ALLEGHENY COLLEGE POLITICAL SCIENCE 610 SENIOR PROJECT
Sarah Bock
Slum Tourism: A Viable Model for Reducing Inequality
Department of Political Science
April 12,2010
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Sarah Bock
Slum Tourism: A Viable Model for Reducing Inequality
Submitted to the Department of Political Science of Allegheny College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
I hereby recognize and pledge to fulfill my responsibilities as defined in the Honor Code and to maintain the integrity of both myself and the College community as a whole.
______
Sarah Bock
______
HONOR CODE SIGNATURE
Approved by:
______Michael Maniates
______Shannan Mattiace
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Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Chapter One- Modern Tourism- What is the Big Problem? 8
Economic Impacts on Developing Countries 9
Social and Cultural Impacts- Commoditization and the Gaze 19
Alternative Tourism- A Glimmer of Hope? 24
Chapter Two- Arguments Surrounding the Practice of Slum Tourism 27
Advocates 28
Critics 32
Slum Tourism- Can it bring about real change? 39
Chapter Three- Slum Tourism- An in Depth Look 41
Favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 42
Dharavi Slums in Mumbai, India 50
Slum Tourism in North America 57
Chapter Four- Where do we go from here? 60
Similarities and Differences 61
What are the options? 66
Conclusion 71
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List of Figures and Images
Figure 1.1 Tourism 2020 Vision of Tourism Growth 11
Image 1.1 Favela Tour Photograph 42
Image 1.2 Dharavi Slum Tour Photograph 50
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people, without them my work would not have been possible.
To my friends and family and constantly answered the question, “Do you think Slum Tourism is ethical?”
My best friend for proofreading my terrible grammar.
Professor Maniates and Professor Mattiace for your guidance, criticism and patience.
David Fennell, Rob Verger, and Larry Turner for your help and participation.
Beauty Turner for her passion.
and to the residents of slums all around the world:
―We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.‖- Oscar Wilde
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Introduction
Many people look forward to that special time when they are able to go on vacation.
They think about removing themselves from the stress of their everyday lives, while discovering some new and exciting destination along the way. Some dream of relaxing on a tropical beach, getting a tan, and sipping a few margaritas: while others attempt to cram in as much sight-seeing
as possible during their short holiday. Few people truly ponder what goes on behind the scenes
for them to experience the perfect vacation.
Tourism scholars have been unable to agree upon a single definition of the word tourism.
According to Adrian Bull‘s definition, tourists are ―temporary visitors to a country staying at least twenty-four hours, for the purposes of leisure or business‖ (Bull, 1995, p.2). Mathieson and
Wall define tourism as, ―the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in their destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs‖ (―Parks and Recreation Homepage‖, 2009).
Although these definitions are not universally agreed upon, they offer a foundation for discussion on the topic.
When most people take a vacation they do so for two main reasons- education or leisure.
Traveling is a great way to explore new places, learn about different cultures, and discover more about yourself. Being surrounded by diverse customs and traditions creates exposure to a way of life that differs from your own. One of the perceived goals of tourism is that once having visited a distant place tourists will take away something that they did not previously have. Tourism is able to create common understandings between cultures and further move us to a more globalized world. According to Victor Azarya, the growth in international tourism can be Page 6 of 86
directly linked to Globalization. He states, ―Tourism is both a cause and a consequence of globalization. It accelerates the convergent tendencies in the world. Not only do people meet and learn from each other, but goods and services also travel and are diffused throughout the globe to cater to the needs and demands of travelers‖ (Azarya, 2004, p.949).
With growth and accessibility of technology on a universal scale, the world is more connected than ever. Using resources like the internet, someone in Fresno, California can plan a complete vacation to Cape Town, South Africa with the click of a button. In the past, traveling was limited to the elite class, who could afford a life filled with jet-setting around the world.
Today travel rates seem to be lower than ever and traveling is easily accessible to people from all socio-economic backgrounds. When describing the growth in the international tourism industry
Azarya writes, ―The 2002 figures supplied by the World Tourism Organization show that the growth of international tourism rebounded from the crisis caused by the September 11, 2001 attack and the general fear of international terrorism. By 2002, international tourist arrivals passed the 700 million mark‖ (Azarya, 2004, p.950). Family vacations to the Caribbean are no longer only reserved for the wealthy all over the world.
For every definition of a tourist, there is somehow out there trying to prove they are the antithesis of the stereotype. Being a tourist has obtained such a negative connotation that ―new and improved‖ versions of tourism have been created. Alternative tourism provides hope that options are out there for people seeking something other than mass charter busses herding people from one location to another. The phrase alternative tourism serves as an umbrella term for many different other types of tourism. Adventure tours, Ecotourism, Cultural Tourism and
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Reality Tourism all fit into the category of alternative tourism, in which a key goal is to provide a more sustainable tourism model for the future.
In recent years the concept of Pro-poor Tourism has risen in popularity. Pro-poor tourism is defined as, ―tourism that results in increased net benefits for poor people. It is an approach to tourism development and management. It enhances the linkages between tourism businesses and poor people; so that tourism‘s contribution to poverty reduction is increased and poor people are able to participate more effectively in product development‖ (―Pro Poor
Tourism‖, 2009). The goal of this type of tourism is to promote the economic growth of countries by introducing tourism as a model for success. Once introduced to the tourism industry impoverished countries will gain independence from other more developed countries. It is thought that if these opportunities are made available to those living in poverty, they will gain the skills necessary to remove themselves from their current living situations.
This type of tourism can positively impact the lives of individuals in many different ways. Two of the most common approaches are economic benefits and livelihood (non- monetary) benefits. Some of the most important aspects that these types of tourism can contribute economically affect both the individual and the community. This type of tourism can increase local employment and wages for the individual residents. But, it can also increase opportunities for local businesses to grow and develop. These two concepts create revenue for the local community through the forms of taxes and other collective budgets. Ideally, individuals become empowered because they are the ones making active decisions that affect their life.
Communities have the opportunity to benefit because tourism can open opportunities for access to important services. Health care, clean drinking water and transportation can all greatly be
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improved if direct money is being allocated into a community. These programs also empower and create participation on a larger community scale. Information distribution and communication is improved and policy changes can be implemented. If a community grows economically and gains power, they have more leverage in making decisions that positively affect them. (―Pro Poor Tourism‖, 2009)
Due to the focus it emphasizes on giving power to the powerless, Pro-poor tourism can positively affect the lives of those living in the most impoverished areas of the world if they are willing to develop their areas as a tourist destination. Local economic development is essential to the growth of these developing areas. As communities develop due to growth in the tourism sector they become empowered and make collective decisions that benefit the common good. In a case study conducted in South Africa, it has been found that:
The area has subsequently charged local governments with promoting economic and social well-being and introducing development and job-creation endeavors in the areas under their jurisdiction. The result has been the emergence of a range of recently initiated projects, with some of the most common ventures being: public works programs; local procurement and small-business promotion strategies; support for both formal and informal business; and efforts to encourage tourism- based development (Binns & Nel, 2002, p.237). Pro-poor tourism can create opportunities for developing areas to gain the voice they have been lacking in the past. By creating these new opportunities and allowing the local communities to make decisions that directly affect them; they will be able to choose what they wish to see happen to their community.
Under the category of Pro-poor tourism, the subject of Slum tourism is one of the most controversial topics in tourism studies. Slum tourism is when visitors take guided tours of impoverished areas or slums for a fee. There are two main viewpoints when discussing the slum
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tourism industry. Critics of the industry believe that this is a strange form of voyeurism, where tourists are able to look at the impoverished residents and view them not as people but as an object to gaze at. Proponents of slum tourism believe that this is a viable way to raise awareness about the issue and help individual communities that house the tours. It is the hope of these advocates that once people have experienced the slum tours, they will be motivated to bring about change because of their experience. Throughout my research I hope to look at this issue to try to answer the question, to what extent is slum tourism a viable model for reducing inequality?
It is easy to sit back and say, well any money that these areas receive is good money that they normally would not have. But, I hope to look at all elements of the issue to see if there are other options or improvements that can be made.
Chapter one focuses on the positive and negative impacts conventional tourism can have on developing countries. The industry is able to create job opportunities for developing countries due to the increased demand for service-sector jobs. The tourism industry also forces countries to be more competitive globally. Due to the constant flow of foreign travelers, countries must remain competitive with other areas. Although the tourism industry has benefits, some impacts may not be as positive. Environmental destruction can occur with an influx of new visitors to an area. Also, developing countries are forced to be dependent upon nations that are already established when entering into the tourism industry. The jobs created are disposable, as every person can easily be replaced. Critics of the industry also believe that developing countries turn themselves into commodities when they invite tourism into their homes. Souvenirs are not the only thing being sold, but the concepts of the local culture and people as well. The ―gaze‖ that is created sets the native people to be the ―exotic other‖ something different that should be
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observed. Although there are problems with mass tourism, the new ―types‖ of tourism give hope for a better more sustainable future within the tourism industry.
Chapter two focuses on the topics of slum tourism and the arguments that currently surround it. Where did the concept originate? Slum tourism may be a recent addition to the tourism industry, but the idea of the elite classes ―slumming‖ it in poor areas is nothing new.
What are the arguments for and against the concept of slum tourism? Advocates believe it is a way to open tourist‘s eyes to real problems within the world and motivate them to make a difference. Critics take the stance that it is a strange form of voyeurism where people stare in amazement at people living in extreme poverty. Although there are no clear-cut answers, there are two very contrasting opinions on the issue. I hope to look at the work of scholars on the issue and present an unbiased argument for each side. By explaining all the major points of both arguments it will help critically view the two cases I examine in chapter three.
Chapter three focuses on two main areas around the globe where slum tourism has exploded in popularity. I will first look at the favela tour industry in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as the slum area of Dhavari in Mumbai, India. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is the home to one of the most popular slum tourism industries in the world. The tour company in Mumbai, India developed its tours using the favela tours of Brazil as a model. I plan on detailing both regions slum tourism industries and describing the events that occur on an average slum tour. I want to end this chapter talking about the slum tourism that is occurring in the United States. Do people feel differently about paying to see poverty in their home country? I hope to use the arguments from the previous chapter to evaluate the two examples to see if there are techniques that appear
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to be more successful than others and notice patterns that may exist throughout the slum tourism industry.
In my final chapter I plan to discuss the similarities and differences that exist within the slum tourism industries in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Mumbai, India. There are many similarities between the industries. The tourism agency in Mumbai was modeled after one in Rio de Janeiro so the agencies have many things in common. But, there are a few differences between the countries as well as between the different tourism companies in Rio de Janeiro. I then will return to and evaluate my central question, to what extent can slum tourism be used to reduce inequality in these developing regions? It is true that money may be trickling down from tourism agencies to these slum areas and their inhabitants. But, is this the best way possible? After looking at the current process, I hope introduce suggestions of other proposed industries such as microfinance tours that may be a more ethical approach to alleviate inequality. I also plan to look at suggestions on how to improve the current slum tourism model. At the end of my chapter I plan to propose suggestions that I think could improve the current slum tourism industry of what I think could make this form of tourism even more helpful to the slums it exists in.
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Chapter One Modern Tourism- What is the big problem? Mass tourism- characterized by package tours and all-inclusive hotels- has grown in popularity due to its accessibility and affordability. It is easy to sign onto a website which guarantees the lowest rates and book your flight, hotel and attractions on a one-stop shop like
Expedia. But with each travel decision people make, there are thousands of factors that go into creating the perfect vacation. This transaction is usually not done between the hotel owner in
Negril, Jamaica and the tourist themselves. There is a travel agent to help or a multinational firm making the decisions for the individual. Through the tourism industry thousands of people are employed across the globe from the service-sector work like a hotel clerk to a marketing executive for an airline. People are working behind the scenes to make sure you choose their hotel, fly their airline, and take their companies jet-skis for a ride. The tourism industry generates big money into the world‘s economy. According to the World Tourism Organization, ―In 2008, international tourism generated US$946 billion in export earnings‖ (―World Tourism
Organization‖, 2010). With that much money to be made it appears that everyone wants to get involved in the industry.
The tourism industry has become an attractive economic option to many developing countries around the globe. Caribbean countries like Jamaica in the 1990‘s put extreme focus on creating the ultimate tourist destination getting rid of almost every other industry. But, in recent years the industry has not been as successful as was hoped. ―From 1990 to 2000 Caribbean tourism grew by close to 7 percent a year, in terms of international tourist receipts- well above the annual average recorded worldwide. However, an increase of less than 1 percent in 2001, followed by a 3 percent decline in 2002, pushed the annual average down to 5.5 Page 13 of 86
percent‖(―Caribseek‖, 2004). When tourism is introduced into a country as a vehicle for economic development, there are both positive and negative impacts. Countries are impacted economically, due to the surge in money created by the tourism industry. They are also impacted culturally, as foreigners enter their land bringing different ideas and values. Mass tourism has been such a controversial topic that many people are looking towards a new alternative tourism, which hopes to have a more sustainable approach than the conventional model. Although the model is itself is not perfect, it hopes to improve eliminate some negative impacts that generally occur through conventional modern tourism.
Economic Impacts on Developing Countries
In recent years, tourism has become a go-to option for economic progress for many developing nations around the world. ―Developing countries now account for 14 of the top 20 long-haul tourist destinations. By the year 2003, 35.6% of all international tourists arrived in developing countries – a movement of almost a quarter of a billion of some of the richest people to some of the poorest countries‖(―World Bank‖, 2006). From the outside looking in, tourism offers so many positive outcomes, which appear to be a miracle cure for developing countries supported by organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. John
Brohman describes the emphasis placed on tourism and other forms of outward oriented growth.
Brohman states, ―The view has remained popular among neoliberals, was that Third World countries, at least during their initial stages of development, should uniformly specialize in primary exports rather than attempt to develop more sophisticated industrial sectors through state intervention‖ (Brohman, 1996, p.49). Instead of building up industry locally, developing
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countries should rely on assets such as help from developed countries and natural landscapes to lure travelers and their pocketbooks into these developing countries. Brohman continues:
Tourism is also increasingly being promoted as an important source of outward-oriented growth. Development theorists contend that increased tourism may contribute to economic diversification away from an excessive dependency on a few traditional exports, especially in many low-income countries that lack possibilities for rapid industrialization. Moreover, tropic and Southern Hemisphere countries may attract tourists from developed Northern countries by utilizing their comparative advantage of warm weather during Northern winter seasons combined with other local attractions (e.g., beaches, mountains, ecotourism, cultural heritage sites) (Brohman, 1996, p. 51-52) Many countries have jumped on the tourism bandwagon because they feel it is a fast way to develop their country. Introducing the tourism industry into a developing country appears to be relatively simple. Hire a few workers, create a few hotels, charge admission to see a waterfall, and suddenly a tourism industry exists. If planned properly, introducing tourism within a country can have a tremendous impact economically. In a study conducted on the affects backpack tourism as compared to group tourism can have on local communities it was found that, ―group trekkers spent $31 a day in Nepal compared to only $6.50 a day for independent trekkers, independent trekkers were found to contribute much more to the local economy within the
Annapurna area. This was because the groups usually camped and the companies brought in the most provisions for their clients, whereas independent trekkers stayed in local lodges, consumed local food and drink, and purchased local souvenirs‖ (Scheyvens, 2002, p.153). Although this quote describes the positive impact individual backpackers- a form of alternative tourism- has on a local community, it shows the amount of money that can be generated in a area per traveler if they develop a tourism industry. Despite the sometimes overly negative reputation the tourism industry can have, it has attributes that make it attractive to developing countries.
People appear to be spending more of their income on tourism each year. According to the World Trade Organization, despite the economic crisis that has occurred over the last few
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years, ―International tourism receipts rose by 1.7% in the real terms of US $944 billion in 2008‖
(―World Trade Organization‖, 2010) Even in times of crisis, people are continuing to spend their money on leisure travel. In the Tourism 2020 Vision, the World Trade Organization predicts that tourism will continue to rise on all continents, especially in developing countries. (―World Trade
Organization‖, 2010) As shown in the chart below, the continents with the most expected tourism growth, Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Middle East and South Asia, house many of the world‘s least developed countries.
Figure 1.1 Chart depicting the World Trade Organization’s Tourism 2020 Vision
of tourism growth throughout the world.
Azarya writes, ―Tourism is the world‘s largest and fastest growing industry. It is the largest employer in the world and is estimated to account for the largest export earnings by any industry‖ (Azarya, 2009, p.950). Employment is one of the biggest pulls to the tourism industry.
According to Michael Elliott, ―The industry is astonishingly labor intensive. Every hotel needs cleaning staff and someone to mind the beach umbrellas. And those jobs don‘t require much Page 16 of 86
education‖ (Elliott, 2001, p.1). Developing a few hotels and hiring some previously unemployed people to control the front desk can seem pretty appealing to developing countries where unemployment and poverty are at alarming rates.
Job opportunities for women have also improved within the tourism sector. Traditional gender roles play a large part in the hiring of women in service sector jobs. Amanda Stronza she says, ―Gender stereotypes can also result in women being the first ones in a host community contracted to work in tourism‖ (Stronza, 2001, p.267). Women may be contacted for employment opportunities where traditional gender roles come into play. Women who are thought of as caretakers and maternal will be the first people hired for a housekeeping position as a new hotel. Although the jobs may be disposable, because in the eyes of employers, ―Anyone can fold a bed sheet‖ the industry is creating jobs that did not exist before and individuals are able to better their lives through these new forms of employment.
As well as the increase in service-sector oriented jobs, informal and indirect employments also grow from the creation of a tourism industry in developing countries. Harold
Goodwin in his study on Gambian tourism defines the informal employment sector as, ―all those individuals and microenterprises which engage with tourists and the tourism industry, but are not members of the Gambian Hotel Association or the Ground Handlers and Equipment Hirers
Association. These include craft market vendors, tourist taxi drivers, official tour guides, juice pressers and fruit sellers‖ (Goodwin, 2003, p.73) All of these informal jobs, like picking fruit and selling it on the side of the road, are creating an income for individuals. They do not need to be hired by a company that directly interacts with tourists to be affected by the tourism industry.
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They are recognizing a way to make money and are generating income through the informal sector.
Through the tourism industry, indirect employment opportunities are also created. With thousand of foreign tourists visiting these tourist destinations, goods are going to need to be produced, as well as services. The agriculture industry will increase because tourists need to eat while they are there. The manufacturing industry will have to keep up with the demand for new hotel beds. Artisans will have to produce more goods so that tourists can purchase souvenirs to take home. Then they are able to place them on their mantle to fondly remember their exotic vacation. Rina M. Alluri conducted a study focusing on tourism‘s role in Post-Conflict Peace building in Rwanda. In her study she found:
According to statistics provided by the Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN), by end of 2008, tourism had generated approximated 413,000 direct jobs. The tourism sector also leads to indirect employment to other supporting industries such as customs and immigration services, food and beverage production, transportation, construction or retail supply and the handicraft industry (Alluri, 2009, p.23). The employment opportunities created directly from tourism in Rwanda are significant. But, the amount of jobs that exist that are indirectly related to tourism, from the taxi driver picking up travelers at the airport to the farmer who grows vegetables and sells them to the local restaurant reaches many more individuals. Not only are people directly in contact with tourists reaping the benefits through service-sector employment. More jobs are created indirectly from the growth of this industry than directly, which is essential to a developing nation attempting to remove its country from poverty.
Elliott also compares tourism to trade. He states, ―It improves the economy‘s competitiveness. Trade does so because it stimulates local suppliers to match the quality and
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variety of imported goods. Tourism does so because it stimulates local suppliers to match the quality and variety of imported goods‖ (Elliott, 2001, p.1). If travelers visit Sweden and see something amazing that is accessible to everyone in that country, they will travel back to the
United States and urge businesses to create the same product. Elliott continues:
In the past few years, countless tourists to Europe and Japan have been impressed by local cell phones that don‘t lose connections when you turn a corner and that have all sorts of services that are denied Americans. So when, on your next cell phone, you discover that you play Pokémon games with your office colleagues, you will know whom to thank: the tourism industry. (Elliott, 2001, p.2)
Globalization and the concept of a connected global community have helped make the tourism industry as successful as it is today. Citizens are traveling across the globe constantly, taking home with them new ideas and products that force their home countries to increase their competitiveness in a global market.
Although tourism has benefits, there are two sides to every story. When looking from the outside in appears to be a great and promising way to alleviate poverty, has consequences and outcomes that are not always anticipated. Tourism seems to be described by many scholars as a terrible thing, where Westerners destroy their home, so they travel to distant lands to seek serenity, rejuvenation, and a sense of comfort. From this perspective tourists only end up inevitably destroying the area they are visiting and ultimately, what they came to find. Although money may be brought into newly developed tourist areas, a whole new string of problems appears to follow along with it. Stronza states, ―Tourism was associated with luxury spending, overcrowding, and pollution, all of which were compounding environmental degradation.
Meanwhile, the kinds of infrastructure governments and aid agencies were investing in- golf courses and high-rise hotels- were doing little to alleviate the education, health, and welfare
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needs of local populations‖ (Stronza, 2001, p.268). Tourism does have the ability to economically strengthen a developing country. But, it is not a miracle solution that will magically fix a nation‘s problems. Countries must be prepared for problems that may arise because of the development of a tourism industry. Developing countries must be aware of and prepared for possible negative consequences and plan accordingly.
One major problem within the tourism industry is that countries become dependent upon the success of their tourism industry. Rather than becoming economically diverse, countries have abandoned almost all other industries of growth and instead rely on just one. When discussing this problem in Jamaica, A. Lynn Bolles states, ―not until the early 1990‘s did tourism become
Jamaica‘s leading economic sector. Until the latter half of the twentieth century, mining, agriculture, and manufacturing were the top sectors for Jamaica‖(Bolles, 2008, ). Before tourism became the leading economic industry in Jamaica, the country had different industries that they could generate income from. Now, they are solely focused on tourism, and if one-day tourists stop visiting, they are left with a lot of empty hotels and no income. Jamaica is an exception to the rule, as not every country removes all other industry to make space for tourism. But, it is an extreme example of what can happen to a country if they become reliant only on tourism. What if tourists just stop coming? Where will the country get the funds necessary to keep the tourism industry going and how will the people employed due to tourism generate an income?
Before the September 11th terrorist attacks, areas like Saudi Arabia and Dubai in the
United Arab Emirates began to position themselves as tourist destinations. The areas had improved tourist facilities and were beginning to attract foreign travelers. But, after the
September 11th attacks, these regions observed an immediate decline in tourist numbers. Waleed
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Hazbun writes, ―Of tourists who did travel, more began making their bookings at the last minute,
―choosing destinations that are closer to home, perceived as ‗safer‘, rather than long haul destinations. Due also in part to ―fears of a backlash against Western visitors,‖ travel agents across Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and North Africa reported cancellations reaching 60 to 70%‖
(Hazbun, 2006, p.206). The Middle East has never been a country known solely for their tourism industry. In the years leading up to the September 11th attacks, countries had been trying to break into the industry but were not dependant on it. By looking at an example like this, it can be seen how a country dependant on tourism could have major problems if a catastrophe like this occurred.
Developing countries, like Jamaica, become dependent upon the tourism industry itself, but also can be reliant upon multinational corporations and already developed countries that serve as a guide. When discussing the dependency Third World nations have on multinational companies to bring tourists in Weibing and Xingqun state:
Third World destinations are highly dependent on the inbound tourism. In contrast, multinationals do not need to stick to a certain specific destination. So, generally speaking, the Third World tourism is situated in a buyers‘ market. For example, the attractions of most Caribbean destinations are very similar in terms of physiographic features and biodiversity. If an international tour operator thinks that the pricing level of a Caribbean destination is high (even if the pricing level is reasonable), it can easily switch its package tours to another lower-priced Caribbean destination without much loss. (Weibing & Xingqun, 2005, p.206) As with the service-sector jobs created within the tourism industry, the nations themselves become disposable, easily replaced by one another. In order to dedicate time and effort into cultivating a tourism sector within a developing country, a large amount of financial support must exist. Building up hotels, attractions, and transportation systems to keep tourists content and occupied does not come cheap. Developing countries many times go in debt in order to
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create a tourism industry that may or may not be successful. Weibing & Xingqun expand on this in their article by stating:
This is especially true in those small-island states such as Fiji, Mauritius and many Caribbean countries. In these countries, because of their weak industrial bases, most industrial products cannot be manufactured domestically, and are thus heavily dependent on imports. Tourists from the west usually have a higher demand on living conditions and consumer products, so to serve them will require buying much more luxury products abroad like machinery, equipment, food and other essential supplies which no doubt greatly aggravates the outflow of foreign exchanges.(Weibing & Xingqun, 2005, p.206) With developing countries struggling to entice foreign tourists, they are going beyond their means financially. Multinational companies at times are willing to front the cost of these developing industries in exchange for control of the industry. Rainer Andergassen describes this by stating, ―The multinational finances local development by subsidizing local firms‘ set up costs…from the multinationals‘ viewpoint, the latter situation is equivalent to creating an enclave, the only difference being that if tourism related products are produced by local firms, then they are culturally authentic goods while in this case of an enclave they consist of fake, but authentically staged productions‖ (Andergassen, 2009, p.9). Although this may seem like a good idea at the time, the interest countries will continue to pay for years is another thing that keeps developing countries dependent upon developed ones.
One argument states that introducing tourism into developing countries, ―denies space to
Third World nationalism, breaks down their quest for economic self-reliance, and coerces them into accepting a global order dominated by the powers of those advanced capitalist countries‖
(Weibing & Xingqun, 2005, p.204) This can be supported by the Dependency Theory which is when, advanced and developed countries are seen as the core of the world and all other less developed countries are viewed as the outside periphery.
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Based on the assumption that economic and political powers are heavily concentrated and centralized in the industrialized countries, an assumption consistent with that of imperialism, dependency theory posits that the root of the low levels of development in the Third World is not the lack of capital or entrepreneurial skills but is caused by their reliance and dependence on more economically developed countries. (Weibing & Xingqun, 2005, p.204)
Multinational tourism companies serve as the voice between the countries and the tourists. They are the ones that communicate with foreign travelers, and hold the power over the individual countries. When a traveler wants to book a vacation to China, they usually do not call up a local
Chinese hotel and place a reservation. Instead, they use a website like Priceline or Expedia as an easier option. These companies make the choice of which rates are acceptable, and can choose a package that sends tourists to one country rather than another. This causes the developing countries to dependent upon the multinationals for the success of their tourism industry.
Although the tourism industry does create employment opportunities in developing countries, the jobs are disposable and not always performed under the most legal or ethical conditions. Despite the fact that women are given employment opportunities through the tourism industry, the process is very gender segregated. When discussing Boca Chica in the Dominican
Republic, Steven Gregory wrote, ―Men mostly sold a variety of products, ranging from clothing, crafts, and cigars to shellfish, fruits and other foods. Women mostly worked on the beaches as masseuses, manicurists and pedicurists and hair braiders, catering largely to foreign tourists‖
(Gregory, 2007). He believes this gender segregation occurs because, ―One common view was that men were better suited to conduct business in the zona turistica because they were more aggressive; another was that men are savvier at negotiating with foreign tourists. Both male views implied that women were more suited to economic activities that made use of their
―natural‖ female abilities and support research that has shown that, ―women‘s work‖ comes to be
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seen as related to the domestic sphere no matter what they do‖ (Gregory, 2007). Formal sector jobs, such as a hotel desk clerk, have been critiqued for being racist and discriminatory. Lighter skinned or foreign women are more likely to be given jobs in the public eye within the formal sector because it is believed that foreign tourists will feel most comfortable around them. It is perceived that darker skinned women are considered to be less educated and receive lower paying entry-level positions, such as a housekeeper (Bolles, 2008). This discrimination also occurs in Australia where native Aboriginal Australians have difficulty getting hired in the tourism sector if they are not performing as Aborigines to tourists.(Constable, 2009, p.30). Not only does the tourism industry have an enormous economic impact on developing countries, but also on the society and culture of the nation itself.
Social and Cultural Impacts- Commoditization and the Gaze
Imagine stepping off of an airplane and you have just landed on the island paradise of
Hawaii. You are lucky enough to call this your home for the next five days and cannot contain the excitement of lying back on the beach, sipping a margarita, feeling the wind blow your hair, and hear the waves crash on the ocean. When you arrive at your hotel, you are instantly greeted by two Hawaiian women dressed in grass skirts and coconut bras, who drape a lei around your neck and say, ―Welcome to Hawaii!‖ When you check in, the concierge tells you that the traditional Hawaiian Luau will begin this evening at eight o‘clock. You arrive dressed, in your
Tommy Bahama floral shirt, Teevas on your feet, and camera in hard excited for what the night has in store. Fire torches line the sand filled beach, the wave‘s crash in the background and you can only dimly see the lights from your all-inclusive resort in the background. You start off the evening by sipping a Blue Hawaii or maybe a Mai Tai. Then comes the meal- pineapple, poi and
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Kalua Pig equipped with an apple in mouth for presentation value. After everyone has had their meal, the celebration begins with all the ―traditional‖ Hawaiian pastimes. Men breathing fire and women hula dancing certainly would not be forgotten on this special evening. After a long evening of food and fun, you retreat back to your hotel bed and soak the events of the night in.
Suddenly it hits you, and you realize exactly how authentic your experience truly was.
The commoditization of culture is described as, ―a process by which things come to be evaluated primarily in terms of their exchange value, in a context of trade, thereby becoming goods‖ (Stronza, 2001, p.270) Using this term tourists are able to question ―just how much of what I see here is true to the culture, and how much is created to represent a culture?‖ Hula skirts at one time in Hawaii may have been authentic. Today are they still used in ceremonies that do not include tourists and a fancy cocktail? Malcolm Crick quotes:
Culture is being packaged, priced and sold like building lots, rights of way, fast food, and room service, as the tourism industry inexorably extends its grasp. For the monied tourist, the tourism industry promises that the world is his/hers to use. All the ―natural resources,‖ including cultural traditions, have their price, and if you have the money in hand, it is your right to see whatever you wish... Treating culture as a natural resource or a commodity over which tourists have rights is not simply perverse; it is a violation of the peoples‘ cultural rights. (Crick, 1989, p.336)
In 2008, $946 billion was generated through the international tourism; there is no denying that there is money to be made through this industry. (―World Tourism Organization‖, 2010)
Developing countries are eager to earn a portion of those earnings and are willing to introduce tourism into their culture, many people believe that the authenticity of the country‘s culture diminishes through these practices. When discussing the Massai people Azarya says, ―Blue jeans and watches may be concealed behind spears, feathers and other ornaments or may be taken off for the duration of the show‖ (Azarya, 2004, p.961). Souvenirs that appear to be authentic and
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handmade sometimes are not; ―The traditional techniques may be degraded in mass production but the artistic skills may also be invigorated and salvaged from oblivion. It is true that some of those objects are industrially produced in urban centres or even imported from abroad (Taiwan,
Hong Kong?), and resold as local craft‖(Azarya, 2004, p.962). When you think back as you go to sleep after that long day at the Luau, you may realize that the fire breather got into his Toyota and drove home, and the handmade wood carving you purchased was handmade by a woman in
Beijing.
A major problem with this commercialization of culture is not only are the attractions and scenery put on display but the values, traditions, and the people themselves become something to look at. The native residents then become a commodity, right along with everything else around them when the tourism industry becomes a leading money-maker. Tourists desire to see something more than just foreign scenery. They want to be placed right within the culture so they can soak up the essence of the people. In theory, this is a great concept, because it connects people from across the world and emphasizes global understanding but, the concept of creating an authentic culture for tourists to experience does not always work so nicely. Azarya states:
Local people also become tourism exhibits themselves. The natives are not simply there to provide services; they are an integral part of the exotic spectacle. They pose for photos for a fee, traditionally dressed. They open their villages, their camps and their dwelling to visits by tourists, photographers, reporters and film makers. They perform traditional dances for their visitors, show how they produce butter or draw blood from their cattle, stage rite-of- passage ceremonies or mock battle games, all for appropriate fees usually arranged in advance. Colorful local costumes, ornaments, customs, rituals, folk arts thus become services and commodities offered to tourists. (Azarya, 2004, p.960)
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This causes tourists to view native residents as the ―exotic other‖, something different from them that they should observe and try to understand. This concept referred to as ―the gaze‖ can have negative consequences for both tourists and locals.
Stronza summarizes the gaze as when, ―tourists wield power through the way they look at locals and expect them to appear and behave. In turn, locals acquiesce to the gaze by mirroring back images they hope will please tourists‖ (Stronza, 2001, p.271). This can be a problem because locals then create an image of themselves and what they think they should be. It is the
Western tourists whose opinions reflect back on the native people. Through the tourism industry,
Western influence and power are affecting both the culture and the individuals they come in contact with when traveling. With the heavy dependency on tourism to generate personal income, locals are attempting to morph themselves into what they believe tourists want to come in contact with. ―Locals may consciously try to match visitors‘ expectations of what is authentic, even if the results seem contrived or fake‖ (Stronza, 2001, p.270). Studies conducted in the
1980‘s show that locals changed their appearances to fit what they believed tourists wanted.
Stronza describes one of the studies conducted:
Albers & James examined 600 postcard images of Native Americans issued between 1900 and 1970. They discovered that the images changed with the growth of tourism in the American West, and that representations of Indians were increasingly tailored to match tourists‘ expectations. The most striking change was the disappearance of images that showed Indians in their normal surrounding and everyday dress. Increasingly, the pictures conformed to a stereotypic image, ―derived from the equestrian, buffalo-hunting, and tipi- dwelling Indians of the nineteenth century.‖ (Stronza,2001, p.272)
If locals believe that mirroring to tourists what they expect to see will be more lucrative, they will do just that. It appears that if part of the culture is lost or turned into a commodity, locals are being rewarded back monetarily.
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The gaze can also lead to tension between locals and tourists, as well as locals and themselves. Locals can view tourists as invasive as they enter into a country, do and take what they want and then abruptly leave. While locals can observe all the material goods tourists have and begin to view themselves in terms of relative poverty. They see travelers walking around with digital cameras and IPods, and suddenly realize that they do not own the items the wealthy
Westerners do. The gaze creates an ―us versus them‖ mentality for all parties involved. The tourists view the local people in developing countries as primitive, uneducated, exotic and savage. Although they may have traveled to view famous landmarks, the local inhabitants may not receive the same respect. ―They may admire ancient Egyptian or Mayan civilizations but not necessarily the local Arab or Indian mule driver or coffee server‖ (Azarya, 2004, p.956).
But, there is another side to this argument. Although it is possible that some locals view tourists as privileged and elitist, others may not. They may also see them as a meal ticket, if they show the tourists what they want to see then tourists will be willing to pay any price for entertainment. What some people view as the commoditization of culture, some scholars see as a way to preserve it.
Tourism has as much potential to revive old values as it does to destroy them. Smith, for example, has found that tourism may serve to reinforce ethnic identity. Also, Mansperger suggested that tourism can help native people maintain their identity. Van den Berghe wrote that tourism can lead to a renaissance of native cultures or the recreation of ethnicity. Tourism then can become an empowering vehicle of self-representation, and locals may purposely choose to reinvent themselves through time, modifying how they are seen and perceived by different groups of outsiders. (Stronza, 2001, p.271)
Regardless of the viewpoint, when tourism enters a country, culture and the local people are put on display. Although some native people may be willing to ―sell out‖ their culture to increase
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their income, studies have not been conducted to determine how many local are willing to make the sacrifice of turning their culture into a commodity in order to pay the bills.
Alternative Tourism- A Glimmer of Hope?
Anyone that turns on the travel channel and watches Anthony Bourdain- No Reservations knows the quote, ―Be a traveler not a tourist.‖ Is this really a possibility? Does being a traveler mean you do not have a camera in hand to document every move? Or, is this simply trying to direct people away from the concept of mass tourism? Is this movement composed of individuals striving so hard not to be ―that guy‖ or ―that girl‖ in a foreign country? For every fanny-pack wearing tourist vacationing over the summer, there is another person who is striving to prove that they are the exact opposite kind of tourist. Alternative tourism‘s definition is, ―forms of tourism that are consistent with natural, social, and community values, and which allow both hosts and guests to enjoy positive and worthwhile interaction and shared experiences‖ (Stronza, 2001, p.274). When people think of the term alternative ideas of rebellion, going against the mainstream, and being different come to mind. Alternative tourists attempt to prove that they are conscious of their actions, and they have more on their minds during a vacation than what souvenirs they bring home.
Although this form of tourism has its own set of critics, it appears to be accepted as a more viable and beneficial model of economic development within developing countries. This type of tourism attempts to take the local opinion into consideration more than mass tourism, which usually only benefits the elites. Alternative tourism attempts to focus on the social, economic and environmental impacts that mass tourism appears to ignore. A major critique of conventional tourism is the dependence that developing nations have on developed ones to get
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the process started. They must borrow money, follow plans designed by Western power-holders, and cater to the needs of foreign travelers. (Weibing & Xingqun, 2005).
Alternative tourism, despite being such a broad term, attempts to set itself apart from conventional tourism. It consists of sub-genres of the tourism industry including eco-tourism, sustainable, adventure, rural, and cultural tourism. Although they have differences, these forms pride themselves on giving back monetarily to the local community, and placing power within the hands of local people.(Stronza 2001). Boonzaaier & Philip describe this industry as, ―about grassroots empowerment as it seeks to develop the industry in harmony with the needs and aspirations of host communities in a way that is acceptable to them, sustains their economies, rather than the economies of others, and is not detrimental to their culture, traditions... or day to day convenience‖ (Boonzaaier & Philip, 2007, p.31). For tourism to be successful in developing countries, tourism development needs to be put into the hands of the locals, instead of multinational corporations. Rather than depending on developed nations, local communities will be given the power to make decisions that will directly affect their lives. Instead of multinationals making a decision two-thousand miles away that they believe will help the local community as well as themselves. Local community based decisions create the most positive impact for the people and the nation. Money, employment opportunities and the power to make changes, is put in the hands of local residents rather than foreign investors.
Everyone looks forward to traveling the world. This could include visiting Disney World over summer vacation from school or to Venice on your honeymoon, but few people really look into all the work and effort that goes into ensuring an enjoyable holiday. Modern tourism creates monetary incentives that make the industry attractive to developing countries. It creates job
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opportunities for local residents by providing service-sector positions. It also increases global competitiveness by forcing countries to keep up with the demands of travelers but, the tourism industry also has some negative side effects on the countries it inhabits. It requires developing nations to be dependent upon the Westernized world that creates a plan for what, where, and how things should occur. Jobs that are created are often menial, disposable and gender segregated.
They do not encourage education or trade development within residents, rather just basic skills anyone can complete. Critics also believe that the mass tourism industry commercializes culture, and puts not only the rituals and culture on display, but the people as well. The concept of ―the gaze‖ focuses on locals morphing their appearance and behaviors into what they believe tourists want to in order to reap financial rewards.
Although there are major problems associated with conventional tourism, steps are being taken to create another option. Alternative tourism may be a broad term, but it attempts to emphasize important aspects of society that mass tourism omits. By putting emphasis on local society and the environment it attempts to make a conscious effort to move towards a more positive tourism approach. Alternative tourism is a current trend, as individuals want to avoid being stereotyped as a ―typical stupid tourist.‖ This concept is not flawless, but it is a step in the right direction to a more sustainable and ethical model of tourism.
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Chapter Two Arguments Surrounding the Practice of Slum Tourism
There are distinct viewpoints focusing around the issue of slum tourism today. Advocates say that the niche industry helps create global awareness on the issue of poverty in our world.
Tourists are able to see with their own eyes that poverty exists in our world. Traveling into slums where people are struggling to survive presents a harsh reality when you are taking a recreational vacation away from the suburbs. Organizers of these tours can only hope this will motivate people to bring substantial change to the issue. Change can occur by setting both short and long term goals through showcasing the poverty of a nation. Short term goals can be having people donate to the communities they are visiting. Donating to the day care center you visit while you are on a slum tour can make a big impact on the individual who owns it. The long term goals of slum tourism companies hope to bring about worldwide change. Once people return back to their homes, they can get involved in antipoverty programs in their own neighborhood or stay connected to the regions they visited. If someone went on a favela tour in Rio they could continue to support the organizations they visited after they have returned home. Websites developed by these agencies have links where donations can be sent long after the vacation has ended.
One the other hand, critics of the idea believe that this type of tourism is a form of exploitative voyeurism. Wealthy foreign travelers visit a slum and look at it with fascination.
Most have never seen this type of poverty firsthand and are shocked that people live this way, yet this poverty occurs all around the world. Poverty occurs in their own backyard, but they are not paying to take a tour of the ghetto down the street. The tourists may be startled and motivated to help others initially after these tours. But, the reaction is usually short lived as soon as they Page 32 of 86
return back to their everyday lives. Critics ask, ―Why don‘t you just write a check?‖ Instead of spending money by taking a slum tour or taking a vacation at all, tourists can just write a check for the amount they would spend and donate it to the cause. By doing that, no one is turned into an object to be looked at and the gaze is not perpetuated. Although there are two very different opinions on the issue of slum tourism, both sides of the argument make valid points. I wonder if it is possible to merge the arguments together in hopes of creating a positive slum tourism experience that does not exploit the poor while still helping to improve the quality of living for individuals and local communities.
Advocates
Harold Goodwin attempts to defend the concept of Pro-poor tourism that critics have strongly opposed. If done properly he believes that Pro-poor tourism can have a significant positive impact upon the impoverished. He feels that all of these things can be improved when pro-poor tourism is implemented:
There is a strong case for intervention at the local level in tourist destination areas to: enable local community access to the tourism market and avoid enclaves; maximize the linkages into the local economy and minimize leakages; build on and complement existing livelihood strategies through employment and small enterprise development; evaluate tourism projects for their contribution to local economic development, not just for their national revenue generation and the increase in international arrivals; ensure the maintenance of natural and cultural assets; control negative social impacts; control the rate of growth of tourism. (Goodwin, 2008, p.870) The work of Pro-poor tourism puts power into the hands of local officials and communities that are often powerless when conventional tourism approaches are in place. Multinational corporations hold the power in these situations, where they make the decisions that bring tourists into foreign areas of their choosing. Countries who are attempting a successful future within the
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tourism industry feel pressure to comply with the multinationals because they are the ones that direct tourists and finances into countries. Goodwin describes why the Pro-poor tourism approach is very important as compared to standard tourism, ―There has been too much reliance on unsubstantiated trickle-down effects; the PPT approach insists that interventions which claimed benefits for the poor needed to demonstrate those benefits. We recognized that tourism often has negative impacts on the poor, including displacement from land and beaches and serious negative social impacts such as sex tourism‖ (Goodwin, 2008, p.870). The trickle down approach of giving money to the wealthy believing eventually a portion of it will end up in the hands of the poor will not bring about substantial change. Each impoverished individual may receive a few dollars through this process, but not anything large enough to make an impact on their standard of living. The mainstream tourism industry may benefit a few but overall advocates of Pro-poor tourism believe it is a more sustainable and ethical approach.
Advocates of this tourism approach do not expect entire industries to begin because they can offer a slum tour to visitors. Slum tourism currently only exists in areas where a tourism industry has previously been established. An entire industry cannot be created by enticing travelers to visit a slum. But, the introduction of slum tourism into already bustling tourist areas gives tourists one more attraction to choose from while they are on their vacation. This can increase a country‘s competitiveness within the industry. Since the industry is already competitive the smallest difference can cause a family to choose one country over another.
Giving tourists more options of activities during their stay can positively affect the local community. By making slum areas desirable tourist destinations, currency is entering the area that normally would not. Although the handmade crafts that a street vendor sells may not generate him a large income, it is better than no income at all. Selling wares to tourists may not Page 34 of 86
be enough to remove someone from poverty but it can help put food on the dinner table for a struggling family.
Throughout his work, Evan Selinger describes both sides of the ―poorism‖ argument. He states that advocates of the industry believe it serves two purposes, ―Education by raising awareness of global suffering and justice by providing needed funds to destitute regions either by direct transfers to the poor themselves or by targeted spending within the impoverished areas visited‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.2). These types of tours give people an in depth perspective on poverty. Until they have witnessed it first hand, they cannot truly imagine the situation. Unless a tourist has seen the street children of Delhi, India they cannot truly fathom the situation.
Although they still may not understand the circumstances behind the current poverty, seeing it gives them first-hand experience that others do not have. When quoting Timothy Engstrom, an image theorist, Selinger states, ―Engstrom remarks that in order to appreciate why some poverty tours can affect participants in powerful ways, it‘s useful to consider how visual technologies and cultural habits of sight shape what we perceive or consider worth perceiving in the first place, and to consider how these technologies and cultural practices mediate the ―presence of the real‖ when experienced‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.2). The power actually seeing an image can have on someone will last a lot longer than hearing about it. Although startling and unnerving, watching an infomercial begging you to sponsor a starving child in Africa does not have much of a long term impact as actually seeing the child.
Proponents also argue that by going on a slum tour, tourists are able to view a real aspect of the city and face the reality of poverty in our world. Slum tours show you the part of the country that the guidebooks do not usually suggest. But, to some this can be the most rewarding
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aspect of their vacation. Kevin Outterson writes, ―To understand how Brazil works, you need to experience more than one perspective, especially if you can do that with the permission of the community‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.2). During slum tours, tourists visit locations that have already been cleared with the locals. They do not stop by a random person‘s house to look inside. On the other hand, they will also visit organizations like a local school or community center in hopes of showing a more positive side of the area. In these slum communities, tour organizers strive to prove that there is industry and economic development in these areas, and that locals want to work. By developing these partnerships with industry owners, locals are strengthening their ties to the community and gaining economic incentives as well. Outterson writes, ―My students have generally been impressed with many aspects of Rocinha, especially how the community has self- organized in response to government neglect‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.2). With many governments ignoring the slum areas or attempting to remove them all together as is the case with Mumbai,
India, locals have taken the power into their own hands to do something important. Slum tours in the United States like Ms. Beauty‘s Ghetto Bus Tours attempt to do the same thing. Her tours try to educate the public about the deplorable housing conditions the Chicago government let exist.
(Turner, 2008) It was the hope of organizer Beauty Turner that after going on the tour people would put pressure on the government to improve the conditions. Advocates believe that this can help dispel myths about those living in slums. Poverty tourism works to eliminate negative stereotypes that slum residents are unmotivated, lazy and unintelligent.
More negative press has been given to the concept of slum tourism than praise. Although there are arguments that commend the idea, many more scholars are willing to criticize then industry than support it. The ones that believe slum tourism can help improve the living conditions of individuals residing in slums have the same main focus points. Slum tourism Page 36 of 86
generates income into the local communities that house it. Although alone it may not be enough to eradicate poverty in an area, it is better than nothing. This type of tourism also raises awareness and attempts to motivate travelers to work to end poverty around the globe. The tourism industry is also incredibly competitive and introducing slum tourism into a list of travelers options can help draw more people into that specific location. More scholars may be willing to criticize the concept of slum tourism, but the advocates of this type of tourism believe it is an effective approach to reducing inequality that exists in the world today.
Critics
The concept of slum tourism has generated many negative feelings from academic scholars to tourists themselves. Although some people believe that it is a way to eliminate inequality because it puts power into the hands of those that are usually powerless, others disagree. Critics of slum tourism usually fall back on a few main points when describing their dislike of the concept. One branch of these points falls into the sociological category. How are the locals being affected? How long of an impact does a visit to the favelas really last on a tourist? The criticism that slum tourism is an inappropriate form of voyeurism is mentioned a lot.
Critics also focus on the economic impacts that this can have on an area. Who holds the power in these situations? Who is benefiting the most? As with conventional tourism, what are the negative impacts that can occur from slum tourism? Although the intended goals of slum tourism may be to help raise awareness of poverty and positively impact slum communities, many skeptics are questioning these ideas.
David Fennell is one of the main critics of the slum tourism industry and is an author and professor on tourism studies. I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Mr. Fennell
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while doing my research on the subject and was able to get his opinion on the topic. He describes his main position on slum tourism:
In assessing the legitimacy of poverty tourism it would seem helpful to recognize—as a starting premise—that tourism by nature has proven to be more about greed, power and superiority, and much less about altruism. If slum tourism further emphasizes the tourist‘s freedom to go anywhere, any time and at any price, and the service provider‘s willingness to capitalize at the expense of others, poverty tourism would seem to be generally exploitative. (Fennell, Personal Communication, March 2010) He is quoted saying, ―How can we justify poorism as an industry if we could simply donate money or volunteer?‖(Fennell, Personal Communication, March 2010). Although a small amount of money may trickle down to the poor, now not only the area has been turned into a commodity and something to stare at. The local people have also been turned into a point of interest. The same argument exists for conventional mass tourism but slum tourism focuses on a specific niche of people. Tour organizers specifically take tourists on a view of impoverished slums they say, in hopes of breaking stereotypes that currently exist of the poor.
Since there are neither regulations for these tours nor requirements for the tourists, it is difficult to understand the motives behind tour guides and tourists. Selinger asks, ―How can potential poverty tourists be assured that a particular tour guide or tour company have beneficent motives and is not taking advantage of the perceived morality of their enterprise for the primary purpose of enhancing personal finances?‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.4). Tourism companies that put on slum tours do not have any restrictions or guidelines that they must follow. They are the only ones making the rules, and it is taken at face-value that their intentions are pure. Although the companies can donate a portion of their earnings to a non-profit organization or community center, there is no one forcing them to do so. There is also nothing to say that the tourist‘s intentions are pure. Anyone interested in the subject can pay a small fee and dedicate a few hours
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to a slum tour. But, who is to say that they are there for the right reasons? Some critics believe the tourist‘s motives can be just as questionable as the tourism companies themselves. Selinger questions tourist‘s true intentions:
Is someone planning a poorism tour primarily going to increase awareness of global misery, rather than embarking on adventure designed to provide interesting and self-aggrandizing cocktail party fodder? Might the main allure be the seductive promise of an ―authentic‖ and ―real‖ experience coveted precisely because the middle or upper class world has become so mediated by technology that life itself has take on a virtual flavor? (Selinger, 2009, p.4) Selinger suggests that some critics believe that there should be educational prerequisites required before slum tours occur. That way, negative stereotypes about the poor are not being perpetuated. It is hard to predict what someone‘s intentions are when they embark on a slum tour. Even though many travelers may be there to improve their understanding of global poverty, others may not be.
The concept of voyeurism comes up in almost every major tourism critique. Western wealthy tourists travel to foreign places looking for something new and exciting. They stumble upon the local people who then become sensationalized as the ―exotic other‖. Who can say if those local people have given their consent to being a part of this tour? They are simply living their everyday lives, and most likely did not ask to be put on spectacle. The parallel between the have and the have-nots is created, and many critics believe this negatively impacts the local people. (Fennell, Personal Communication, March 2010) Advocates say that this does not give the local people any credit, alluding to the fact that locals are so controlled by Western influence that they cannot think for themselves. (Stronza, 2001, p.271) But, the concept of voyeurism still remains a huge factor in why many critics are opposed to the concept of slum tourism.
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One of Fennell‘s main arguments against slum tourism is the idea that ―Unintentionally
Induced Suffering‖ could occur as a result. ―Can misunderstandings arise during poverty tours?
Even those who sympathize with the plight of the impoverished irrespective of the reasons for being there, run the risk of being identified as part of the crowd communally responsible for the hardship in the first place, the divide between the have and the have-nots‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.3).
No one can predict the future, and it is unclear what exactly could happen as a result of the slum tourism industry. The result could be a positive one, poverty awareness increases; pressure is put on governments to make change; and individual lives are improved through tourism funds. Or, locals can be taken advantage of; funds cannot be allocated to the right places; and negative stereotypes can be perpetuated. Critics see the possible negative sociological impact that slum tourism can have and concerned for the long-term consequences.
Not only do detractors of the concept of slum tourism focus on sociological impacts, they also keep in mind possible economic problems that can arise. One of the major problems critics bring up is the idea that not much research has been done on the issue of slum tourism. On the surface the idea of helping the poor sounds like a great idea, and it is easy to take the idea and run with it. Labeling conventional tourism as bad and Pro-poor tourism as a new better sustainable model is far too easy. Pro-poor tourism and other models should be studied critically as well, even though they claim to have more positive impacts. Currently, no one appears to be holding the tour organizers, the people putting ideas into practice, accountable. Although it is a possibility that the slum tourism model can be a successful plan to reduce inequality and poverty, it is an assumption for the most part. Selinger quotes Fennell‘s argument as to why it is so difficult to predict slum tourism‘s impact on poverty:
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It may benefit particular individuals but is this a self refuting endeavor, reinforcing the underlying social and financial structures that also give rise to poverty and perpetuate it? Supporting poor people by purchasing inexpensive goods that they make may disincline them to demand access to enhanced education that could better alleviate their poverty. (Selinger, 2009, p.4) Locals could become so dependent upon an income generated by selling fruit on the side of the road, that they become focused solely on the tourism industry. Instead of a community organizing or applying pressure to governments to create more opportunities for residents, it could become a habit to take the easy way out. Instead of striving to rise up from an economic depression through education, a slum dweller could choose an option provided by the tourism industry because it is easy and readily available.
It is also difficult to judge the impact taking a slum tour can have on the tourist. The tour organizers‘ goal may be to raise awareness and motivate tour participants to make change in society after they have returned to their everyday lives. But, it is difficult to predict or measure how long people are impacted by this visual stimulation. Fennell questions, ―How long does the immediate emotional response last in the tourist? Research says, not long…‖ (Fennell, Personal
Communication, March 2010). It is difficult for an individual to not be impacted when they come face to face with a starving child on the streets of Delhi. Through making eye contact and developing a personal connection people are much more affected than reading an article in a newspaper or seeing an infomercial on the television for Feed the Children. But, it is unrealistic that tourists will be motivated to donate the same amount of money two years down the line as they would the day after their tour. Memories fade and purse strings tighten if you are not constantly immersed in the reality of the situation.
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Fennell also questions the concept of ―Distributive Justice‖. He described his problem with the concept of scale. ―How distributive can justice actually be? If few benefit in the face of so many others, doesn‘t this compromise community cohesion?‖ (Fennell, Personal
Communication, March 2010). If the only people positively affected by slum tours are the daycare centers that get donations from the tourists and the vendors selling souvenirs, how is it benefiting the entire community? Selinger quotes Fennell again by stating, ―Local people may be induced to support poverty tourism enterprises if they themselves somehow stand to gain.
However, it seems improbable that the collective would rally around poverty tourism because of the inability to spread benefits equally among member‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.3). It is human nature to take advantage of opportunities that could make a positive impact on your life. Would a community center in Brazil open its doors to a large group of tourists if they did not think they would gain anything from it? They have been presented with an opportunity that has the possibility of improving their current living situation. Even if it is only for a short period of time or generates a small increase in economic stability, it is promising venture many organizations and individuals are willing to take.
Critics also oppose the concept of slum tourism because the companies providing the tours are generating income off of others sufferings. Christopher Way, founder of Mumbai‘s
Reality Tours and Travel has been quoted stating, ―I didn‘t want to make money from the slum tours. It wouldn‘t have felt right‖ (Lancaster, 2007, p.3). But, Way‘s company does not donate one-hundred percent of its profits back into the area. The company Reality Tours and Travels currently does not turn a profit from their tours, but when they do they plan to donate eighty percent of their earnings back to the community. (Weiner, 2008, p.3) Other companies have created their own schools or community centers as a way to give back to the region. Companies Page 42 of 86
are usually forthcoming with this information to appease critics who hound them for exploiting the poor. Selinger describes arguments from critics questioning, ―Should poverty tours be entirely nonprofit or is it morally permissible for tour operates to make money? Unless some tour money is given to the poor, it becomes difficult for the operator to make a compelling case for their activity‖ (Selinger, 2009, p.4). Tour organizers are quick to point out the good they do within the community almost immediately to avoid this criticism.
Unlike Goodwin, David Harrison has major qualms with the concept of poverty tourism.
One of his major arguments is that the industry is more about a short term solution rather than substantial social change. He describes his frustration with advocates of the industry:
Advocates are too comfortable with the status quo and thus miss ―the big picture‖. Rather than attending to the need for structural change, redistribution of wealth and resources, and addressing international and national power structures, they tacitly accept a neoliberal approach to development and thinker with the capitalistic international tourism system at the edges, eking out a few resources for small selected groups of the poor (or relatively poor) in destination areas. (Harrison, 2008, p.858) Rather than creating a revolution, angering the masses and forcing world powers to take action in defense of the impoverished, advocates are attempting to tweak the flawed system of conventional tourism into a more sustainable, friendlier model. He argues that models of tourism like Pro-poor tourism and slum tourism have been around for decades, have not worked and are not addressing the root issues of the problems. To critics, concepts like pro-poor tourism and slum tourism simply put a Band-Aid on a major problem in the world. They look appealing from a distance and may make a small impact on a few individuals and communities. But, the problems will continue to exist. Until pressure is put on officials and governments with power, poverty in countries like India and Brazil will continue to exist no matter how much a tourist pays to visit the local community center.
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Slum Tourism- Can it bring about real change?
There are very different viewpoints when it comes to the notion of using slum tourism to reduce inequality. Advocates argue that slum tours generate money that helps local communities and raises global awareness about poverty issues. One the other hand detractors argue both humanistic and financial reasons for their criticism. The sociological impacts can affect both tourists coming into an area and the locals that call the slums home. Voyeurism and perpetuating the ―tourist gaze‖ commonly criticized in mass tourism also comes into play as well. In the case of slum tourism, a specific group of locals, an example being the residents of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are watched and turned into a commodity rather than the people in general.
Slum tourists seek out the specific group of people for their tour to observe how the other side lives. Critics also argue that there is very little support and data that slum tourism does indeed do what it claims. Regulations currently do not exist in the industry so no one is holding companies accountable to make sure donations are going back to the local community.
Poverty and inequality are not going to be alleviated by a tour through the slums of
Mumbai even if individual lives are impacted. These short-term solutions for long-term problems are not going to create substantial change. Until large groups of motivated people generate enough pressure on existing power-holders the problems of inequality and poverty will continue around the world. The arguments on both sides of the argument are valid and well presented.
David Fennell is not going to suddenly believe that slum tourism is not voyeuristic and unethical.
Just as Harold Goodwin is not going to doubt that money trickling into local communities is impacting the lives of those living in poverty. The concept of slum tourism has positive intentions when viewed from a distance. It hopes to strengthen local communities by creating
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income and raise awareness on a global scale about injustice to bring about substantial change.
The question now to answer is, how can this concept be implemented in a way that still benefits impoverished slum communities without requiring herds of camera toting tourists traveling around in camouflage Jeeps?
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Chapter Three Slum Tourism- An in Depth Look Poverty is prevalent in every area around the globe. But in recent decades the concentration has shifted to urban settings, where people are migrating in hopes of finding employment in bustling urban centers. Renee van Engelen describes these slum areas, ―It is estimated that one third of the worlds urban population do not have access to adequate housing and lack access to safe water and sanitation. These people live in overcrowded slums, often situated on dangerous land‖ (van Engelen, 2006, p.21). But, there are some locations that are more open to the concept of slum tourism than others.
This does not automatically mean that slum tourism will take place all around the globe in the future. It seems poorism occurs in those cities, which have a great supply of tourist facilities and that are already visited by a large amount of tourists. Eventually, this would mean that slum tourism is an additional attraction to other tourism sights that a city has got to offer to their visitors. (van Engelen, 2006, p.31)
The prevailing thought is not that countries without any form of existing tourism industry will suddenly develop an industry where slum tourism is their main focus. By adding slum tourism as an attraction countries are able to offer tourists another thing to do. The tourism industry is so competitive that as more options become available, the higher the chance that tourists will pick that country over another.
Visiting a location full of extreme poverty does not seem like the ideal vacation to most. But in the last decade slum tourism has risen in popularity. It is not known what exactly has sparked this growth in popularity. It could be due to increased media attention, global awareness of poverty issues or human curiosity. Two of the most prominent slum tourism destinations are in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as Mumbai, India. The favelas- the Spanish word for slum- in
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Brazil are thought to be the birthplace of modern slum tourism, because the industry is most prominent here than anywhere else in the world. A decade and an Academy Award winning film later, slum tourism in Mumbai, India is slowly gaining popularity as well.
Favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Image 1.1 Picture taken on a favela tour in Rocinha (Fulminating, 2007)
―And I.... wanted to visit the Favela- There are places in the capital which are badmouthed, but when one does visit them, one is convinced that it is totally a matter of gossip. Neighborhoods of humble and working people. I went to the favelas during and the day and at night and I only came by people who greeted me kindly.‖- Ambassador Jose Casais 1940 (Freire-Medeiros, 2008, p.33
In recent decades the concept of a favela has grown in popularity. Due to increased media attention the term favela now has a chic connotation to it. In the year 2002 the film, City of God, was produced which created great interest about the favelas. The story revolves around two friends who grew up on the favela. One grows up to be a photographer while the other falls into a life of crime. The film received worldwide attention and numerous awards. (―Internet Movie
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Database‖ 2010). Much like the attention brought on by the success of Slumdog Millionaire, interest began to grow surrounding the favelas. In recent years around the globe there have been exhibits of photography on the favelas as well as other forms of entertainment dedicated to the area. In Japan there is a restaurant called Restaurant Favela, which has favela-esque decorations and serves Brazilian food. Favela Chic is the name of a dance club chain that has appeared around the globe. (Freire-Medeiros 2008) As the concept of the favela continues to become globalized and fashionable, more tourists are attempting to understand favela culture by visiting the favelas origin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
When the television show America‘s Next Top Model travels to Brazil the favelas are shown as the background of a photo shoot, but the program does nothing to explain the city or the people. No one is learning anything about the region or the problems that occur. The area and everything that goes along with it is simply turned into a backdrop for a beautiful photograph.
The contrast between the intricate makeup and fashion and the destitute conditions behind it are what makes the photograph worthwhile. Although these types of entertainment may be inspired by the favela, they completely miss the concept of what it is. The perception of the favela has been sensationalized and turned it into a commodity. Favela life is not glamorous; it is full of poverty and hardships. Due to the increased attention placed on favelas in recent years, slum tourism in the areas has increased dramatically. People are more interested in favelas because they are a fashionable concept. People can visit the trendiest favela restaurant and dine on
Brazilian cuisine and act as if they understand something about the culture. Instead of understanding what true favela culture represents, people are more inclined to jump on the bandwagon of what is hip in the moment without realizing that there is much more to life in a favela than the food consumed and the violence depicted in films. Page 48 of 86
When people think of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil they think of the warm sun and relaxing in the sand of Copacabana beach. But, there is another less glamorous side to the area that is usually forgotten about or avoided. The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are home to over one million of the city‘s residents. (Freire-Medeiros, 2008) John Otis described the geography of the region surrounding the favelas stating they, ―were built on the mountain slopes that rise up from the middle of Rio. As a result, many favelas lay, literally, a stone‘s throw from more affluent neighborhoods, providing a stark tableau of Rio‘s haves and have-nots‖ (Otis, 2006, p.1). This gives the tourists who venture there the perfect opportunity to capture the dramatic socio- economic differences of the area. The area surrounding the favelas consists of picturesque views of ocean and mountains. Despite some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable, when visiting the area of Rio de Janeiro, the obvious poverty that exists in the area cannot be ignored.
The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are thought to be the home of the home of the current slum tourism movement. The slum tourism movement was started in 1992 by a local Brazilian named
Marcelo Armstrong. Armstrong spent some time working at a golf instructor at a Club Med in
Senegal which he felt, ―was the most superficial kind of tourism. Who pointed out that it was nearly impossible for Club Med clients to meet average Senegalese‖ (Otis, 2006, p.2). He realized that people were being given an imitation of what an area was like instead of seeing the true stories behind the towns. Like most advocates of slum tourism Armstrong‘s reasoning for creating the favela tours was to raise awareness and remove the stereotypes surrounding the favelas. He states, ―I wanted to put people in touch with reality. The favelas are usually not as bad as most people imagine. They don‘t expect to see people smiling. It touches them, and they understand more‖ (Otis, 2006, p.2).
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Currently there are seven companies offering favela tours in Rio de Janeiro. (Freire-
Medeiros, 2008) The original company created by Marco Armstrong in 2002 set the precedent for the companies to come. The tour companies are competitive with one another but each has been able to create their own niche. The other tourism companies include Be a Local, Don‘t be a
Gringo, Exotic Tours, Jeer Tour, Indiana Jungle Tour, Private Tours, and Rio Adventures. After observing the success Armstrong was having with his Favela Tour company, many other pre- existing companies decided to start offering their own Favela tours. Most of the tours last between three and four hours and cost about thirty dollars per person. (Freire-Medeiros, 2008)
Some of the companies do not allow photography during the trip, because they want to avoid criticism that tourists are acting as voyeurs intruding on locals lives. Others celebrate the exotic foreign travel motif, like the Indiana Jungle Tour, where participants travel through favelas in camouflage colored jeeps as if they were on a safari. Jeep Tours carries tourists around in air conditioned jeeps instead of encouraging them to walk around the area. But other companies take a more low-key approach. Favela Tours keeps group size as small as they can- about four or five travelers and do not allow photography. (van Engelen, 2006, p. 53-55) Armstrong describes the purpose of the tour, ―Tour that uses the favela as a springboard to give deeper understanding to
Brazilian society. Rios society involves Favelas, Brazilian society involves favelas‖ (Freire-
Medeiros, 2008, p.48). If tourists visit Rio de Janeiro and never see a favela, they are not getting a true image of the area. Poverty exists in these places, and these tourism companies feel that it is beneficial, both to the tourist and the country for the truth to be shown.
Each company has a different itinerary that they use on their tours. Some focus only on a visit to the favela. Others visit surrounding beaches and then make a small stop at a favela. The most popular favela to tour is Rocinha, because it has the most panoramic views out of all the Page 50 of 86
favelas. When visiting the favelas it is hard to ignore the incredible amount of violence in the area. The favelas are controlled almost entirely by gangs and drug dealers, but tour leaders attempt to eliminate the connotation that favelas go hand in hand with violence. Although the topics of drugs and violence occur on every tour, it is the goal of most companies to eradicate that stereotype because it is such a small part of favela culture. But, the companies are willing to take the necessary precautions. Otis describes a situation that caused tours to come to a halt,
―Favela Tour had to suspend operations for a month and a half in 2004 when a war between rival gangs broke out in Rocinha‖ (Otis, 2006, p.3). When discussing drug culture in the favelas Otis states, ―Armstrong points out that the cocaine vendors probably prefer the presence of tourists because it shows their middle-class Rio customers that it‘s safe to venture into the favelas to buy drugs‖ (Otis, 2006, p.3). Violence is not directed at tourists because that would increase police patrols into the areas, which would cause drug dealers to lose money or get in trouble with the law. Freire-Medeiros describes what was once said on a tour:
You guys don‘t need to be afraid of robbers or pickpockets. While in Copacabana and other parts of Rio you have to be very careful, here the drug lords are in charge and they may be quite cruel when they need to be. Neither theft nor murder of tourists are tolerated simply because they want to make their sales and if something happens to one of you the police might come. And of course it isn‘t good for their business. (Freire-Medeiros, 2009, p.586)
Although the stereotype of the favelas being controlled and dominated by fear attempts to be removed while on these tours, the issue is a main topic of conversation. Tour guides point out known or alleged drug dealers. According to Otis, ―Our tour guide, warns us not to point our cameras at people‘s faces in case they turn out be drug dealers wanted by the law. Although we don‘t spot any obvious cocaine capos, we do notice gang graffiti on the wall and teenage lookouts armed with firecrackers that they light to alert their bosses of police raids‖ (Otis 2006).
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The idea of traveling into such a dangerous location could be exciting enough to draw new tourists into the slums. When discussing this possible danger Cejas states, ―The cocktail of
―romance and danger‖ that both of them are promoting addresses the most fashionable tourism options of today: alternative tourism without direct contact, under close supervision and guidance of travel agency personnel, and direct contact tourism, interactive tour allowing verbal and bodily interaction with locals‖ (Cejas, 2006, p.226).
As with other slum tours, the favela tours in Brazil attempt to showcase the industry and advancements of the region, rather than focusing on the extreme poverty. Businesses in the area include electronics and cell phone stores as well as internet cafes. Freire-Medeiros says that during tours it is noted that, ―The favela has a post-office, two banks cable TV (with an exclusive channel, no less, called TV ROC), community radio stations and a concert venue‖ (Freire-
Medeiros, 2009, p.584). By the sounds of the economic activity in the area, it would be easy to imagine a bustling urban city within the favela, despite the thousands of residents living in extreme poverty. Tours point out that due to the absence of government regulations in areas like
Rocinha, ―Favelas produce economic value and generate wealth that stays within the bounds of the neighborhood. Rarely is it being appropriated by outsiders‖ (Zeiderman, 2006, p.2). In these areas, what is being produced and the income generated from it stays within the towns, rather than large multinational chains reaping the benefits of the local‘s hard work.
In hopes of enlightening tourists about the positive aspects of the favelas, most tours will stop by a non-profit organization, charity or community center. According to the itinerary on the
Favela Tours website, a large portion of the tour is designated to visiting the school Para Ti which is financed by the tourism company which donates eighty percent of its profits. The school
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is described as providing regular classes, as well as teaching computer skills and craft-making that can be sold in the local community. (―Favela Tour‖, 2010) Exotic Tours created the Rocinha
Tourism Workshop which trains young people to work as tour guides later in life. When tourists visit these stops such as a daycare, they are encouraged to leave donations behind. But, what is ideal does not always occur. (Cross, 2010) van Engelen interviewed Melanie Thompson who had been on a tour when describing the trip to a day care she said, ―The woman who set up this projected complied with the organization to visit her project, in the hope donations or supplies would be given. The group she witnessed did not leave any donations, were very loud and woke the children as they left (van Engelen, 2006, p.60).
Although the tourist agencies promote local community development, they are making a profit on the tours they give. None of the companies are non-profit, yet they advise travelers from donating directly to the locals themselves. Freire-Medeiros describes an event that occurred on her tour:
Guides also recommend tourists not to give alms to anyone, because as explained by the owner of Be a Local, Don‘t be a Gringo, We do not want to stimulate the professionalization of poverty as an instrument of labor.‖ One cannot help but feel it is somewhat ironic that those who turn poverty into a commodity should be the ones who denounce the perverse effects of alms-giving and straight charity. (Freire-Medeiros, 2009, p.586) It is more beneficial to the tour companies themselves if tourists purchase local souvenirs. In many cases guides demand ten percent commission on the sales from local handicrafts purchased during the tours. Since the tours are what brought the tourists to the open-air markets and vendors where goods are purchased, they feel entitled to a part of the profits. (Freire-Medeiros
2009). The concept of slum tourism is a business, and although the locals are benefitting, the
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main people gaining are those in charge of the tours. They are able to obtain the initial profit and allocate the funds to whatever organizations comply with their demands.
Slum tourism in the favelas is a concept that has been around for decades. It has grown in recent years to be very competitive with each company creating its own niche within the industry. The favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are ruled by gang violence and drug dealers, which surprisingly is thought to make the streets safer for these tours to exist. The tours hope to eliminate the stereotypes that the streets are dangerous, and show the positive aspects of areas like Rocinha. Although the tours may broadcast how much they contribute to the regions, it is not without economic gain for themselves. Money generated from these tours is reaching the local community, but it is under the ruling of the companies, who decide who gets the money and how much they receive.
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Dharavi slums in Mumbai, India
Image 1.2- Sign advertising Dharavi Slum Tours (Wrote, 2007)
The film Slumdog Millionaire won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2009. The film tells of a boy from the slums of Mumbai, who goes on to win the Indian version of the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. After speculation that he is cheating because no boy from the slums could know the answers to all these questions, the character Jamal is interrogated and tortured for hours to explain how he cheated. The movie then flashes back to stories from his past to explain where he learned the answers. (―Internet Movie Database‖, 2010) The film depicts what it is like to live in the slums of Mumbai, as Jamal grew up an orphan doing whatever he could to survive. For many people watching, this was the first time they saw inside of a slum dwelling, and people have been flocking to Mumbai to explore the slums ever since.
Tour operators believe that, ―Since the film was released internationally, participation in the
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tours has picked up by 25%, despite the impact of both the global recession and the Mumbai bombings‖ (Forster, 2009, p.30).
Mumbai is currently the home to one slum Tour Company, Reality Tours and Travel unlike
Rio de Janeiro which has seven different tour companies advertising their favela tours. Although the company has no other direct competition, they seem to be following the guidelines set by the favela tours. Reality Tours and Travel was founded in 2002 by Christopher Way who was born in England but moved to Mumbai, India to teach English at an elementary school. Way traveled to Brazil and went on a favela tour. Way states, ―I went on a favela tour, which I found very interesting, but I felt that it was nothing compared to the activity and energy of the slums of
Mumbai‖ (Huggler, 2006, p.2). Although Dharavi, which is known as the biggest slum in Asia with over one million residents, is thought of as a place of extreme poverty, it is also a place of economic growth. Dharavi is actually home to a thriving economy, with an annual turnover of about 665 million dollars. (Huggler, 2006, p.2) But, films like Slumdog Millionaire do not show the positive aspects of the area, which is exactly why Way wanted to show tourists the real side of Dharavi.
Way believes the best way to dispel the myths against poverty in Dharavi is to get people out in the area walking around and seeing what truly happens. ―The focus of the tour is industry, not poverty. Dharavi is not a place where you find people sitting around doing nothing‖
(Majumder, 2006, p.2). There may be another side to Dharavi but from an outside perspective,
John Lancaster describes the area as, ―The slum is home to 10,000 small factories, almost all of them illegal and unregulated. The factories provide sustenance of a sort to the million or so people who are thought to live in Dharavi, which at 432 acres is barely half the size of New York
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City‘s Central Park. There is no discernable garbage pickup and only one toilet for every 1,440 people. It is a vision of urban hell‖ (Lancaster, 2007, p.2). Way on the other hand sees hard working individuals who work with what they have. ―We show it for what it is a place where people are working hard, struggling to make a living and doing it in an honest way‖ (Lancaster,
2007, p.3). Industries abound in the slum, where a variety of products are created each day including, plastics, pottery, blue jeans, and leather goods. (Lancaster, 2007) It is a hope of the tour is that stereotypes about the poor will be dispelled, and people will see Dharavi for what
Way feels it is, a booming economic area.
Lancaster describes his experience on the Dharavi slum tour hosted by Reality Tours and
Travel. The company has a no photography policy and limits the tour groups to only five people.
They hope that this will silence critics who claim that this is an extreme form of voyeurism.
Since the tour focuses on the industry within the slums, tourists made different stops to see a different and unique industry around every corner.
Dharavi‘s industries are arranged geographically, like medieval guilds, and the first alley we visited belonged to recyclers. In one small ―go down‖, men were disassembling old computer keyboards. In another, men smeared from head to toe in blue ink stripped the casings from used ballpoint pens so they could be melted down and recycled. A few doors down, workers used heavy chains to knock the residue from steel drums that had once contained polyester resin. (Lancaster, 2007, p.4)
The experience of going on a Reality Tours & Travel slum tour may show tourists all the great opportunities for development that exist within Dharavi, they working and living conditions are also startling. The businesses themselves are unregulated, with no safety guidelines or rules to follow. Even though workers are constantly surrounded by chemicals and other dangerous materials, no precautions like gloves or masks seem to be taken. It seemed difficult for Lancaster
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to truly appreciate the economic advancements that were occurring when he was surrounded by such depressing images. ―For Dharavi was undeniably grim. As we neared its center, the alleys narrowed and cantilevered balconies closed out the sun, casting everything in a permanent gloom. Children played next to gutters that flowed with human waste, and hollow-eyed men bent nearly double under the weight of burlap-covered loads‖ (Lancaster, 2007, p.3). Although people are working and motivated to change their living situations, there are some things that are too alarming to ignore.
Tour group sizes are kept small and pictures are not allowed to be taken, both which are to protect the privacy of the Dharavi residents. But, there seemed to be other things that were off limits to the tourists. Since the tour was guided, travelers were not given time to roam at their own pace. Many people would believe that was for the safety of the tourists, since they would be walking around a slum unaccompanied. Reality Tours and Travel promises that taking a tour of
Dharavi is safe for all travelers. The locals seem to understand that tourists are much more likely to buy a handmade souvenir instead of hand money over to someone begging. This motivates the locals to create something and attempt to sell it. Tourists must realize that they are participating in a created tour, where the tourists are interchangeable but the itinerary stays the same. The tour company has developed special relationships with the businesses they go to, and the workers know exactly what to say. The tour company also does not allow locals to be asked specific questions by tourists. When Lancaster spotted a small child worker, he was curious to know his age. ―I nudged by guide:‖Ask him how old he is.‖ Poojari shook his head no. Pointed questions were not part of his compact with the slum dwellers‖ (Lancaster, 2007, p.4). Although tourists are seeing the ―real Dharavi‖ they are seeing it through a very small lens, facilitated by the tour company. Page 58 of 86
As with the Favela tours in Brazil, tour operators believe that these tours are not about making money. Ways states, ―I didn‘t want to make money from the slum tours. It wouldn‘t have felt right‖ (Lancaster, 2007, p.2). Instead, eighty percent of the proceeds of the tours go to a non- profit organization recently started by the company called Reality Cares. The organization which was created in July 2009 focuses on education for children of all ages. Their website describes the work of the organization, and how it recently opened its first kindergarten. They have also opened a community center where people can learn English and Computer skills. Also they work with young adults, ―We also work with similarly disadvantaged teens and young adults in the area by providing different types of training to aid them in finding their self-confidence and then employment‖ (―Reality Cares‖ 2009).
There is movement within the government to eliminate the Dharavi slums, in order to build up the area. The slums sit right in the center of Mumbai, are the options for development are endless according to government officials. The recent documentary, Dharavi: Slums for Sale, follows both the developers and the slum residents during this process. If the project is successfully completed, the city of Mumbai could make billions of dollars, but they are attempting to now figure out at what cost? The Dharavi Redevelopment Project would cause thousand of hardworking families to be evicted from their homes. Even if they can prove they have been working residents of the area for year (Konermann, 2010) The fate of the Dharavi slums is currently in the hands of officials who wish to remove the eye-sore to create a developed urban center. What will happen to the area is yet to be known but if the Dharavi slums seek to exist, tourists can always travel to another one of the many slums in and around the
Mumbai area.
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Although Reality Tours and Travel is the only formal tourism agency in the Mumbai area that conducts these slum tours, there are other organizations that do similar projects in other areas around India. In Delhi, tourists are able to take a tour of The New Delhi Railway Station to see how the estimated two thousand Delhi street children live. The trip is described as startling to most tourists, not only because they are seeing cases of extreme poverty, but they see it so drastically affecting children. One of the most disturbing images of the trip is seeing the children that are addicted to correction fluid, like White-Out. The tour guide states, ―Most carry a small square of cloth soaked in the chemical, which they hold to their noses and inhale periodically.
They spend more than half the money they earn from selling rubbish they find on the platform on buying it from the stationary stalls in the market, it does make them a bit violent‖ (Gentleman,
2006, p.2). The website says that it is not a slum tour, ―This walk is not a slum tour because we do not go into a slum at anytime and photos are not allowed on the walk in the station‖ (―Salaam
Baalak Trust‖, 2010). Despite not advertising themselves as a slum tour, there are many similarities between this tour and the ones in Dharavi and Rio de Janeiro.
The tour which can be arranged via email or cell phone number costs about five dollars per person. The tour guides are mostly former street children, who were fortunate enough to run across this opportunity. (Gentlemen, 2006, p.1) The program is not out to make money unlike some tours that keep a small profit for themselves. The Salaam Baalak Trust that conducts the tours donates the money to, ―a well-respected local charity which tries to rehabilitate these children‖ (Gentlemen, 2006, p.2). As with Reality Tours and Travel, the purpose of the tour is to raise awareness to the general public. On their website where they refer to the tour as a ―city walk‖ they describe the reason behind the tours.
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The city walk aims to sensitize people to the lives of street children. It's a unique way of engaging people in the lives of children in distress. The walk also provides an opportunity for the young people to improve their communication and speaking skills. All proceeds go directly to the trust to enable more opportunities to be made for street children so the walk is 100% non-profit making. (―Salaam Baalak Trust‖, 2010)
One can only wonder what happens to the children that are seen on these tours. A few will be helped through the program as it raises money from tourist fees and donations. But there will still be thousands of other children that will continue to spend their lives working on the streets of
Delhi picking up garbage.
Tour companies that host slum tours appear to say the same things across the globe. They feel that slum tourism raises awareness, and will hopefully motivate people to take action after they have witnessed firsthand these deplorable conditions. While critics will still view the tours as voyeurism and making a profit off of other‘s suffering no matter what evidence they are shown that states otherwise. The tours through the Dharavi slums and the stations of Delhi open tourist‘s eyes to different side of the world they may not be used to. Companies like Christopher
Way‘s Reality Tours and Travel seem to have answers to every question critics come up with.
The organization‘s website is filled to evidence that they distribute their funds to local non-profit organizations. Yet, critics will continue on despite best efforts. Most of the tourists interviewed after their tours seem to have a positive experience. They describe it as eye opening and a more positive experience than they expected. They focus on how much industry is within the areas and how it was one of the most memorable experiences of their trip. Most tourists that go on slum tours are from western countries including the United States. But, there is another movement in slum tourism that would not require a passport to experience.
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Slum Tourism in North America
Another concept that may seem interesting to some is the development of slum tours in countries like the United States and Canada. It may appear that tours like these are limited to developing countries that have such deplorable living conditions. The favelas of Brazil and the slums of India certainly are a different place that are not found in the Western developed world, right? But, poverty is found everyone and North America is not immune. Some companies have decided to develop tours around this issue. Although they are meant to be eye-opening, they do not seem to be receiving the same attention as the slum tours being held in other countries. It raises the question, why are people willing to pay money to see this type of problem in a foreign country, but not in their own? Is this because poverty in their own country is something they see every day? Or, is it because they do not want to face the fact that these issues occur in every country in the world?
Beauty‘s Ghetto Bus Tours provided an opportunity for people to view the inner city areas of Chicago. They showed the conditions that people were living in as well as the injustices that the local people in housing projects faced from the Chicago Housing Authority. The title of her blog and website read, ―Beauty's famous "Ghetto Bus Tours" is designed to give a voice to the voiceless. Much too often doing Chicago Housing Authority 1.6 billion dollars Plan for
Transformation you hear from Professors, Sociologists, Academics, city officials, politicians and never hear from the ones that it is affecting the most which is the residents from public housing.
The only valid voices in the plan!‖ (Turner, 2008). The development of these tours created controversy at the time because the nation‘s poverty was put on full display, and local official‘s decisions were being challenged.
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But, Beauty Turner the owner of the company saw residents being displaced from public housing complexes and wanted to make a change. The program when doing internet searches came up under the search words slum tourism, but it seems to be quite different from other tours around the globe. Turner did not enter into anyone‘s homes, urge people to buy handmade souvenirs or focus on the local people themselves. She brought visitors to an art gallery to see images of the area, treated them to spoken word poetry at the end of the tour, and tried to enlighten them on the issue at hand that could happen anywhere around the world. Unfortunately
Beauty Turner passed away in 2008, and her tours no longer continue. I spoke with her son Larry he said about his mother, ―she didn't see them as slums; she saw them as people's homes and fought for people to keep them‖ (L. Turner, Personal Communication, March 2010).
Harlem, New York has seen similar tours occur but most are under the topic of music and
African-American culture. Lola Adesioye, an activist from Harlem, is outraged about these tourist Sundays, where hundreds of tourists flock to Harlem to gaze at the locals. She describes her feelings in an article written for the United Kingdom‘s Guardian:
Since Harlem is an area that contains a number of historical and cultural landmarks, that's not surprising. What I'm still struggling to get to grips with is tourists' fascination with coming into a poor area, one still considered by many to be a "ghetto", just to watch black people eat, worship and generally go about their daily lives - as if deprivation is somehow interesting and the way in which black people socialize really is so different from other Americans. I often ask myself what tourists really expect to find. (Adesioye, 2008, p.1)
In 2006 a documentary entitled, Lord of the Slums debuted in Toronto, Canada. Much like
Beauty‘s Ghetto Bus Tours, it hoped to raise awareness on the housing injustices local residents were facing. To gain attention for the documentary forty people set off on a Toronto slum tour.
The website states, ―The tour was designed to highlight the dreadful conditions many people in this city have to put up with. Whether city-owned or privately owned, buildings are often
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allowed to deteriorate and the powers that be are not doing what they need to do to rectify the situation‖ (―Toronto Slum Tourism‖ 2006). Although the tour was a one day event, the documentary lives on hoping to bring about a change.
The tours conducted in North America appear to be different than the ones in foreign countries like Brazil and India. No one is traveling into someone‘s home or taking pictures of begging street children. Zeiderman states, ―What is it about race in Brazil, or in the tourists‘ imagination of it, that makes the favela tour of Rio de Janeiro attractive in ways that a tour of inner-city Baltimore might never be?‖ (Zeiderman, 2006, p.4). Many factors could come into play when answering this question, but all tour companies seem to have one distinct goal, to raise awareness on the issues and motivate people to bring about change. Individual dollars generated from a tour are not going to remove people from their current state of poverty. It requires pressure put on the governments and existing powers to stop the problem so that slum tours do not need to exist.
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Chapter Four Where do we go from here? Slum tourism exists around the world from walking around the slums of Mumbai India to the Ghetto Bus tours of Chicago‘s housing complexes. The concept is meant to show tourists another side of life, which they may never have witnessed before. Taking people out of their comfort zone and giving them a harsh dose of reality hopes to raise awareness about poverty that affects an estimated 1.4 billion people in the world. (―World Bank‖ 2010) The slum tourism model is a relatively recent development, gaining popularity only in the last twenty years.
History shows the fascination that the wealthy have had with the poor. Otis describes historic examples of this phenomenon specific to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. ―In 1832, Charles Darwin visited a runaway-slave community on the outskirts of Rio that later grew into a favela. In the
1920s, the slums became obligatory stops for foreign intellectuals, including Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir‖ (Otis, 2006, p.2). An entire book entitled, Slumming: Sexual and
Social Politics in Victorian London by Seth Koven describes the fascination London‘s upper class had with areas plagued by poverty after the Industrial Revolution. Individual‘s motivations varied, from access to prostitutes to volunteering but they were able to travel on their own, wander the streets and take in the local culture. Current acts of slum tourism differentiate from the past due to the organization of the trip. This is the first time that organized tours been created to cart foreign tourists to impoverished areas purposely.
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Similarities and Differences
By comparing the slum tours in Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro, similarities arose as both organizations have the same core values, no photography and small groups of tourists. But, the differences between the two are interesting, Armstrong is a local while Way is a foreigner in the areas they currently reside. Also, Way‘s company, Reality Tours and Travel, currently has a monopoly on the slum tourism industry in Mumbai. The differences I found between the companies in Brazil are much greater, as each company does something to set itself apart from the others. There are different rules regarding photography and transportation that can take the tour from a leisurely walk around town to an exotic safari. The current industry is so concentrated in a few areas around the globe, that it is easy to compare their practices.
By researching the slum tours conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Mumbai, India I noticed many similarities. It seems possible that Marcelo Armstrong, owner of Rio‘s Favela
Tours and Christopher Way of Mumbai‘s Reality Tours and Travel could easily be interchanged and they would still say the same thing. When both men are interviewed about their companies, they say the same things repeatedly. Since Way based his tourism company off of Armstrong‘s model developed fourteen years previously, they may be cut from the same cloth. This also may be because Way‘s first experience with slum tourism was on one of Armstrong‘s Favela Tours in
2002. (Forster, 2009, p.2) Both companies donate eighty percent of their profits to local community organizations or school. The companies also prohibit the use of cameras on tours to reduce any voyeuristic tendencies. They attempt to keep groups to a maximum of five or six to eliminate busloads of tourists being deposited on a random corner and left to roam free.
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Although two companies are very similar, a few differences stick out as I research the companies more.
Slum tourism is constantly criticized for being a very voyeuristic habit. Foreign tourists visit an area, see how the poor live, donate a few dollars and quickly leave. It cannot be determined if the tourist‘s stereotypes of the poor are validated by these tours or if they have a life-changing experience by seeing poverty up close. But, all that is known is tourists are there to look at the slums and the people that live there. Marcelo Armstrong is Brazilian and grew up not far from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. On the other hand, Christopher Way is British and first came to India to teach English to school children. He himself came to India as a tourist and was able to witness the extreme poverty of the area. Armstrong spent his entire life surrounded by the favelas, which are part of his upbringing and the culture of Brazil. But, what does that say about
Way? Critics could argue that he himself perpetuated the tourist gaze, by visiting India and creating an organization that showcases the problems and poverty that exist. Way‘s motives of raising awareness about the atrocious conditions Mumbai residents live under and generating money to improve the current state may be genuine. But, he can not dispute the fact that he is not
Indian and that he developed a tourist agency that puts the poverty and suffering of the Mumbai slum‘s residents on a pedestal. Although this argument may appear to be trivial in comparison to all the progress that could be made due to these tours it still is valid. Way is a foreigner who now showcases the poverty of Mumbai residents to other foreigners from around the world.
Also the two areas tourism industries differ because in Mumbai, there is only one company that specializes in slum tourism. On the other hand, Rio de Janeiro has seven different companies that focus on these excursions. Some companies are based entirely on slum tours
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while others offer different tour packages to appeal to a wide variety of tourists. This creates competition for the companies and causes them to always strive to be the leading slum tourism agency. The competition requires them to develop new ideas and always be one step ahead of the others. Due to the number of different agencies hosting these tours, more businesses, organizations and individuals can be positively affected. Each company has developed partnerships with local attractions to showcase to their clients. All seven tour companies cannot show tourists the exact same daycare center or stop by the same soap maker. Therefore, more than just a few locals benefit from the earnings generated from the tour.
On the other hand, in Mumbai there are no other options for those interested in taking a slum tourism tour than to go on one provided by Reality Tours and Travel. Since the agency opened in 2006, they have had a monopoly on the slum tourism industry in Mumbai. This can be seen as a positive thing by detractors. It shows that the industry is currently not popular enough for other tour companies to jump on the bandwagon by creating their own slum tours. But, since there are no options other than Reality Tours and Travel, there is no one that the company has to compete with to gain customers. No one else is focused in on this niche market, allowing Reality
Tours and Travel free reign to do whatever it pleases. Due to the fact that only one agency puts on these tours in Mumbai, very few people within the local community are affected. The tour visits businesses like a local soap maker‘s shop and a biscuit factory. But the tours only last about three hours and visit the same few people every time. How many people are truly benefiting from these tours other than the few prearranged destinations? Way donates eighty percent of the profits to his own charity organization, Reality Cares, but it is unknown how many out of the millions of slum residents actually benefit from the small tours of five people that cost about ten dollars. Page 68 of 86
The favela tours of Rio de Janeiro although around for almost twenty years, have their own set of problems. The seven companies are very competitive with each other. They are struggling to find their identity and stick out to travelers who can choose from any of the companies. The biggest issue within the companies is the idea of some of them promoting the image that they are taking tourists on an exotic safari. Jeep Tours conducts their tours in air conditioned safari-esque jeeps that are camouflage in color. Some may interpret this as entertaining to give the experience a fun adventurous feeling. Others may question, why a large group of camera happy tourists are looking at the impoverished as if they were participating in an exotic animal safari. The topic of slum tourism creates such a heated debate for being voyeuristic and making entertainment out of others suffering in the first place, that these forms of transportation are no help to the argument. Marcelo Armstrong‘s company Favela Tours website proudly boasts on the front page, ―Not Made on Jeeps‖ (―Favela Tour‖, 2010). Armstrong has declared he is highly opposed to the use of vehicles like safari jeeps as they promote a sense of voyeurism. Rather he prefers his tours be taken on foot limited to about five people. He stresses that by doing this, it is more like a regular walk around the town instead of barging in and drawing large amounts of attention.
The use of photography while on the tours is one thing that differs between the different tour companies in Rio de Janeiro. Some tours like Favela Tours have a strict no camera policy.
While others like Be a Local don‘t be a Gringo allow photography but will point out times during the tour when it is acceptable. Jeep Tours permits cameras at all points of the tour.
(Freire- Medeiros, 2008) Many critics believe the use of cameras only confirms the debate that slum tours are voyeuristic. Most travelers enjoy bringing their camera along when they sightsee on vacation. It helps them preserve memories after the vacation is long gone. But, if the purpose Page 69 of 86
of slum tours is for education, why are cameras necessary? What they have learned on the tours will not be forgotten if it made a significant impact on them. Just as a picture of a starving family or dilapidated house is not going to jog their memory about the industry that exists in the slums.
There are organizations out there that deny tourists the ability to take pictures, mostly because the owners do not feel it is morally right. They are concerned about the exploitation of locals through the use of photography. By restricting this practice, these specific companies also do not receive the negative criticisms that other photo permitting tourism companies do.
Slum tourism in both the areas of Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro are not without problems.
Critics will always argue that tourists will always judge the local impoverished communities because they are different and unfamiliar. While advocates focus on the positive steps that the industry is taking to remove poverty from the communities. Depending on viewpoint, the monopoly Reality Tours and Travel has over the Mumbai slum tourism industry is either a positive or a negative attribute. Critics would believe that less people are going on the tours because there is not a demand for more companies to offer them. While advocates would believe that the local community is being positively affected by a strong program developed by a company with good intentions. Even advocates see that there are improvements that can be made to the industry. Slum tourism has the opportunity if conducted properly to make change in the world and positively affect many people‘s lives. With the numerous suggestions that have been thrown around, only time will tell where the industry will go.
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What are the options?
Both advocates and critics of the slum tourism movement will list suggestions of how they think the industry can be improved during their arguments. Scholars realize that the industry is not perfect, but others see the positive aspects it brings to a community and potential it has more than others. Suggestions have been made to move slum tourism to a new model of micro- finance tourism or possible long term volunteer options for travelers. Overall, most of the suggestions have been small, starting with the foundation that currently exists but tweaking it to create a set of standards that all slum tourism organizations should follow. It is undetermined what the future of the slum tourism industry holds. For areas like Mumbai with development projects in motion, there is the possibility one day they will no longer exist. But, as the tours gain more worldwide attention people are starting to notice. They feel if the industry is going to take of become more popular than ever, than it should be the most sustainable model possible with the most positive outcome for all involved.
Although the wealthy traveling to poorer areas of the world is not a new concept, slum tourism has only recently gained worldwide media attention. With films like Slumdog
Millionaire increasing slum tourism sales in Mumbai by twenty-five percent people are starting to take notice of this niche travel industry. (Forster, 2009) With this attention, critics have condemned the concept for generating a lot of exploitation to local slum residents for little economic incentive. But, the industry itself is relatively new. Scholars are still studying the long term affects slum tourism has on both locals and tourists. Everyone talking about it, new studies and articles are being published everyday and people are creating new options they feel will be more successful in the long term. One suggestion that I came across during my research was the
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concept of Micro Loan Tourism. It appears that the author of the website named Dian Hasan developed this concept after looking into the practices of slum tourism. Hasan describes his form of alternative tourism, ―The concept is micro-finance tours, where what you go to see is empowerment and progress and what you go to do is meet individuals, learn about their culture and local businesses, and show your support for their work.‖ (Hasan, 2009, p.2). The idea sounds very similar to what Armstrong and Way describe about their tours except that it does not have the word slum in it. By labeling this tour micro loan, tourists are there because they are interested in the concept of micro finance, rather than interested in viewing the poverty of the slums. Dian continues on with his reasoning for these tours:
We propose the development of microfinance tours as an alternative model to slum tourism and its ―safe-danger‖ relatives because it gives travelers the opportunity to find adventure in uncommon places, meet local people, and support tourism-independent entrepreneurs who are trying to work out of poverty but have loans they need to pay back. (Hasan, 2009, p.3) He also developed a long term strategy to keep tourists connected with the microfinance businesses they visited. ―The individuals you visit would ideally be listed on www.kiva.org, so you could either lend directly to the locals you have met (or plan to meet) or to whom you have already lent.‖ (Hasan, 2009, p.4).
The concept of micro-finance is nothing new, and has gained worldwide media attention and praise. Muhammed Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work. (Karim, 2008, p.5) Dian attempts to support his argument with statistics of how powerful the microfinance world is by stating, ―Across 21 African countries there are approximately 3.89 million individuals who are working their way out of poverty with micro- loans.‖ (Hasan, 2009, p. 2) Critics of conventional slum tourism may argue that the industry encourages locals to take jobs like selling fruit by the roadside in order to generate income from
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tourists. But, with microloan tours, this would not be the case. The only locals benefitting from these types of tours would be the ones involved in microfinance opportunities. This concept could motivate locals to become involved and develop skills that can further their socioeconomic status. Although this idea would not be the solution to all problems, as microfinance has many problems within itself, it is another possible option. By not associating poverty and slum areas with the tour industry, it eliminates voyeuristic tendencies that may be present in standard slum tourism.
Another option suggested is volunteer tourism, where tourists go into the experience with a sense of altruism and wanting to make a difference. They enter into the vacation with the mindset that they are there to make a difference and help others. If they were not interested in that experience, they would not sign up for it and instead would gear towards a more standard tour model. Some people feel that the concept of volunteer tourism, although good in theory, can ultimately do more damage than good. Daniel Guttentag believes that volunteer tourism can create dependency on foreign visitors, decrease the amount of jobs available to locals because they are being fulfilled by tourists and harm can be done during the work as usually no experience is necessary. (Guttentag, 2009). Although he takes a skeptical look at the concept of volunteer tourism he raises a valid point. All forms of tourism should be looked at with a critical eye. No one form of tourism is perfect and all will have consequences for someone. Instead of viewing alternative tourism as a savior for tourism and for those impoverished in the developing world, it needs to be remembered that everything can be improved.
Small improvements are also suggested to make the slum tourism industry a more viable model of reducing inequality around the world. Eric Weiner, who is one of the leading scholars
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on slum tourism, believes at its root, slum tourism has the power to change and help society. But, everything can be improved and standard practices may be just what the slum tourism industry needs. Weiner describes his four criteria for a proper ―responsible‖ slum tour:
1. Small is beautiful. There‘s a big difference between a group of 50 tourists barreling through the slums on a tour bus and a group of five or six on foot. One is an invasion, the other is not. 2. . No Photos, Please. Snapping photos is bound to raise suspicions among the slum inhabitants and, justifiably or not, give credence to charge of voyeurism. Leave the camera at the hotel. 3. . Funnel Profits Back into the Slums. The good slum-tour companies are already doing this, donating a portion of their profits to help build community centers, clinics and other worthwhile projects. They need to do more. 4. Soft Sell. Brochures and websites touting slum tours should not bundle them together with adventure tourism, as if the tours were some sort of cultural bungee jumping. The marketing should be low-key and respectful. (Weiner 2009, p.2). Weiner‘s ideas seem so simple and standard. It would not be that difficult for tourism companies to make some small adjustments to their current business practices to transfer to a more ethical and sustainable model. Although the differences may appear to be minute in comparison to the criticisms circling around the slum tourism industry, they appear to address most of the main concerns that exist today.
Poverty and inequality exist all around the world. Some believe the poor cannot remove themselves out of poverty because they cannot access opportunities given to the wealthy.
Inequality occurs in every level of power in the world. A local individual from an inner-city school cannot afford to go to college, and does not because he was not provided the same opportunities as another. A developing country cannot remove itself from the incredible amount of debt it owes to the developed world because they are struggling even to pay their interest
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rates. Tourism has been thought of as an option of giving power to the usually powerless. Slum tourism in particular has gained attention for its attempt to showcase the struggles of the poor to raise awareness of the situation, while at the same time, giving money to the local communities in which the industry is housed. Although the industry is controversial, I do believe that slum tourism is a viable model of reducing inequality, as long as it is practiced in an ethical way and standards and regulations are developed. Through my research I certainly agree with the suggestions and criteria Weiner uses to describe a ―responsible slum tour.‖ But, these suggestions need to be taken seriously and regulations need to be developed to ensure that the local communities involved in slum tourism are not negatively more than positively affected by its presence.
One of the biggest arguments made by critics of the slum tourism industry is that no real substantial change will come from it. It is simply like a Band-Aid, creating a temporary fix for the problem instead of getting at the root issues and working to improve them. Slum tourism is not going to end poverty and inequality within the world. It is unrealistic to think so, and I do not believe that anyone is arguing that. But, it does have the power to help. After going on these tours tourists should become motivated to put pressure on the people that currently have the power. Whether it is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after taking a favela tour or in their own backyards at home, poverty is everywhere. The biggest thing I feel people should take away from their slum visits is not a souvenir they bought at a market or a picture of them and small children. Instead, they should come away with questions and a feeling of anger about what they have witnessed.
The locals themselves should question why tourists want to visit their residences in the first place. What is going on in their area that makes it an attractive tourist destination? Clearly the current power-holders are not putting the effort into these situations and the locals have been Page 75 of 86
neglected for far too long. To me the biggest thing that I feel should be taken away from slum tourism is the question, Why are the governments of the world supporting or turning a blind eye to an industry like slum tourism instead of attempting to fix the world‘s problem of poverty so that slums are no longer necessary?‖‘ First hand experiences with poverty are a way to directly impact the people on the tours. Once, people have had that experience and become passionate about the issue, there is no reason why lives, communities, and inequality around the world cannot be improved.
Conclusion
When I first began writing my senior composition and while I was in the planning process so many questions ran through my head. What on earth could I be interested in enough to dedicate two semesters of my college career to? I would have to dedicate hours a day with many steps to get me to where I need to be. It certainly was a process and after many many proposals in the fall semester I finally was set on a central question: To what degree is slum tourism a viable mode for reducing inequality? The question was just narrow and specific enough to not require three-hundred pages of writing but complex enough that a detailed chapter would not be sufficient. When I started the spring semester I knew it was comp time, but I do not think I was prepared for what was to come my way.
Although the concept of slum tourism has been around for centuries, it has been only in the last few decades that it has been manufactured by tourism companies and given a title. As attention increased and popularity rose, it seemed that more and more people had opinions about the issue. Blogs, websites and message boards are filled with discussions about slum tourism.
From people‘s own experiences to newspaper articles, people are definitely talking. But, the one
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thing I realized when starting my comp process, was the lack of data I was going to find from scholarly sources. My question, To what degree is slum tourism a viable mode for reducing inequality, would have been so much easier to answer if there had been a plethora of data to support it. I could only imagine what it would have been like to search and find fifty case studies from the last four years about slum tourism. I would have hit a goldmine if I had found charts and graphs and figures stating, ―Favela Tours made X amount of money and donated X amount to the local school Para Ti.‖ That turned out not to be the case, but through my work I was able to learn a lot about the issue of slum tourism and ethical tourism practices. Throughout my work,
I adjusted my goals to focus my efforts on looking at the arguments surrounding the issue rather than how much an individual fruit seller in Brazil‘s income increased because tourists bought fruit from him. If I had more time or I did this project five years in the future, I would be able to use this sort of data for my argument.
What I did find was a fascinating subject that is gaining popularity and has tremendous power to make change within our world. The information I researched helped raise new questions about the slum tourism industry and human nature itself. At the end of this project, I still battle with is this an ethical thing to do? To answer the question I attempted to remove as much ethics as possible from the equation. ―Sure, Sally may make less than a dollar a day but with slum tourists‘ stopping by her house she now makes a full dollar and thirty cents. She may still be living in poverty but that extra money generated from tours is helping put food on the table and is making her life a little bit better‖ was something that I thought about quiet often.
But, I also struggled with the negative consequences she was experiencing due to her participation in slum tours. The ideas of the tourist gaze and voyeurism constantly crept into the
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back of my mind. I had to ask, at the end of the day, is what these slum tourist residents are losing, worth the menial increase in income?
I think most scholars who study slum tourism will say that it is a better model than conventional mass tourism. Mostly because conventional tourism has been around for hundreds of years, and alternative tourism looks at that as a guide of what not to do. The Alternative tourism industry sees the pitfalls and problems that exist and it has made a conscious effort to be a more sustainable and ethical model for all parties involved. The concept of slum tourism in theory is a great one, and promotes a global community where for example, American tourists are motivated to end poverty in Mumbai, India after a short half-day excursion. The idea is very utopian, where men all around the world are connected to one another and fighting for equality for others because they are too men.
I chose to focus my case studies on the slum tourism agencies housed in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Mumbai, India. The cases were able to help explain to me what exactly went on during the tours, since I have never been on one before. I was able to read detailed descriptions of the tours, read people‘s reactions and form an opinion for myself. The tours held in the favelas of Brazil were especially helpful because I was able to compare different tour companies and develop my own thoughts on what are the best methods at practice to date. I was really interested in reading about the slum tours in areas like Chicago. I had the hardest time at my work during this period, because although I already knew it, it is depressing to realize that slum tours could easily exist here, and there is a need for them. These tours appeared to be geared towards pointing out specific problems such as inadequate housing in Chicago to motivate enough people to change the current system. But, it also appeared that these tours were
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not as successful and international tourists were not flocking to Chicago for Beauty‘s Ghetto Bus
Tour. But, that made me wonder, what does that say about people‘s true intentions when they go on slum tours?
To try and propose suggestions on how to improve slum tourism, I looked at what other options are out there today. There are tons of other niche tourism operations occurring around the world, so I was able to view them critically and combine some ideas on how to improve slum tourism. The suggestions Eric Weiner listed were some of the best examples of little changes that could be made to improve slum tourism and stop a lot of criticism in its tracks. Small ideas like no photography on slum tours universally could halt critic‘s claims or voyeurism and exploitation. People are no longer able to hide behind a camera lens; instead they have to face the harsh reality of what they are really viewing.
Slum tourism can be a viable way to reduce inequality but it has to be done under the right conditions. There has to be long term follow up for tourists after they leave their destinations and return home. If not, then the emotions they felt will quickly diminish and their experience will then become a distant memory. It may sound utopian for me to say, but I truly believe that slum tourism has the potential to change lives. If only a handful of slum residents are removed from poverty because of their participation with the tours, I think that has made a tremendous impact. The slum tourism concept has the power to make drastic changes if enough people are motivated and force government regulation to help improve the conditions of these slum areas. Long-term goals need to be set for these agencies, and someone needs to hold them accountable for their actions, so that the progress does not stop at simply donating the local day
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care center. Slum tourism is not the answer to solving inequality and poverty, but it is a step in the right direction.
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