The Tourism Way
p. 49 · Read in the full issue
TOURISM in the South Pacific continues traditions of travel and contact through, and between, the islands. The two most notable of these traditions were: first the interisland communication in ancient times. These were contacts between people of the same racial stock, of similar cultures, and related (some times very closely) languages. The degree of distinction -or similarity, which is the same thing between Pacific cultures is a general measure of the regularity or otherwise of these ancient contacts.
And second, the early missionaries and explorers whose movements (flow may be a better word) through the islands had a communicative and unifying effect, on these societies. From the first tradition we get the characteristic, traditional mythologies of fan tastic exploits of maritime heroes and divinities. From the second have come myths
like the noble (or ignoble) savage, sexual promiscuity and so on.
The impact of tourism on Pacific societies is no less significant and will certainly produce comparable mythologies. All Pacific Island states are making immense efforts to promote tourism and as a source of income for islanders it certainly has a very substantial share of the G.D.P. in all the islands e.g. Tonga and Niue is USS 3 million per annum and almost ten times this for bigger islands like Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The Cooks, and Samoa take middling value between those two figures. In all the islands tourism takes either second or third position in terms of size as a contribution to national income.
What is not as well understood is the effect of tourism on island cultures and social mores. The upshot of expanding tourist- activities in the South Pacific issue in two general forms: the consolidation of the work ethic and bourgeois values, and the development of double cultures in the island
societies. Traditionally Tongan handcraft especially
small items made of leaves, bark, or feathers were fragile, flimsy little affairs made for simple applications and social
symbolic exchange. Now, however, island crafts are robust and acquire a performance that is new to this industry. Islanders now use synthetic materials such as nylons, plastics and anti-borer sprays in a variety of applications, but all concealed, of course, under cover of local decorative materials. All this contribute to strength and durability. This change has come about under pressure from tourists for goods of greater performance and more use value.
Further, islanders are at the same time being transformed from makers of wealth objects of cultural value into enterpreneurs manufactur ing commodities for the market adopting values associated with the capitalist.
The other important change that is part of the impact of tourism is the development of a new kind of performing arts music and dance - in the islands. Tourists are treated to floor shows which perform short, fast, pieces and the
repertoires are a mix of local and introduced dances. The bulk of the introduced pieces come from Eastern Polynesian primarily because dances of that area are generally fast and loud. An example is the fire-dance which is now offered to tourists in most parts of the South Paific but it entered many of those by way of the east. So tourism acts as a facilitator for the dissemination of cultural items in the islands. But it would be very much culture as the almighty tourist wants it.
Thus in many islands now there is one kind of dances and songs the hybrid, fact type which is presented to tourists and the village version which are the authentic and uncut pieces. They are usually slower, dignified and more contemplative that the poor tourists mostly miss. They therefore take away with them a wrong impression of island life depicted in their accounts as either passionately erotic or idyllic but debilitating. Both are not terribly accurate.
Tourism is an inevitable phase in the evolution of Pacific islands. It is an expression of the second ‘Discovery’ of the islands by Europeans (and other foreigners) and vice-versa.
It has its pros and cons but it is ours to understand it.D