Tourism Impacts on the Authentic Culture of the Hmong

There are both positive and negative socio-cultural impacts on the indigenous group. Positive impacts include tourism as a source of peace, strengthening communities, encouraging local involvement and pride and the conservation of culture and traditions. It also leads to the development of tourism facilitates which can benefit the locals.

Tourism brings people into contact with one another, which will create the mutual sympathy and understanding of the Hmong’s values and culture. More people will get to know about the Hmong culture and there would be a reduction in prejudice against the group.

Besides this, tourism acts as a force to strengthen communities. Tourism brings in job and income opportunities which provide stability to community life. It also encourages the group to work together and participate in tourism development, like organizing festivals and events which also increases their employment chances and earnings. Because tourism brings in stable income, the people from the indigenous group would not have to move out from their communities too look for jobs. This means that the community will stay and work together.

Also, tourism encourages local involvement and pride. It encourages the local awareness of the importance of cultural and natural resources. This also stimulates pride in the local and natural heritage that the group has. Increasing awareness of the importance of resources, together with the feeling of pride will then encourage interest in conservation and sustainability of the culture.
An interest in conservation and sustainability of the culture will eventually lead to efforts to preserve the culture of the group. They will also preserve their traditional arts and crafts which would be the souvenirs that most tourists bring back as they represent the authentic culture of the Hmong.

The development of tourism facilities which resulted from tourism can benefit the locals in the sense that there would be upgraded infrastructure, improvements in health and transport, and other facilities that would make the life of the locals easier as it would be more convenient for them.

For negative impact, it would be the change or loss of indigenous identity and values which can be broken down into commodities, standardization and loss of authenticity.

Culture is commercialized to satisfy the tourists’ preferences. For example, the Hmong might alter some of their traditional arts and crafts to fit the preference of the tourists so they would be able to sell the product. There is also a problem of standardization where the place is customized for the tourists to satisfy the tourists’ desire for familiar facilities. This would change the way of life of the Hmong because it would change the place where they live in.

It will also lead to a loss in authenticity where the Hmong will accustom their culture to cater to the tourists. For example, events that happen only once a year for the Hmong would be repeated every week or month for the tourists for tourism development. This is not the true culture and is just a staged authenticity of their culture.