Tourism Pros and Cons-
Hi Stanford Bloggers,
we are Hannah, Fatma, Farid, and Mark, a group of students from the RHET 201 class in the American University in Cairo. We are all part of a research writing class and we are very excited to be blogging with you.
Tourism affects various aspects of an Egyptian’s life and culture; starting with a multilingual nature to a feeling of inferiority and dependence. Those effects are not all necessarily beneficial nor are they all harmful. Yet, their significance in shaping modern Egyptian culture is undeniable.
Tourism engraved various traits into our culture. Hospitality comes naturally to Egyptians; it is the trait most obvious to spot among Egyptians. Additionally, as residents of a country that hosts millions of global tourists every year it has become typical of Egyptians from various sectors of society to speak more than one language in order to communicate with the visitors. Another positive side-effect of tourism is the constant exposure to people from different cultures. This has taught us the importance of respect, tolerance and understanding.
Along with positive effects of tourism on Egyptians comes a sense of inferiority and need. Tourism constitutes over 40% of the nation’s economy, and has created a sense of inferiority to foreigners in the hearts of many Egyptians. The pressure to maintain and develop tourism potential coupled with a long history of colonization makes many Egyptians work hard to please tourists over themselves. Throughout Egyptian society the “West” is perceived of as superior and more commonly there is a notion of anything that is foreign as superior.
In short, Egypt’s dependence on tourism has definitely affected the various aspects of the Egyptian cultural identity. Although some of the effects are beneficial to Egyptian culture like the learning of multiple languages, there are also the feelings of inferiority to tourists.
Comments
Hi AUC Rhetoric Students: Our class is very excited to be blogging with you! I wonder how one can reconcile the positive and negative aspects, or what a solution might be to resolve the negative?
Posted by: Julia Bleakney | March 3, 2009 10:12 AM
I think that the negative effects outweigh the positive ones. There seems to be a lot of resentment and feelings of inferiority.
There are a lot of tourists where I come from, New York City. But we never feel inferior. In New York there is always a sense of pride that we know the City better than the tourists do and that they would want to come visit our home. After reading your post, I think the different attitude comes from a different economic relationship. But this article talks about how now, with the economy failing, tourism might become more important in New York. Maybe our relationship to tourists will change as the City relies more on foreign visitors to boost its economy.
Posted by: Katherine Busch | March 3, 2009 12:05 PM
I find it interesting how dependent on tourism the Egyptian economy has become. 40% is a huge portion of your national economy to rely on foreign visitors. Do you think that less visitors would reduce the negative effects of tourism? Would these benefits outweigh the economic costs? Could Egypt's economy survive a reduction in tourism?
Posted by: Dan Johnston | March 5, 2009 12:14 PM
I am able to find a lot of parallels between this and my experience with the Philippines and its tourism industry. Although tourism brings in revenue for the country, the Philippines is now basically a child of America. We look up to Americans as if they are the ideal race... white skin, tall nose, etc etc. It has affected our culture so much that I can't even say anymore that we still have our own identity. This may sound really negative but I don't think there is a way to balance the positive and the negative. I think the government will have to choose one over the other (and the priority should be the culture and the people over financial revenue). Even if it means less money will be received from tourists by portraying the Philippines' true culture, I think that's what needs to be done. The government just cannot attempt to do both.
Posted by: Nikiya C. | March 5, 2009 12:23 PM
I agree with Katherine that the disadvantages of tourism, although some may find them minor, outweigh the benefits. Their effect is constantly extending because of Egyptians' increasing dependence on tourism. Hence, even though the Egypt's economy will have to suffer terribly if tourism is reduced, the government must work on re-establishing the equality that once existed between the Egyptians and tourists. That would force the government to find a way for economic self-sufficiency, which might seem unlikely but is possible, in theory. Egyptians should realize the fact that tourism is not as crucial as their identity and dignity, and that they need not feel inferior to tourists, as is case in New York City for example.
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Posted by: Propecia | June 2, 2009 10:23 PM
tourism is one of the best sources of income for many countries.
Posted by: Kerala Tourism | August 22, 2009 09:03 AM
Me too agree with the view that tourism really increases the economic stability of a country
Posted by: kerala | August 30, 2009 04:35 AM
You highlighted the real scenario. Yes, some sort of inferiority is felt. But, we must recall our past.
Posted by: Imdia tourism | October 13, 2009 08:29 AM