Globalization, Culture and Tourism

Murat Gümüs

School of Tourism and Hotel Management
Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey
muratgumus@yahoo.com

Mehmet Sahin

Biga Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences
Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey
mehmetsahin@comu.edu.tr

Abstract

Culture can be considered as the personality or the national character of any nations. Basically, differentiation of cultures is explained with this character, perception, thinking, language, values, behaviours, time and space perception, relationships and non verbal communication. However, globalisation, that covers a great variety of social, economical and political change, has been forcing the cultures-homogenous to transform. Indeed, globalisation has created its own culture with its huge dimensions though there are evidences of cultures against globalisation. The new culture emerged can be named as hybrid culture. Within this study, transformational effects of globalisation on cultures will be examined. Some of the popular concepts as cultural diversity, "others", hybrid culture will be discussed. Meanwhile, characteristics of global culture will be outlined. Change agents- media, internet etc. as facilitators of the global culture will be considered. Finally, challenges and threatens of global culture in tourism industry will be discussed.