Reconciling tourism, cultural change and empowerment in a Tibetan host community

Abstract

Tourism to Tibetan regions has become increasingly popular amongst Westerners in the last few decades, as interest in Tibetan culture and religion has grown. This interest in things Tibetan has combined with the literature on development and tourism in indigenous communities to result in a conceptualisation of Tibetan culture as a fragile cultural relic that must be preserved and protected from outside influences. However, the indigenous Tibetan communities of Western China’s Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve have told a different story of their experiences with tourism and development. Mass tourism in Jiuzhaigou has in fact been harnessed for community development and cultural revitalisation through local women’s communal businesses. Yet their development and empowerment has been to some extent bittersweet, as the women fear that their decision to use tourism revenue to offer their children choice through the Chinese education system may ultimately erode their traditional culture. The dilemma for the people of Jiuzhaigou is similar to that for many indigenous groups: how can a desire to preserve traditional culture be reconciled with a desire to empower the next generation?