Tourism and Cultural Change in Costa Rica
Pitfalls and Possibilities
Published on 20. June 2013
Book
Hardback
330 pages
978-0-7391-4021-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book examines the consequences-positive, negative, and otherwise-of tourism in Costa Rica. Based on ethnographic research and interviews with tourists, tour operators, tourists-turned-settlers, and locals living in tourist destinations, this book brings together these varied perspectives with the aim of presenting forms of tourism beneficial to all parties. To examine both pitfalls and positive outcomes of tourism, it compares modes of tourism in destinations that are locally owned and foreign owned, ecotourism destinations, beach tourism, adventure tourism sites, and agrotourism projects. Furthermore, the author draws from two decades of research in two distinct communities to trace the ways in which the development of tourism in one community provided the springboard for changing gender roles and new opportunities for women, and, in the other, how the promise of tourism has spurred a cultural revitalization and positive change in Indigenous identity.
Interviews with three generations of women in one tourist destination show generational changes in perspectives on tourism, and interviews covering the same time span show how in an Indigenous reservation poised to enter the heritage tourism industry, tourism offers a positive alternative to exploitative forms of labor and the stigma once associated with Indigeneity in that region. Interviews with locals in all four sites reveal the ways in which tourism carried out conscientiously would benefit them. These, juxtaposed with interviews of tourists regarding what they seek through tourism, offer a means of designing a mutually beneficial form of tourism. In sum, this book puts into conversation the varied views of those positioned differently within the realm of tourism in order to inform tourists and foreign land owners as to how they might glean the advantages that such an experience may bring to the traveler, while also playing up the benefits of these endeavors to local communities, and minimizing the potential damage these practices may cause.
Interviews with three generations of women in one tourist destination show generational changes in perspectives on tourism, and interviews covering the same time span show how in an Indigenous reservation poised to enter the heritage tourism industry, tourism offers a positive alternative to exploitative forms of labor and the stigma once associated with Indigeneity in that region. Interviews with locals in all four sites reveal the ways in which tourism carried out conscientiously would benefit them. These, juxtaposed with interviews of tourists regarding what they seek through tourism, offer a means of designing a mutually beneficial form of tourism. In sum, this book puts into conversation the varied views of those positioned differently within the realm of tourism in order to inform tourists and foreign land owners as to how they might glean the advantages that such an experience may bring to the traveler, while also playing up the benefits of these endeavors to local communities, and minimizing the potential damage these practices may cause.
Reviews / Votes
"Based on nearly two decades of field research in Costa Rica, Karen Stocker explores a range of tourism projects in that country-from indigenous attempts to 'brand' their unique cultural traditions, to eco-tourism, to resorts appealing to both Costa Rican clientele and international tourists. Stocker provides a much more nuanced tourism analysis than most studies. She navigates the complexities of both the benefits (achieved and potential) vs. the negative impacts of tourism and shows the multiplex ways in which the providers and consumers respond to these complexities. She concludes by offering recommendations by which the various participants might practice a 'responsible tourism.'" -- Karl H. Schwerin, The University of New Mexico, PhD "Here is a fascinating, unpredictable, and deeply honest story about the tourism industry in Costa Rica. Building on two decades of ethnographic research and hundreds of interviews with tourists, locals, business owners, and expats, Stocker shares compelling and often surprising stories of how tourism has both delivered and disappointed on many promises. She has a talent for seeing all sides and helping us see them too. The pages come alive with the voices and views of real people who have real stakes in Costa Rican tourism. The result is the most balanced and insightful 'anthropology of tourism' I've seen." -- Amanda Stronza, Texas A&M University "This excellent book provides a multi-dimensional assessment of the impacts-positive and negative, subtle and shocking-of tourism in Costa Rica. Based on in-depth interviews and years of personal observations in Costa Rica, Karen Stocker weaves a rich and complex mosaic of how both "hosts" and "guests" are experiencing the tidal wave of tourism that has hit Costa Rica over the last quarter century. Stocker puts a human face on international tourism, building her analysis on the voices and views of Costa Ricans from indigenous and rural poor to workers, youth, and elite. She also puts a face on outsiders: long time foreign residents, newer arrivals, and various types of tourists, from eco- to adventure to sun-and-sand." -- Martha Honey, Co-founder of the Center for Responsible TravelMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
691 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7391-4021-5 (9780739140215)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2013
1st Edition
Lexington Books
€55.99
Available for download
Person
Karen Stocker is assistant professor of anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Her publications include Historias Matambuguenas (1995) and "I Won't Stay Indian, I'll Keep Studying": Race, Place, and Discrimination in a Costa Rican High School (2005).
Content
Revised Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Methodological Considerations
An Anthropologist, a Quaker, and Porn Star Walk Into a Bar: Participant
Observation
Interviews
An Invitation to Insight: Methodological Insights and Considerations of
Objectivity
Metiche Anthropology, "Characters," and Contributions. Engaged Anthropology
Ethical Considerations and Consent
A Globalized Context for Localized Research
Chapter 3: Community Portraits: Two Beach Towns
Playa del Carmen: A "Locally-Owned" Beach Town
Who Counts as a Local: Costa Rican-Foreigner Interaction and
Perceptions
On Locals and Outsiders: Varied Labels
Expat Experiences
Segregated Spaces
Persistence of Local Culture
Tourism-Related Changes: Cost of Living, Corruption, and Water
Playa Extranjera: A Foreign-Owned Beach Town
Locals: All or Nothing
Changing Populations and Foreign Locals' Experiences
Drugs, Prostitution, and Development
"Feels Like Home": Catering to Foreigners
Overdevelopment, Water, and Tico Resistance
Chapter 4: Nambue, The Chorotega Reservation: Portrait of a Community on the Cusp of Tourism
Indigeneity in Flux: The Reservation's History
Changing Indigenous Identities: From Shame to Pride
Tourism as a Motivator for Revitalization of Tradition and Chorotega Customs
Maintained
Witchcraft and Oral Tradition
Globalization and More Recent Concerns
Division and Unity: Community Life in the Reservation
Community Changes
Land Rights, Water, and Community Concerns
Chapter 5: Montanosa, The Rainforest Community
"Facets of a Diamond": Official Histories of Montanosa
Who Counts as a Local: Complex Categories
Quaker Comments on Local Belonging: Language and Community
Tico Perceptions of Quakers
Conservation and Religious Philosophy Enacted
Social Integration
Segregated Spaces
The Effects of Change
Changing Economies: From Farming to Tourism
From Ecotourism to Adventure Tourism and their Respective Clientele
The Commission System and Competition Among Businesses
From Agriculture to Tourism and Back Again
Community Concerns and the Downsides of Tourism: Water Issues, Drugs,
Prostitution
The Larger Context
Chapter 6: "The Cows Will Be Your University!": Positive Effects of Tourism
Changing Gender Roles
"Art Has Been Like a Medicine for Us"
The Jam Revolution: A Second Women's Cooperative
Dancing While Washing the Clothes
New Challenges for the Cooperative
Positive Effects of Tourism
Jobs and Education, Broadly Defined
Infrastructure
Cross-Cultural Understanding
Conservation
Chapter 7: Negative Effects of Tourism
Drug Trade and Abuse
What Happens in Vegas...
Prostitution
Sex Tourism and Romance Tourism: Variations on a Theme?
Muddying the Waters. How "Eco" is Ecotourism?
Additional Concerns
The Trade-Offs of Tourism
Chapter 8: Performing Local Life on the Reservation
"Patenting the Pueblo": A Trademark for Tradition
Tourism, the Commodification of Culture, and Authenticating Cultural
Practices
From Stigma to Economic Value
Chorotega TM: Local Products
Symbolizing Indigeneity. Media and Other Influences
Ownership of Tradition through Corporate Strategy
Local Disputes over Cultural Ownership
Local Festivals and Culture Performed for Insiders
Insiders and Outsiders. A Relative Matter
Obstacles to the Trademark
Performing Indigeneity in the Reservation
Chapter 9: Performing Identity in the Other Communities of Study
Heritage Tourism and Authenticity
Branding Nature
Performing Local Life
Scripted Lives and Sanitized Tours
Sustainability, Locally-Owned, Organic, Fair Trade, and Family-Owned:
Marketable Labels
Bob Marley in Costa Rica
Parallel Performances
Marketing the Nation
Performance of Identity among Tourists and Others
Chapter 10: Sanitized Tours of Exploitable Work Zones. The Nexus of Tourism and Its Alternatives
"Learning to Walk through Mud Without Getting Muddy": Bananera Memories
Chapter 11: Striking a Balance: Possibilities for Responsible Tourism
Recommendations for Tourists
Recommendations to Potential Expatriates or Foreign Residents
Advice from Expats for Expats
Recommendations for Costa Rican Towns or the National Government
Trade-Offs, Revisited