tourists and aboriginal people

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Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 631–647, 2002  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain 0160-7383/02/$22.00

PII: S0160-7383(01)00073-1

TOURISTS AND ABORIGINAL PEOPLE Chris Ryan Waikato University, New Zealand Jeremy Huyton Australian International Hotel School, Australia Abstract: This paper reports the survey results of a study of tourists visiting Central Australia. It reports that they ranked attractions based on Australian Aboriginal culture as being less attractive than other activities. The paper suggests that satisfaction ratings with various aspects of the visit to Aboriginal culture are associated with the level of importance that are attributed to those features. The findings confirm other research whereby the highest levels of interest in Aboriginal culture are shown by specific groups who can be identified by sociodemographic variables and, furthermore, such levels of interest are shown only by a minority of all tourists to such sites. Keywords: Australian Aboriginal people, indigenous tourism, cultural attractions, Australia.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Re´sume´: Touristes et Aborige`nes australiens. Cet article rapporte les re´sultats d’un sondage de touristes en Australie centrale. L’article rapporte que les touristes ont classe´ les attractions base´es sur la culture des Aborige`nes australiens comme ayant moins d’attraits que d’autres activite´s. On sugge`re que les indices de satisfaction des diffe´rents e´le´ments d’une visite a` la culture aborige`ne sont associe´s au niveau d’importance que les touristes attribuent a` ces e´le´ments. Les conclusions confirment d’autres recherches selon lesquelles les plus hauts niveaux d’inte´reˆt pour la culture aborige`ne seraient manifeste´s par des groupes spe´cifiques qui peuvent eˆtre identifie´s par des variables sociode´mographiques et que, en plus, de tels niveaux d’inte´reˆt sont montre´s seulement par une minorite´ de tous les touristes a` de tels sites. Mots-cle´s: Aborige`nes australiens, tourisme indige`ne, attractions culturelles, Australie.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION This paper initially describes the context of the research in terms of current initiatives in promoting Australian Aboriginal culture as a tourism product; the type of debate that has been engendered in academic and wider literature about such products; and emerging concerns about the effectiveness of such tourism products in generating desired returns to Aboriginal communities, citing Tjapukai Dance Theatre as one such example. It is noted that tourists see little of what is a developing Aboriginal cultural revival. While the paper’s main con-

Chris Ryan is Professor of Tourism at the University of Waikato (Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand. Email ). He is the editor of Tourism Management and a member of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism. Jeremy Huyton is Associate Dean at the Australian International Hotel School. His research interests relate to hospitality service and product design. 631

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cern is to query to what degree tourists have an interest in Aboriginal culture, it also refers to other aspects of the research project not fully reported in the paper. That Aboriginal culture is used for tourism promotional purposes in both a general as well as product specific manner, can be illustrated with reference to the 1999 brochure, “Central Australia Holiday Guide”: This region holds not only one of the most culturally significant icons of Aboriginal and Australian culture, Ayers Rock/Uluru; it holds onto the true Outback spirit that made this country great …. Nature overwhelms you in The Centre. The skyscrapers are made out of rock, not steel, and one of the best shows in town is the million-star display at night. The largest population of unique animals, birds, and reptiles proves that this arid climate is more than hospitable …. The Aboriginal presence here is strong; their cultural and spiritual connection to this region echoes in every rock and landmark. You’ll have numerous opportunities to learn about and understand Aboriginal culture when you visit The Center. … you’ll have a fantastic time, but it will leave you wanting to come back to: The Heart. The Soul. The Center (Northern Territory Tourist Commission 1999).

What is of significance within this copy is the linkage between “Outback” and “Aboriginal culture” and it will subsequently be argued that the copywriters have identified a key relationship within tourist perceptions of this part of Australia. Tourism and Australian Aboriginal People Zeppel (1999a) notes that in the 90s Aboriginal culture was increasingly promoted as a tourist attraction. Additionally, Ryan (2000) identifies indigenous peoples, their role within tourism, the nature of their culture as a tourism product, and the associated issues of authorization as one of the growth topics within tourism research literature. Be this as it may, problems accompany this topic. Academic research undertaken by non-Indigenous academics raises issues as to the ontological perspective of the research. Indeed, confusion seemingly exists within academia as to what constitutes “Indigenous” (Ryan’s 1997 review of the work by Butler and Hinch 1996). Yet such definitions are internationally recognized through UNESCO’s declarations on such peoples. For the purpose of this paper, Zeppel’s definition of Aboriginal tourism products has been adopted; that is, the attraction features “Aboriginal people; Aboriginal spirituality or the dreaming; Aboriginal bushcraft skills; Aboriginal cultural practices; and Aboriginal artifacts” (1999a: 124). It has been argued that a gap exists between the premise behind the promotional effort noted by Zeppel (1999a), and the reality of tourist interest (Ryan and Huyton 2000a, 2000b). For example, while Aboriginal people at Manyallaluk offer an award winning tourist experience partially based upon a stay within their community, the actual numbers of arrivals remain small (about 2,000 to 2,500 per annum). Additionally, researchers like Finlayson (1992) and Altman

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(1987, 1992) demonstrate that receipts from tourism at Uluru-Kata Tjuta have not significantly benefited the local Australian Aboriginal Anungu people. It would also appear that much of the academic literature has been oriented towards issues of image, authenticity, discussions of ownership, or simply descriptions of product (Dow 1999; Zeppel 1999a). Alternatively, in the past emphasis upon social and economic impact research, comparatively few results have been published in the tourism journals and thus been subject to review (Zeppel 1999b). It would appear that the impacts of tourism depend on factors like ownership and management of attractions (Altman and Finlayson 1992; Gillespie 1988; Zeppel 1999b). However, such an approach implies that tourist demand is a given, and its nature is not analyzed. However, Ryan and Huyton (2000a, 2000b) argue that attractions based upon Aboriginal culture may not be as popular as is generally thought, and that one of their major functions within promotion is that their presence helps an evocation of the outback, of which Aboriginal culture is part. The linkages between Aboriginal people and tourism have also been examined in other ways. In an examination of 689 brochures relating to wildlife attractions, Higginbottom, Muloin and Zeppel (1999) found that only 32 sought to establish any relationship with Australian Indigenous people. Current work being undertaken by the Office of National Tourism in Australia is also generating data which, it is understood, show that only a small minority of people have a strong interest in Aboriginal cultural products, and that for a larger proportion of tourists Aboriginal peoples are part of an image of Australian landscapes (Pitterlee 1999). On the other hand, Moscardo and Pearce’s (1999) study of the Tjapukai Dance Theatre in North Queensland makes clear the popularity of its dance performances. Tjapukai Dance Theatre Yet even this success story is problematic. For example, the website cites the fact that the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park is the largest private employer of the natives in Australia and about 85% of the 80 or so employees are Aboriginal. However, Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park (1997) notes that Djabugay actually own 15.8% of the equity, Tirrganydji 10%, Nganydjin 3.6%, and the remaining Aboriginal ownership is made up of ATSIC and indirect Aboriginal interests through their shareholding in Skyrail. Thus, the ability of local Aboriginal people to influence the park through their share holding is diffused. Indeed Schuler comments that: The Djabugay employees themselves believe that what is portrayed at the park is unauthentic. They are taught how to dance to accommodate the park managers’ requirements although the park managers explained that such dances are adjusted periodically to take into account comments from tourist surveys. Therefore, the Djabugay performances are adjusted according to the need of the market, resulting in the commodization of Djabugay culture (1999:111).

It is also to be noted that on its website that:


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There is no other presentation of Aboriginal culture in the area which provides any benefit to our community or which has requested or received the authority to present our culture for profit (, 1999).

However, according to this source, the Deed of Agreement for the park management and the Djabugay Corporation contains clause 17.1, which restrains competition by any of the parties to the agreement. If any party, whether as owner, manager, shareholder, trustee, beneficiary, licensee, lessee or otherwise howsoever, conduct or be involved in any business or other activity which materially involves Indigenous dance or culture for tourist purposes which is in competition with the business of the partnership,

then the Deed is in effect negated. Thus, “There is no other presentation of Aboriginal culture in the area” because this agreement restricts Djabugay from establishing other similar businesses while maintaining the current arrangements at the park. Contemporary Issues Issues relating to Aboriginal tourism are important within contemporary Australian society, as it seeks to address problems relating to Aboriginal poverty, unemployment, over-representation in prisons and mortality rates. For some commentators, there exists a danger that the image of Aboriginal people presented through tourism promotion reinforces existing stereotypes. Clendinnen commented: I suspect that the hidden springs behind what is often taken to be white racism is a fixed image of the vanished tribal Aborigine, the nomadic hunter with spear and throwing-stick and body-paint, and therefore the denial of Aboriginality to anyone not fitting that model. This artificially narrow notion of culture combines with a passionate egalitarianism to oppose any extension of benefits to the Aboriginal poor beyond those available to impoverished whites. Simultaneously, perhaps perversely, growing acceptance of multiculturalism also tends to work against Aborigines. We say, “Let them have their culture, let Aboriginal dance troupes perform, let didgeridoos roar, even give them first place in the procession—they are, after all, our indigenous culture. But do not give them anything more” (1999).

Yet any wider view of contemporary culture and the Aboriginal place within it will quickly show that this view is a partial perspective. In the world of contemporary music, the bands of Arnhemland have a tradition of ‘pop’ since at least the 60s. Not only have Yothu Yindi achieved international recognition but contemporary groups like Letterstick Band from Maningrida achieved some coverage for their blend of traditional and rock. For example, in An Barra Clan, they combine reggae with yidaki (didgeridu) playing. For their part, Yothu Yindi have established a foundation for the development of music training, and from this base have sought to both aid traditional culture and make non-Aboriginal Australia more aware of the diversity and strength of Aboriginal cul-

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ture—for example, in the Garma Festival of Culture at Gulkula in July 1999 (Yothu Yindi Foundation 1999). These examples indicate the vibrant nature of contemporary Aboriginal culture as it blends themes together. Thus far, the tourist seems unaware of these trends, and from the perspective of tourism marketing, there is an apparent divorce between the images and products used by tourism organizations and the flowering of contemporary Aboriginal music, drama, dance, writing, theatre and political action now being expressed in the clubs, theatres and art galleries of Australia. It appears that the academic literature surrounding tourism products based on Aboriginal culture is one of describing product with discussions of authenticity and analyses of economic impact. Two major omissions can be identified. The first is the Aboriginal perspective itself. The second, paradoxically, is the voice of the tourist. This is only recently being addressed. Moscardo and Pearce (1999) have surveyed tourists to a specific attraction based on Aboriginal culture (Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park 1997), while Ryan and Huyton (2000a, 2000b) questioned those in the Northern Territory. TOURIST ATTITUDES The research was conducted among tourists visiting Central Australia at two locations. These were the Desert Park in Alice Springs and the visitor center at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. It sought to identify how important to such respondents was exposure to Aboriginal culture. It was decided to replicate the approach adopted by Ryan and Huyton (2000a, 2000b) whereby items relating to Aboriginal culture are located within a questionnaire containing a list of other attractions, thereby making it possible to compare rankings. The questionnaire comprised sections covering travel patterns, the importance and evaluation of various attributes of the Northern Territory as attractions and sociodemographic characteristics. It utilized an importance-evaluation approach and the items were based on the Beard and Ragheb leisure motivation scale applied to the context of the Northern Territory. Defined as a model of reasoned action by Sheppard, Hartwick and Warshaw (1988), importance-evaluation matrices have been used in a number of studies reported in the literature (Duke and Persia 1996; Novatorov 1997; Go and Zhang 1997). Manstead has argued that the model “has performed quite well in terms of the ability of the constructs in the model to predict behavior and behavioral intention” (1996:16). The importance scale was based on a Juster Scale because of the linkage between it and subsequent behavior (Gendall, Esslemont and Day 1991; Gruber 1970; Juster 1966) while a nonresponse option was also used (Ryan and Garland 1999). This mode of questioning overcomes the problem of participants having to assess importance when, within the sample, some will have undertaken an activity and have experience of it, while others have yet to do it. It adopts the alternative of assessing importance by revealed behavior or intention. (For a discussion of the issues see, for example, Foxall 1990.) The correlation

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between intent and places visited were high and measures of respondent consistency were high. For example, the Guttman Split half-test coefficient of correlation was .81. The Kaiser–Myer–Olkin test for sampling adequacy equaled .84, which is deemed to be “meritorious” (Norusis 1990). The sample consisted of 358 participants. The self-completion questionnaires were administered in cafeterias at the two parks on the basis of every entrant being approached between 10.00–12.00 am and 2.30– 3.30 pm, the busiest periods. This process was not followed if it was a coach party, with only about 2–4 people per party being approached under such circumstances. This was to avoid over-representation of groups like school parties, but it means that the sample is biased towards independent tourists. Of the sample, about one-third were below the age of 30 years, 29% were between 31 and 50, and the remainder were over 50. Of the total sample, 46% were married, 46% were female, 43% were male and the remainder did not provide information on their gender. Study Rankings Table 1 sets out the importance and satisfaction scores. Pearce (1993) has lamented the lack of comparative research in tourism, and thus to partially address this table also shows the importance scores derived by Ryan and Huyton (2000b) in their study of those visiting Katherine, approximately 1000 kilometers north of Alice Springs. The similarities between the two samples are striking. First, among the attributes thought important is the desire to visit “places that are different from anywhere else” (means of 8.06 and 7.93, p>0.05). The nature, culture, and recent frontier history of the Northern Territory offers a terrain different from much else in Australia, not to mention other parts of the world. Its national parks and memorable sunsets also feature as attractions for both the current and Katherine samples. However, the heat of Central and North Australia inhibits more sustained physical activity, and in consequence, bush walking is ranked about half way in both samples in terms of importance scores (6.25 cf. 5.88) with no significant difference in scores. It does appear that the current sample seems more predisposed “to camp under the stars”. But a complicating factor for this item is the popular, award winning “Sails in the Desert Hotel” at Yulara, an attraction where tourists are taken for a meal served under the stars in the middle of the desert— the Sounds of Silence Dinner (). This is a popular and long established component of many tours to “the Rock”. Given the unique nature of the Northern Territory with its fauna, flora, and Aboriginal culture, what emerges quite strongly from both of these samples is just how unimportant are those attractions that meet the intellectual motive for travel. McKercher and du Cros (1998) have specifically written of the iconic nature of tourism to Uluru, while commentators like MacCannell (1992), Urry (1995), and Rojek and Urry (1997), among many others, have explored themes of spectacle,

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Table 1. Mean Score on Importance and Satisfaction Scores Item

Katherine Sample

Central Sample

Rank Mean Impt Ryan and Huyton (n=471) Visit Places that are different Visit National Parks See Katherine Gorge The warm sunny climate Visit Yellow Waters/Kakadu See memorable sun sets Experience vastness of space Satisfy sense of adventure Swim in fresh water pools/swimming pools See crocodiles See Uluru (Ayers Rock) Go bush walking Bathe in hot springs Make new friends View Aboriginal Rock Art Learn about fauna Visit Alice Springs See kangaroos Camp under the stars Go on aboriginal guided tours See aboriginal music and dance performance Go on an outback tour Have good hotel/motel accommodation Canoeing/kayaking Buy authentic aboriginal souvenirs Visit friends and family Go hunting Conduct business Go fishing Overall satisfaction with holiday Had value for price paid

Mean Impt

Mean Satis

(n=358)

No. of Satis Respond.

1

8.06

1

7.93

7.93

311

2 3 4

8.04 7.54 7.30

4 19 8

7.37 5.37 6.47

7.68 7.77 7.06

306 76 327

5

7.04

12

5.93

7.76

68

6

7.11

3

7.56

7.10

257

7

6.73

6

6.76

7.79

314

8

6.70

7

6.48

7.20

283

9

6.70

15

5.77

7.06

79

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

6.08 6.01 6.25 6.04 6.04 5.94 5.83 5.63 5.52 5.08 4.42

22 2 13 16 9 14 11 5 10 21 20

5.15 7.59 5.88 5.75 6.42 5.84 6.15 7.29 6.39 5.16 5.30

7.00 7.84 6.93 7.34

91 261 198 56

6.39 6.94 6.74 6.62 7.74 6.94

234 280 265 227 144 56

21

4.36

23

5.00

6.38

83

22 23

4.21 4.08

18 17

5.47 5.73

7.44 6.67

169 246

24 25

3.76 3.57

25 24

3.01 4.14

6.27 6.04

26 181

26 27 28 29

2.36 0.92 0.77 na

27 28 29 26

2.44 1.10 0.92 2.60

8.19 5.14 5.90 6.31 7.89

87 14 29 34 331

6.66

317

role-play, hedonism and directed gaze. Indeed, with specific reference to a northern territory site, Ryan, Hughes and Chirgwin (2000) argued that a particular form of nature—bird life—was enhanced into such a spectacle that tourists were moved, yet were comparatively oblivious to other aspects of the natural and cultural heritage of the site. In an area which pitches many of its appeals to the ecotourist, one finds that some specific intellectual motives are not valued highly by the sample. Thus, while the Northern Territory Tourist Commission specifically draws attention to “the large population of unique animals” and “The Aboriginal presence”, the items on the scale that refer to learning about flora, fauna, and Aboriginal culture perform poorly in ranking. In the current research, the item on learning about flora and fauna ranks 11th (16th in the Katherine study) while the items on Aboriginal

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culture rank 14th, 20th, 23rd, and 24th. In short, the two studies’ rankings are equal, although one mitigating factor is that the current scores for aspects of Aboriginal culture are higher. One possible interpretation is that the iconic nature of the “Red Center” may lead respondents to rate it more important. In short, it is a possible example of “I am told this place is important; therefore, I rank it as being important”. Table 1 also shows that respondents indicating satisfaction with attractions based on Aboriginal culture is reduced in number when compared with other items. Thus, only 56 of the 358 respondents record satisfaction with an “Aboriginal guided tour” and only 83 for an Aboriginal dance performance. Ryan and Huyton (2000a, 2000b) argue that only about one-third of respondents in the Northern Territory actually possessed any interest in Aboriginal culture, and that for many of these it was but one part of a conceptualization of “The Outback”. Consequently attractions based on Aboriginal culture had to compete in a crowded market place. These figures seem to support that contention with about 23% of the sample experiencing an Aboriginal music and dance performance, and about 50% buying Aboriginal souvenirs. It can be objected that the figures for seeing rock art present a counter view. Thus, 338 respondents provided a rating of the importance of rock art, and 234 indicated a satisfaction rating. What is significant about this figure is that rock art can be viewed by simply walking around the base of the “The Rock”. Even under these circumstances, it appears that some respondents had very little interest in this easily accessible aspect of Aboriginal culture. Looking at the nationality of those expressing an opinion, it was found that some specific patterns emerged. The normal way of looking at differences between national groupings would be to undertake an analysis of variance (Table 2). But in addition the table shows the pattern of nonresponse to the items specific to Aboriginal culture as a tourism product. Arguably, the main reason for nonresponse is that the respondent has not experienced the event, and indeed respondents were specifically directed to use the nonresponse option if this was the case. Other reasons can also be proposed; for example, the tourist may have experienced the event, was disappointed, and does not wish for various reasons to express this. Whatever the reason, a specific pattern of non-response exists whereby Australians are much less likely to reply to the items listed in Table 2. Further, there is a high rate of nonresponse by “Other Europeans” (non-British/Irish) to the item “Go on Aboriginal guided tours”, while North Americans are more likely than others to attend a dance or music performance. Does this indicate a higher predisposition towards entertainment or to viewing such a performance as another means of gaining knowledge of another culture? Or is that Americans simply have a higher predisposition to pre-booked packages that include such activities? This is evidenced by work undertaken by Pitterlee (1999), which showed that of those Americans visiting places associated with Aboriginal culture, 48% were on pre-booked tours.

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Table 2. Visitor Origin and Responses to Aboriginal Items Item

North Americans Mean

See Ayers Rock View Aboriginal Rock Art Go on aboriginal guided tours See aboriginal music and dance performance Buy authenticaboriginal souvenirs Satisfied with value for money Overall satisfaction Number in subsample a b

UK/Irish

No.%a Mean

Other Euro

No.%a Mean

Aust.

Fratio

No.%a Mean No.%a

8.21 7.37

32 27

8.02 6.17

20 26

7.79 6.04

15 23

7.76 29 6.35 41

0.91 2.87b

6.43

73

5.96

85

7.71

98

6.88 83

0.58

7.03

64

6.51

78

6.42

72

5.96 77

0.82

6.84

46

5.42

43

5.84

44

6.12 63

2.29

6.46

6.45

5.32

5.32

2.95b

7.83

8.05

7.81

7.81

0.47

41

73

39

169

No.%=nonresponse rate. p