I did a ton of reading while I was in Tahiti (4 books in two weeks). One of the more interesting books I read was Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel. It talked a lot about the different types of travel, planning for travel, and stuff you encounter on the road. (Good book.)
In particular, I really started thinking about Tahiti after reading the author's take on ethno-tourism.
Apparently there has been a rise in ethno-tourism in the last few years—a phenomenon where people seek out super “authentic” cultural experiences in remote countries. Ethno-tourists pride themselves on seeing the "real deal," and may even pay guides to take them into far away jungle cities, island cultures or mountains so they can observe and interact with the locals.
This type of tourism revolves around the idea of interacting with a given culture that's "untouched by society." Although there is some element of this in my own travel philosophy (seeking out places most people don't go to see something unique) when you really think about it, it's pretty ridiculous.
A. Once an area is touched by tourism of any kind, it is influenced by the outside world
B. I bet a lot of these people go out into the wilderness only to be disappointed that even in the most remote of places, societies change over the years, and what you imagine as "authentic" may actually be outdated for that culture. (Like going to a Native American reservation and expecting them to all live in teepees.)
Thinking about that really hit home when we were in the resorts, with the dancing, and all the women in pareos with flowers in their hair . . . the resorts tried really hard to keep the image up of the “old school” islands, but when we took the ferry or got into town, locals were in flip flops, and logo’ed shirts—even on the most remote islands we visited. Women still wore flowers in their hair, but on Tahiti they drove to work, had brand name purses and glasses, and when I asked around, it became clear that, at least on some islands, a lot of the traditional dancing and speaking the language was mostly still done for show
When I wasn’t at the resort, and had some time to look around, I almost felt stupid for being at a resort, where the locals put on a show like Polyenesia hasn’t changed in the last 50 years.
But then, am I just taking the whole thing too seriously?
