The negative impacts

Although some authors see the positive side of tourism as helping local communities to survive or maintain local traditions, others believe that tourism development is a necessary evil (Boissevain 1996a, 1996b; Macleod 1999). Bobot (2012) has argued that commoditisation, through the production and selling of mementos can be viewed as a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it can lead to profits for the local community and, on the other hand it can cause mass production leading to a loss of authenticity, a deviation from its original meaning and corrupt the cultural essence of the destination. Along the same lines, Greenwood (1989) stated that even though tourism brings about creative changes in local cultures, meanings may be lost through the commodification of culture. Therefore the process of commoditisation can be seen as having negative effects on the authenticity of sacred sites and festivals thereby altering their meaning and relevance for the local

community, degrading the experience, threatening the traditional culture and identity building, causing a loss of cultural uniqueness and downgrading local culture merely to a series of events and modifying or destroying the authentic nature of places and cultures (Goulding 2000; Meethan 2001;

Vukonić 2002; Hinch and Higham 2005; Richards 2007; Getz 2007; Kasim 2011; Bobot 2012;

Qurashi 2017). As a result, the local community may feel discontent and tourists’ experiences damaged (Yang and Wall 2009).

With an upsurge in the number of tourists over time, a destination not only benefits from tourism but can also suffer from it. For instance, Qurashi (2017) noted that many issues may arise due to an increase of tourist commodities at religious destinations, such as issues relating to the commoditisation of the pilgrimage, the objective and subjective authenticity and the waning of the pilgrims’ values and spiritual experience. When a destination becomes a tourism product, it may also affect human values (Henderson 2010). Therefore, when destinations are viewed as tradable goods, they are no longer respected (Qurashi 2017), and they lose their authenticity (Shepherd 2002). In the case of Mecca, Qurashi (2017) suggested that in dealing with an increase in the number of pilgrims, modern infrastructure, highly-branded services and technology were put in place. He stated that these new additions have caused the spiritual experiences of pilgrims to change into luxury tourist experiences, thereby threatening the traditional pilgrimage and its teachings. In other words, the authenticity of the sacredness is fading. Undertaking the pilgrimage, Hajj, and visiting the site, Mecca, according to White (2005), is not only about one’s beliefs, rituals and principles anymore, but a symbolic commodity that matches the pilgrims’ status, lifestyle, enjoyment and ‘modesty’.

In the case of commoditisation of festivals, this impact may lead to what is called ‘placeless’

festivals. This is a place with no specific attachment or no authentic cultural experience (MacLeod 2006). Additionally, with existing religious traditions being sold as commodities in return for profits, the traditions are being hollowed out (Lau 2000; Carrette and King 2005). This is particularly important to note as the cultural experience of tourists remains the core aspect of a destination or an activity such as festival, and if commoditisation threatens the authenticity of the festival, it may have serious repercussions on the festival. In such circumstances, Goffman (1959) has proposed that the hosts try to find the right balance between their private lives and their tourism performance by structuring their lives such that they perform at the front stages and escape from the visitors at the back stages.

Some scholars portray tourism as having bastardisation characteristics (Wilson 1993; Wood and Picard 1997; Shepherd 2002). Notably, with the rise of tourism, a destination that was pristine and authentic can become blemished and commoditised (Shepherd 2002). As such, the destination undergoes a process of cultural commoditisation where there is a degradation of the aesthetic quality of the cultural traditions and products. It can be noted that the issue of commoditisation is often linked to authenticity and both are frequently debated in literature (Cole 2007; Xie 2010;

Bobot 2012). Authenticity is perhaps a secret ingredient of the tourism experience, because tourists often seek authenticity by looking for something not usual in their daily lives. As the debate over authenticity continues, this has also given rise to another issue concerning the extent to which the experience or the site can be taken to be authentic when it has been marketed and sold as an overall tourist product. This implies that once a destination, a festival or a cultural artefact, becomes part of the tourism system, it turns into a commodity which has a value associated with price. As per Greenwood (1989), once a culture turns into a commodity, there is a loss of meaning and significance for the host. This in turn affects the authenticity of the culture as perceived by the tourists.

Tourism can also be viewed as a powerful agent that conveys changes. Cohen (1988) has asserted this by saying that some cultures are staged for the consumption of tourists. For example, certain forms of culture like a festival, an event or even the Arts are adapted to suit the tourism industry.

The content of events is altered to match what the tourists view as the authentic local culture (Greenwood 1989; Waterman 1998). Some cultures can also become commercial products if it is being supported by the host residents (Simpson 1993). For example, it happens when the residents tend to offer the product in a presentable manner as part of a package for the consumption of the tourism industry.

According to Swanson and Timothy (2012), souvenirs are an important element of the experience voyage because they help to preserve and remember that experience. Trading or even looting substantial amounts of artworks and handicrafts, and then bringing them to the home ports were not infrequent by travellers during earlier times (Horner 1993; Stanley 2000). It has been observed that now, during Christian pilgrimage, pilgrims or religious travellers usually like to accumulate relics which are attached to the sacred sites, for example in Rome, the Holy Land and Constantinople (Teague 2000; Tythacott 2000; Shackley 2006). As such, souvenirs contribute billions of revenue in every corner of the world as it is highly consumed by tourists (Cohen 1995; Evans 2000; Timothy 2005). Notably, souvenirs are subject to further research within tourism studies as it is viewed as a salient element of the tourism industry (Swanson and Timothy 2012). Souvenirs can be contextualised into two facets: meanings and commodities. From the seller’s or the supplier’s point of view, it is just an object that has to be exchanged for value, thus it is viewed as a commodity with less emotional attachment to the souvenirs. From the purchasers’ point of view, when the object is a tangible souvenir, it provides them with a symbolic remembrance which marks an event or of an experience. When it is characterised as an intangible object, it simply gives them an experience that last for a very short time. Likewise, Peters (2011) has stated that souvenirs serve as a description of an event, place or some experience which initiates some memories at some time or place and are normally placed in the house so that they are seen by families and friends paying a visit.

One should not discard the fact that those who are on holiday often demand culture and authentic souvenirs to consume. Greenwood (1989) therefore suggests that in making tourist attractions more appealing, local culture is being modified or even destroyed, making it worthless for those who had a belief in it. However, this is not always a rule of thumb. Similarly, religious or ceremonial artefacts are being produced in more and more high quantities and sold to tourists as part of the process of cultural commoditisation (Sharpley 2008). Due to its mass production, there may be loss in the traditional forms and designs because the items have been transformed into simple and less sophisticated forms which are produced for the consumption of tourists. This therefore engenders a loss of meaning and significance. The leverage of tourism can cause local people to be extracted from the real or genuine meaning of their homes, lives and culture. It may also cause a loss of cultural uniqueness (Hinch and Higham 2005). One such example is the mass production of the different sizes, colours and designs of the ‘raksha devil’ dance masks of Sri Lanka for tourists.

These were originally used by the Sinhalese to denote different images of deities and demons but now due to commoditisation, the masks no longer have the same cultural meaning and authenticity (Simpson 1993).

It can therefore be said that the process of commoditisation can have some influences - which can change, significantly amend or even destroy cultural uniqueness - on the cultural perspective of a community in a destination. Greenwood (1982), in his article on ‘Cultural Authenticity’, says that once the cultural systems are questioned, they lose their genuineness or authentic experiences of the

“real”. As such, it seems that the culture is bound to undergo major transformation or even collapse.

In this regard, Boorstin (1964) has asserted that tourism leads to pseudo-events which can cause the failure to reveal the true culture of the place and as a consequence the authenticity of the destination and the attractions can be at stake and may be lost (MacCannell 1976). In such a scenario, the tourists who quest for authenticity no longer feel the “unique” experience at a destination. As a result, they tend to substitute such a destination with another one given that the tourism industry is highly competitive and tourists have lots of options from which to choose. Therefore, the destination may be unlikely to sustain its tourism performance and the host community may also lose cultural authenticity and its identity (Hinch and Higham 2005). In order to prevent such negative impacts, it is essential to devise strategies to prevent this from happening to the destination so that it can maintain a sustainable tourism performance and also maintain its cultural integrity.

Thus, the government needs to play a very key role for the development of the tourism industry by implementing specific policies and strategies for the upkeep of the industry in a destination (Pearce 1989; Page 2003).

Some cultural attractions and destinations are more sensitive, compared to others, for instance, religious sites and festivals which are developed for tourism. According to Greenwood (1982), the invention of ceremonies, the adaptation of elements from the outside and the reinvention of the ceremonies for sacred and secular reasons are part of all societies. All cultures adapt to change with time given that both time and culture are not frozen. Some studies demonstrate that pilgrimage

tourism is experiencing drastic change, for example through the commoditisation of religion through tourism (Reader 2006; Gorski et al. 2012). In order to show some clear distinction, the Hajj will be used as an example. It has been observed that the experience of this pilgrimage has been modernised over the years to cater for the needs of the growing demand (Timothy and Olsen 2006).

For example, there has been the introduction of the latest camera surveillance technology to ensure the safety of the pilgrims and the use of motor-coaches that have air-conditioned services to facilitate movement of people between religious sites in Mecca. Additionally, the Masjid Al-Haram mosque has been equipped with air-conditioning facilities to make it more comfortable for the pilgrims (Ahmed 1992) and further investment in facilities and infrastructure is being carried out by the Saudi Arabian government (Qurashi 2017). The airport and transportation modes such as charter flights have been improved and made available to increase accessibility to millions of pilgrims who visit Mecca (Metcalf 1990; Ahmed 1992; Timothy and Olsen 2006). There are more and more tour operators and travel agencies who sell tours for the Hajj (Ahmed 1992). People on pilgrimage also consider shopping and sightseeing as an important element (Aziz 2001). All these aspects show that there has indeed been commoditisation which is in turn heavily criticised by both the scholars of Islam and the fundamentalist Muslims who consider that the Hajj has lost its meaning and has been diluted. The Government of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi ruling family have even been blamed not only for commoditising the sacred experience but also for secularising the sacred space (Siddiqui 1986; Delaney 1990; Timothy and Olsen 2006).

Another salient example of commoditisation of religion through tourism concerns tourism related to Buddhism. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has considered it important to review the situation in Asia (ESCAP 2003). In certain ways, some issues related to the development of the tourism related to Buddhism are similar to the development of other types of international tourism, for example in relation to the development of hospitality services, infrastructure and access (Timothy and Olsen 2006). In Bhutan, tourism related to Buddhism is the main type of international tourism, therefore the major issue for the government is to carefully develop, manage and promote tourism without negatively affecting the sacredness and sanctity of the religious institutions and festivals (ESCAP 2003). Similar concerns arise in countries like Tibet and Myanmar where there is deliberate commoditisation by the government to draw foreign exchange (Kleiger 1992; Philip and Mercer 1999).