Global Culture

Planeta.com is organizing the 2007 Tourism & Migration E-Conference, to take place in the first half of the year:

Tourism enterprises are increasingly considered as as providing an alternative to migration and a vehicle to alleviate poverty in developing economies by creating jobs. Likewise, tourists are staying longer in places — blurring the distinction between tourism and migration.

What is the difference between a migrant and a tourist? Traditional definitions says a tourist is someone who spends less than a year in a place. Instead of looking at time spent, what if we paid attention to the impact — in the community and in the traveler?

The blurry line between itinerants (migrants going back and forth) and long-term tourist creates an interesting spectrum of intentions that affects their destinations in many different ways. While itinerants are typically creating value, tourists are moving the local economy with their money. However none has a real commitment to the local culture and may alter the fabric of local cultures without intent. Whether a homogenization process kicks in, eventually diluting ancient cultural manifestations or the external agents (itinerant/tourist) are integrated into a new cultural framework is a serious matter.

Hopefully, from this conference we’ll mine the wisdom of the experts to create some sort of guideline for the concerned traveller. Sort of an eco-tourism attitude for cultures around the world.