The above diagram shows the relationship between change and tourism development. In stage 1, there is an initial state of stable equilibrium in which local cultural identities are being constantly expressed through local iconography that can be seen from the built environment. In stage 2, tourists start to get attracted to the place. Tourism as it develops, induces change. These developments will inevitably select components that are easily recognisable, reproducible and sellable , which it simplifies, homogenises and stereotypes. The process of change leads to a gap developing between the sense of place projected to , and consumed by tourists and that required by locals for their place identification. In stage 3, there will be the emergence of at least two quite different senses of place, one for tourist and the other for local consumption. In the final stage, there are three possible adjustments to the situation. Firstly, destination communities can adjust their place images to that of the tourists as they come to accept and incorporate in their own self-image the identity projected to them by visitors. This process may lead to adaptation to tourist demands and acculturation. Secondly, if tourism continues to develop, then the tourist sense of place can become more diversified by reselecting much that was previously rejected or overlooked. Hence, it becomes more 'authentic' which is caused by the need within tourism to constantly diversify the product and the volatile character of tourism markets. The third reaction is when these different place identities lead to displacement of locals who no longer 'feel at home' in the tourist place.
Take in the case of Trás-os-Montes which used to be Portugal's most rugged and remote region, where every reasonably level land here is used for small-scale agriculture. The Trnsmontanos took pride in their age-old costumes, festivals and local cuisines. After tourism is developed in the region, foreign banks and ATMs and the use of mastercard, visa, american express was also built in the region for the tourists. There is also development of roads, buses and cars to bring tourists around the attractions as well as the use of Internet for hotel bookings, promotion and advertising.
These facilities that were built for the tourists can also be used by the residents themselves, thereby bring convenience to them as well.
When tourists start coming into the region, it will definitely impact the locals there:
In the economic context:
- There will be changes to the status of the various income earners. As some of the people in the family will work in the tourism sector such as hotel, they may earn more than what their parents or siblings earn when they work in the fields.
- At the community level, there will be changes in investment priorities of bigger organisations, employment structure, as well as the role of government, as the government now has to shift his/her focus from other sectors to the tourism sector.
- There will be changes to responsibility levels, decision-making roles, employment opportunities. The locals no longer have to work in the fields to earn money as they can now work in hotels, or as performers and these jobs may even allow them to earn more money. From the elders who are more experienced in farming, the younger generation are higher in demand when it comes to recruiting locals for jobs relating to the tourism sector. This will cause a change in the responsibility levels, with the younger generation being the bread and butter for the family.
- At the community level, changes related to the local leaders, significance of government, influence of 'external' stakeholders, new political structures. The local leaders may turn their attention to the tourism sector when they see higher revenue earned from tourism. The government is the one that makes the final decision for the region, hence the government holds the greatest influence on the development of the tourism; whether he/she wants to allow as many visitors as possible(mass tourism) or practise sustainable tourism.
- It may lead to hosts imitating guests' behaviour due to the demonstration effect of visitor behaviour. The demonstration effect can be expressed in terms of the value systems, standards of behaviour, and attitudes towards people, property, culture and spaces.
- At the community level, with local cultures being manipulated to meet the tourists' expectations, it leads to the deterioration of culture as community starts to lose its special identity, with the selected attitudes of its local culture being commodified.
- Examples includes importation of foreign goods, creation of 'alien' services and facilities (e.g. casinos, entertainment theatres) and the loosening in loyalty of the locals to the place.
Careto
The impact of change of the people in this region can be seen here:
- The development of technology has allowed the people to promote their culture through the use of Internet such as social networking sites to attract more tourists to their region. (Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Caretos-de-Podence/229759826113?v=wall#!/pages/Caretos-de-Podence/229759826113?v=info )
- This ritual, whereby the locals will put on their caretos (leering masks) and candy-cane costumes only happened during the Carnaval celebration around February. This festival is only among the locals, however, currently, it is inviting tourists through facebook for instance to join them. This may lead to loss or deterioration of culture, whereby the main purpose of having this event may be altered into attracting more tourists into the region.
According to the UNWTO, the number of visitor arrivals in Portugal is 12.3 million in year 2008, and is expected to rise in the next 5 years. An article (http://www.theportugalnews.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=1090-1 ) states Portugal's tourist profits in the first nine years reach the highest compared to the previous years. This is indeed a positive impact as the rise in the profits helped boost its economy. However, this may also bring about a concern whereby Portugal start to rely more heavily on tourism to boost its economy.
In future, if issues such as the spread of diseases or terrorism in the country, it may impact the tourism sector in Portugal badly. An example will be the Bali bombings in 2002, whereby the terrorism crippled the economy in Bali. When such things happen, not only will the tourism receipts be affected, the locals who are working in the tourism sector will also face unemployment when tourists desert the tourism site for their safety. Furthermore, it will also take several years to re-establish the confidence among the tourists.