The world comes to Fiji: who communicates what, and to whom?

Harrison, David ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0498-4276 (2021) The world comes to Fiji: who communicates what, and to whom? In: Tourism, tradition and culture: a reflection on their role in development. CAB International, Wallingford, pp. 87-96. ISBN 9781789245899, e-ISBN 9781789245905, e-ISBN 9781789245912. [Book Section] (doi:10.1079/9781789245899.0087)

Abstract

This chapter revives the notion of the 'plural society', a somewhat discredited approach when applied to small Caribbean societies but much more applicable in the Fiji context, and examines the portrayal of ethnic Fijians and Indians in tourist brochures. The chapter examines the content of tourism brochures for Fiji and the potential they bring for cultural change. While the literature commonly considers tourism's role in changing attitudes and/or behaviour of members of the receiving society (the so-called 'demonstration effects' or inward acculturation), it tends to ignore possible changes among tourists - which is termed 'outgoing acculturation. The paper finds that the people portrayed in the brochures are almost entirely ethnic Fijian. East Indians, while employed in the tourism sector, are usually backroom staff and virtually absent from the brochures. At the same time, the culture of ethnic Fijians is largely protected from inward acculturation by their continued residence in traditional villages, where the position of the chiefs and elders continues to dominate.

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