The Anthropology of Tourism
When I taught English at the University of Barcelona, one of my students gave a talk on the anthropology of tourism. Since I recently traveled to Guatemala, I remembered what the student had said. Hospitality can’t be bought. So very true. Many years ago, I stayed on a farm that was part of a rural tourism network near Kuldiga, Latvia. The hostess was welcoming and very kind. We spent a lot of time together and she explained the complexities of the changes from the old Soviet system to capitalism. When I left to return to Riga, it was with flowers and a bag of apples from her orchard.
With mass tourism, hospitality is even more difficult to find. I don’t think that money can buy hospitality though on the surface, it may seem that way. Another student I had in Barcelona worked in a five star hotel. She told a story of how a cleaner discovered a suitcase of sex toys and all the staff went up to the room to examine it. There really is no privacy. Workers in the tourism industry may enjoy their jobs or feel distain for their clients or even laugh at them. The bottom line is money. They may be charming and polite but I listened to two waiters at a high end restaurant and one asked the other, “How much tip did you get?”
The opposite of hospitality is what I call aggressive tourism. Though every other aspect of my trip to Guatemala was great, when I arrived at Lake Attilan after a harrowing mountain trip from Antigua, about ten men surrounded us as we got out of the van. We were cornered and not allowed to leave until we agreed to a boat ride. Of course, tourism is the livelihood of these men, but it was so unexpected and therefore, unpleasant. In some destinations I’d expect a degree of aggression. When I lived in the Gracia neighborhood of Barcelona, I hated the tourists that took up all the seats on the bus when I was tired after a long day teaching. There are endless stories about complaints of tourists but since it’s the main income source for many cities it’s difficult to find a balance between catering to the tourists and providing a normal life for residents.
