Stop homogenization to protect tourism

By: Philip McMaster in Beijing
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Original article available at: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndydb/1999/04/d4-4eye.d19.html
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KEY WORDS: Eco tourism, Adventure, Eco Task Force, Explorasport, Explorasport Certification Team commercial imperialism, McDonaldization,

"China Through My Eyes" is sponsored by the State Bureau of Foreign Experts Affairs and China Daily. It features our foreign readers' impressions, suggestions and criticisms regarding developments in China.
 

CHINA has something no other country in the world has - the original.

There is only one Great Wall, one Forbidden City, one Stone Forest and one Guilin.

However, the country must regain control over its treasured resources.

It is important that the real China doesn't continue to sell out to the interests of money and foreign influence. The McDonaldization of the tourism industry is the greatest threat to China standing as a prime tourist destination. It is in danger of losing forever its unique traditions and becoming just another colony of commercial imperialism.

In the name of professional integrity, I must first disclose that I have a vested interest in the rehabilitation of the Chinese environment as well as its successful and sustainable tourism development. One definition I feel I must clear up is my interpretation of the difference between a tourist and a traveller. In my mind, it is the difference between watching a movie and making your own. Watching a movie is fine, but it is two dimensional - what you experience is through the eyes and decisions of others.

It's probably obvious that I prefer serving the low-maintenance, low-impact needs of travellers compared to the capital intensive and insular tourist.

Over the past few weeks I have been travelling through parts of southern mainland China and around Beijing, looking for eco-friendly adventure related activities to be certified by the Explorasport Certification Team. The travels were marvellous and exciting, but three concerns kept popping up in my notes.

My number one concern was the destruction of the unique environments that travellers come from all over the world to see. The tourism industry knows well that travellers will spend a lot of money to get away from home and experience a new culture and landscape if it is correctly promoted and the "product" delivered as promised.

In my travels I found too many instances where I had to look hard for authentic Chinese traditions, lifestyles and meaningful experiences to promote to the next potential travellers.

With this in mind, China must not kill the goose that lays the golden egg. In my experience, too many destinations in the Western world have lost sight of what made them attractive in the first place. They became greedy and motivated by money, pushing larger and larger volumes of people through their various destinations with little integrity or regard for the environmental circumstances they were exploiting.

In my view, China must control and maintain its ability to limit access to its natural treasures, and not allow just anyone to lead or guide foreigners or Chinese citizens without proper training. Although indigenous Chinese people should be first in line for expedition guiding jobs in their home areas, they too must be trained in the same international standards. Reasons for developing these standards include: protection of the environment, protection of the cultures that inhabit the region, safety of the guides and travellers, protection of wild species and maintaining the responsibility, guidance and order that good government brings to the profitable tourism sector.

The second major concern during my travels is closely related to the first. Again, at almost every turn I witnessed a McDonaldization of tourism. The buses looked the same, the soulless hotels looked the same, the services were the same, the uniforms were the same. It could have been anywhere in the world, but it wasn't necessarily Chinese.

Poor McDonalds, it's not like they are the only form of commercial imperialism in China - the scale of the foreign cultural invasion is truly overwhelming - it is just that the plastic golden arches overshadowing more ancient and meaningful stone arches creates a struggle for recognition that only succeeds in diminishing both.

I realize that the entire world is suffering from commercial development, but unlike the rest of the world China has, for its own reasons, resisted the invasion of commercialization for almost half a century. With such a rich cultural heritage to draw upon, there is no excuse except short-term thinking and greed that would allow China's precious resources to be squandered and lost for future generations of Chinese and foreign tourists.

China has an opportunity to retain its integrity and show the world that through proper investment in research, development and promotion, high quality "made in China" adventure and eco-tourism packages can be developed. Leadership in this area will return China to the path of developing a diverse and respected society.

My third and most frustrating concern is the apparent lack of control over visual pollution, sound pollution, littering and destruction of wildlife in China. Again, this is not a situation unique to this country, however, China is uniquely positioned to act on these situations before they are totally out of control.

Almost without exception, out-of-control advertising signs, blaring loudspeakers and trash everywhere are bad public relations. They simply ruin the experience of China for both tourists and travellers.

Formulating policies related to environment and tourism, developing quality standards for safe and meaningful operations, educating officials on environmental issues, training professional guides and promoting eco-enforcement are critical to developing a sustainable tourism industry in China.

China has real substance and ancient gifts, while the West is becoming a featureless and homogenized consumer wasteland. China, in the rush to modernize, should not throw the baby out with the bath water.

(Philip McMaster is a Hong Kong-based Canadian eco-tourism and adventure travel consultant and trainer.)

Date: 04/19/99
Author: Philip McMaster
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