are directly impacted by this industry and its rapid resource use.
STUDENT 2:
Anthropologists have made important contributions to the understanding of tourism’s impact on host communities. In terms of struggle over resources anthropologists have shown tourism from the side of the locals whereas tourism usually was defined from a visitor’s point of view. From last week’s reading Strang and Cole we have seen two different countries with their issues surrounding the use of water. They discuss the struggle of water consumption in a first world country and a developing nation. It was shown for water was taken from agricultural uses and then used for tourism instead. This can be an example that shows that there is a lack of water resources among host communities due to tourism.
Tourism is such an important factor in some countries, it often takes precedence when it comes to local matters. In terms of a country’s resources more is being taken out of the host country than it is being brought back in. What I mean by this, is that when these resources are being used for tourism they are continuously depleting over time. Anthropologists have then brought these issues to light and shown what a problem it can be on host communities. However, do you think that with the light shed on these issues that anthropologists can make a difference and a change with concern to the host communities affected by the struggle of resources?
Cole, Stroma. 2017. “Water Worries: An Intersectional Feminist Political Ecology of Tourism and Water in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.” Annals of Tourism Research 67: 14-24.
Strang, Veronica. “Water Sports: A Tug of War over the River” In D. V. L. Macleod & James G. Carrier (Eds.), Tourism, Power and Culture (27-46). Bristol: Channel View Publications.
STUDENT 3:
I believe anthropology has made immense contributions to the study of struggles over resources in the context of tourism. As anthropology is the study of human and human behaviors it is able to highlight how societies value tourism as a means of economic growth and see no problem in gaining it at the cost of locals. These articles have highlighted the effects of tourism on local communities and how tourism can take precedence over locals. This was clear in last week’s articles as both Cole and Strang discussed water being prioritized to the tourism industry and the expense of the locals. Coles article that discussed the water being prioritized to the hotels and the locals having to pay increased prices to access it (2017). While Strang discussed how water was being allocated to the tourism industry and taken away from farming and other agricultural needs. This is also evident in this week’s readings as in the Bayahibe is being marketed as a fishing village to increase tourism which in turn creates negative repercussions for the fishing industry (Macleod, Donald, 2010). Despite this image of Bayahibe as a fishing village, a majority of the fishers have now turned to the tourism industry as a means of survival. The influx of tourists boating has caused fish to migrate causing increased difficulty for the remaining fisherman to make a living. These instances make me question what will happen to these communities if tourism rates begin to fall, once the communities’ original sources of income have become deteriorated by this industry? How will these communities be able to support themselves when their agricultural means of economic income have been depleted?
References
Macleod and Carrier. Tourism, Power and Culture: Macleod, Donald V.L. “Power, Culture and the Production of Heritage” (pp. 64-89). Hitchcock, Michael, and I Nyoman Darma Putra.
Macleod and Carrier. Tourism, Power and Culture: Strang, Veronica. “Water Sports: A Tug of War over the River” (pp. 27-46).
Cole, Stroma. 2017. “Water Worries: An Intersectional Feminist Political Ecology of Tourism and Water in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.” Annals of Tourism Research 67: 14-24.
