میراث فرهنگی، جوامع محلی و توسعه اقتصادی

For many local communities in developing countries and elsewhere, the existence of large attractions nearby generates both benefits and costs. This paper examines some of the dynamics of the complex, nested relationships among host communities, their local heritage sites, and tourism management structures. Borobudur in Java, Indonesia, is used to illustrate the discussion of power, displacement and control, local participation, and the role of “new tourism” in developing countries. It further offers some reflections on how tourism planning and management might encourage small-scale local tourism enterprises for the benefit of both the host and guest populations.

Tourism’s rapid international growth since the 60s has been well documented. Despite the recent sequence of external shocks since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, including further bombings in Bali, Kenya, and Madrid, as well as the SARS epidemic and Iraq war in 2003, tourism is now the world’s largest industry (WTO, 2002 and WTO, 2004a). Since the 60s, international tourism has been promoted as a major component of economic development and “modernization” strategies for many countries (OECD 1967; WTO 2004b) and seen as a “passport to development” (De Kadt 1979). The 20th century’s long post-war boom created rising disposable incomes in industrialized European and North American countries. New transport technologies from the early 70s, particularly wide-bodied aircraft, resulted in falling real prices for longhaul travel. South East Asia, the Caribbean and parts of Africa (which had formerly been the luxury end of the international market for Europeans and North Americans) benefited from this development. In the 90s, increasingly fuel-efficient aircraft were introduced on longhaul routes, which combined with airline cost savings and competition, led to further falls in real ticket prices and, in turn, fueled further expansion of mass tourism.

Many LDC attractions have limited linkages to their nearby communities and operate largely as enclaves in the economy. This paper suggests the need for a radical rethinking of the relationships between such sites and the local host communities. In particular, a new approach to tourism planning is urgently needed. This is seen in issues of power and control, and also in the economic case for local community participation. The following suggestions are offered, while recognizing that the historical specificity of each LDC, different regions within each country, types of attraction, local contexts, political economy of power relations, and particular characteristics of any given tourism authority, should not lead to the “one size fits all” approach (Simpson and Wall 1999). In light of all this, how then might a start be made?