Vol. 6 · No. 1 · 2002

Steven C. Dinero

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The growth of tourism in the developing world over the past few decades has fostered a considerable increase in the frequency of encounters between tourists and native peoples. The literature is replete with discussions of the various social and cultural impacts which such encounters have fostered in the developing world (Boniface and Fowler 1993; Boorstin 1961; Cohen 1979, 1988; Dogan 1989; Enloe 1990; Herbert 1995; Ioannides 1995; Lea 1988; Mathieson and Wall 1982; Murphy 1985; Nash 1996,1989; Weiler and Hall 1992).

In recent years, these interactions have been encouraged in particular by the development of tourism that commoditises local cultures and traditions - 'heritage tourism'. This form of tourism brings peoples from distinctly different backgrounds and cultures into close proximity with one another. To be sure, encounters have the potential to promote intercultural understanding (Boniface and Fowler 1993: xi) and to educate host and guest communities about one another. At the same time, however, the commoditisation of tradition as a tourist product also has the potential to foster the creation and perpetuation of misinformation, in the form of stereotypes, biased viewpoints and prejudices. This is due in large part to the fact that heritage tourism often serves to facilitate the construction and dissemination of 'hyper-real' images of the lives, cultures and traditions of host communities. In part, this process is almost inevitable, for tourists travel in order to get away from the mundane, seeking to be exposed to exciting, extraordinary and alternative ways of behaving and living in the places that they visit.