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THE SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF ECOTOURISM ON THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE WAKATOBI MARINE NATIONAL PARK

Introduction

Throughout recorded history, tourism has impacted in some way everything and everyone that it has touched.  Ideally, impacts should have been positive in terms of benefits to destination areas and their residents, especially so in the case of ecotourism; the type of tourism that the organisation I am both working with, and to some degree, researching, Operation Wallacea, claims to be.  Positive impacts should include results such as improvements in local economic conditions, social and cultural understanding, and protected environmental resources.  The aim of this study is to examine the sociocultural impacts of the development of ‘ecotourism’, and specifically Operation Wallacea, upon the indigenous people of the Wakatobi Marine National Park.  A range of literature suggests that the sociocultural benefits of tourism may include; learning, awareness, appreciation, family bonding, community pride, a firmer sense of ethnic identity, increased understanding and tolerance of others and stronger cultural identity.  Negative sociocultural impacts include over-development, assimilation, conflict and xenophobia, and artificial reconstruction. 

My study includes several objectives, the primary ones being:

 

Methodology.

Socio-cultural change is difficult to quantify.  In my research I examined specific aspects of society and culture and used them as indicators of change.  These measures included changes in; peoples expectations, the role of authority, religious beliefs and their strength, gender roles, attitudes to alcohol, and perceptions of tourists / tourism. 

A qualitative enquiry was conducted which used a range of methodologies.  Examining sociocultural change over time was complicated, and required that I obtained results that would act as a control, or baseline, in my study, against which further results could be contrasted and compared.  Two main population samples were investigated, and a total of 80 people were questioned.  One sample (the ‘control’) came from the remote village of Pajam, a Kaledupan community almost completely unexposed to tourism and tourists, which perhaps represented what many villages in this region were like around ten years previously, before any significant outside influences were in place.  The second came from Ambeua, the capital of Kaledupa, and a village that has strong links with Operation Wallacea and sees a number of white, Western visitors each season.  A sample of people working for Operation Wallacea on Hoga, where tourism is concentrated, formed a subgroup within the Ambeua group as most of these people live in Ambeua out of the tourist season. 

Two main methodologies were used.  The first was an interview / questionnaire of around 40 questions, some open-ended, and others with answers on a Likert scale.  A translator was available at all times to aid with interviews.  The second methodology was participant observation, which involved recording all events that I considered relevant in sociocultural terms.  A range of other participatory methods were used, including group interviews, which proved to be powerful and efficient in my research.  Such methods are collectively known as Participatory Rural Appraisal, and involve working closely with locals and encouraging them to investigate important issues amongst and by themselves. 

Several, lengthy semi-structured interviews were carried out with those people who I felt would have an important insight into the workings of Operation Wallacea and its impacts.  I interviewed the managing director of Operation Wallacea and various people with vested interests in the role of tourism in this region.  I asked a range of questions, including what they perceived to be the sociocultural impacts of Operation Wallacea, if any, upon indigenous people.

 

Preliminary Results.

Throughout the study region, and in the populations examined, a general socio-economic development is occurring, a gradual process of modernisation that is entirely natural and evolutionary.  A process of ‘Westernisation’ is also taking place as the West has an increasing influence upon the Wakatobi area, through the mediums of travel and TV.  However, it does also appear in a brief analysis of my findings, that tourism development is having some impact upon the people of the region, and effecting cultural change.  This was indicated by differences in outcomes between sample groups.  Pajam, largely unexposed to tourism, represents a highly traditional Indonesian village where community pride is exceptionally strong, and there is no desire for change.  Traditions are highly regarded, and their culture is vitally important to that population.  The people of Pajam also had very little idea about the Western world, and were content with their lifestyle, although they did desire an improved economy.  The Ambeua sample differed subtly, they were more accepting of Western behaviour, and interested by the Western world and lifestyle. 

These findings suggest that sociocultural changes are occurring due to both a natural process of modernisation, and also the presence of tourism.  It could be that tourism is speeding up the aforementioned process significantly.  It is hoped that further analysis back in the UK, in statistical and descriptive form, will make clear any sociocultural trends and indicate whether they are linked to tourism development.

Report

A dissertation entitled The socio-cultural impacts of ecotourism on the peoples of the Wakatobi Marine National Park will be produced by Sarah Ellen Wright, University of Nottingham by March 2003.