Building a Culture of Peace Through Tourism

Introduction
Since prehistoric times, travel has served as a means of exploration, trade, pilgrimage, personal enrichment, and encounters between people from different tribes, nations and cultures. It has also served as a vehicle for territorial expansion, espionage, terrorism, colonialism, slavery, desecration of cultures, exploitation of resources, and war. Because of these diverse motivations, it is imperative that those of us, who work in the travel industry and long for world peace, consider how tourism may be used as a means to build understanding and tolerance between individuals and nations of the world. For the sake of clarity, in the following essay when I speak of travel or tourism, I refer to modern international business and leisure travel.

The Thoughtful Traveler
There are few pleasures greater in life than making a new friend or seeing something for the first time and realizing how great and diverse is this earth upon which we live. Although wondrous discoveries may happen anywhere, travel can be one of the most exhilarating and effortless ways to learn about this world. Modern explorers have tremendous advantages over their peers from the past. We can board overnight flights and wake up on the other side of the planet. We can study at great universities overseas, reserve accommodations weeks in advance, or arrange for a guide to help us climb a mountain. We can dive alongside fragile coral reefs, cruise exotic islands, or book a seat on a flight into outer space. Thoughtful tourists realize that some options support nature conservation and preservation of cultures, while others may be detrimental to local communities or environments. Tourism professionals have a responsibility to help travelers chart their course.

Creating meaningful cultural exchange!

The travel industry cannot separate itself from major problems facing the world today including poverty, exploitation, intolerance, ignorance, violence, greed and destruction of nature. Each of us must consider and understand how travel impacts both tourists and hosts. Just as in ancient times, the meeting of two peoples can result in positive or negative effects, appreciation or disdain. How can we, as professionals in the field, create and nurture successful human interaction? This is the foundation of building a culture of peace through tourism. Travel professionals need to accept the responsibility of creating and supporting thoughtful journeys.

Education for Sustainable Tourism
It would be helpful if all travelers were knowledgeable about the places they will visit, the local cultures and concerns, the politics, economics, history and environmental issues they will encounter. Since we cannot realistically expect millions of vacationers and business travelers to consider these things, we must explore ways in which we, as concerned professionals, can offer travel experiences that will benefit everyone involved. We must create and support intelligent, sustainable programs and infrastructures that demonstrate respect for both travelers and host communities. It is our responsibility to set the stage for a peaceful meeting of two worlds.

Most of us have heard about and/or experienced sad stories of communities being destroyed by tourism. Foreign investors come and build; construction and hotel jobs abound; local men and women leave their fields and homes to work for cash wages; water is diverted from the fields to keep the swimming pools full; foreign food is imported to satisfy foreign palates; golf courses are built where vegetables used to grow; tourists flock to their little “paradise” for a week of fun and oblivion with little or no interaction with the local populace. A few seasons later the indigenous community’s way of life has been shattered. Fields remain fallow; the local population cannot afford imported food; the area is polluted with trash and sewage; investors are pulling out as a newer, more attractive “paradise” opens down the road; tourists move on and jobs disappear. The promise of “a better life through tourism” has vanished with the beauty that once enveloped this community.

Similar tragedies have been repeated throughout the world, relating to all fields of tourism. The earth and its people groan under the weight of non-sustainable, poorly considered tourism. It is crucial that we learn from our mistakes. Those responsible for developing infrastructures must be able to study examples of sustainable systems that benefit all involved: investors, local communities, natural environments, and travelers.

Voluntourist - the new traveler!

Educational institutions throughout the world need to recognize the important role of today’s travel industry. Successful travel development requires understanding of world cultures, human psychology, religion, politics, energy resources, water and nature conservation, waste management, cross-cultural mediation and more. Yet somehow one of the world’s largest industries seems virtually invisible to leaders of the academic world. Let us heartily commend those educational institutions that already offer tourism-related degrees, and awaken those that are still unaware of the need. Vibrant, worldwide tourism education would have such tremendous potential to foster innovations, workable solutions and new agendas! We can barely imagine what the future would hold.

Technology and “Virtual” Travelers
Modern-day affluence has created a global culture whose citizens have access to education, television, film, literature, and worldwide instant information via internet technology. Although this level of global communications is very new, it has dramatically influenced the lives and perspectives of millions of people. Televisions throughout the world broadcast events and programs of every type. Pre-conceived ideas of foreign cultures develop through these mediums. This reality is an integral part of our times, and I mention it because we must not ignore the positive and negative effects it can produce as we attempt to build a culture of peace.

Economics and Indigenous Tourism
Clearly the majority of tourists today are from the more affluent countries. When these travelers visit other affluent nations the social impact may be negligible, since the standard of living is comparable. The impact is further minimized when there is a similarity of cultural norms.

The most sensitive and challenging issues in tourism today appear when people of widely diverse cultures, beliefs or economic levels meet. When foreign tourism is introduced into a community, the result should empower local people, offering them personal enrichment and economic benefit. It must not cause exploitation or irretrievable loss. Successful interaction between tourists and hosts requires receptivity, respect, and basic human kindness. It is fundamental to the practice of sustainable tourism that indigenous people benefit from the introduction of foreign tourism.

Community-based village-stay program in Isan (northeast Thailand )

There are many, many examples of indigenous people succeeding in tourism. In Tanzania, a group of experienced safari guides who had worked many years for foreign tour operators decided to cooperatively begin their own company. They bought equipment, promoted themselves through tour wholesalers, and have developed into one of the best mobile-camp safari operators in the country.

In a rural Turkish village, the owner of a large house opened his home to small groups of foreign visitors for overnight stays. His motivation was not merely financial gain. He was also genuinely interested in exposing his rather isolated community to thoughtful people from the outside world. Likewise, he felt it was important that travelers see and experience the life and hospitality of ordinary Turks. A walk around the village to visit the local weavers, farmers, marketplace and coffeehouse is a simple and unique experience that advances cultural understanding.

In Jordan, travelers can visit the newly designated Dana Nature Reserve, a refuge for endangered species including ibex, mountain gazelle, badgers, red fox and wolf. The Dana Village on the reserve has been continually inhabited for about 6000 years. Although the ancient stone village was nearly abandoned during this century, it is now coming back to life with color and vitality through assistance from the government, local conservation groups and determination of the local population. Travelers can stay at campsites or a village guesthouse, which houses a curio shop full of exquisite crafts.

Currently, the majority of tourism endeavors in poorer nations are owned and managed by foreign companies or expatriate locals, because these are the people who have money to invest. It is urgent that those of us, who uphold the vision of true world peace and equality of nations, work diligently to change this balance of economic power. As professionals, there are many ways we can facilitate the process. For example, as standard practice, property owners should hire and train local staff to manage and maintain tourist accommodations. Tour operators likewise should employ indigenous guides, drivers, and local office staff. All employees should be paid fair wages. Profits could be invested in guide and hospitality training schools, scholarships and job placement programs. When indigenous people are integrated into all levels of the tourism infrastructure of their communities, enduring financial benefits are gained and new options open for everyone.

Conclusion
The foundation stones for building a culture of peace through tourism have already been laid. Intelligent and compassionate individuals from all over the world have been applying the concepts of thoughtful and sustainable cross-cultural tourism for decades. Yet, unless one is truly listening, it is difficult to hear their voices over the random din and chaos of profit-driven mass tourism.

With the cooperative efforts of government leaders, educators and industry professionals, we can guide the nature of tourism along a more peaceful path. We can foster innovative ideas for local, cross-border and regional projects. We can protect heritage sites, wilderness areas and endangered species. We can help to create and maintain a just economic balance between nations. Most immediately, we can steer travelers and hosts towards paths of personal enrichment and joy, by investigating, encouraging and promoting sustainable, peaceful tourism programs.

The End

Anne Morrison works with Wildland Adventures www.wildland.com