Selling culture, The Growth of Wine Tourism
We’ve learned that tourists look for a short-term change in their lives; a sense of excitement in the unfamiliar, and to live life of ‘the other’ albeit briefly (Ooi & Laing, 2010; Smith et al., 2010; Getz & Cheyne, 1997). Tourists actively search for experiences that enrich their lives. ‘Tourists bring money and jobs to [a] local economy’ (Xie, 2011, p. 162); but this new-found commercial appeal, while it might deliver economic development, is a two-edged sword. As any local economy grows, the spending power of tourists inflates prices, affecting the capacity of local communities to maintain their lives in their traditional manner. The charm of an authentic experience of life in another culture quickly begins to wane once tourist services overtake local culture. In essence, the commodification of culture can damage the lived experience of indigenous people.