Understanding of Ecotourism through Post-colonialism in the Southeast Asian Region

Year 2022, Volume: 27 Issue: 47, 1 - 14, 06.07.2022

Semra Akay

https://doi.org/10.5152/EGJ.2022.1000749

Cited By: 1

Abstract

This article seeks to bring a post-colonical perspective to ecotourism in the Southeast Asia region
through concerning the scope of ecotourism activities in the region, its relationship with sustainability,
and exploring culture, such as experiencing the lifestyles of indigenous people. While the
Southeast Asian region is one of the fastest-growing tourism regions in the world, most destinations
in the region have recorded strong growth, particularly since the 1990s. Ecotourism in the
region has developed since the 1990s, and almost all countries in the region have implemented
plans and programs to develop ecotourism by the 2000s. Ecotourism is a type of tourism that usually
includes components such as learning and supporting local ecosystems. Thus, it is designed
to help local communities economically in some way, theoretically compatible with sustainable
development ideologies. Ecotourism, emerging as an alternative to conventional tourism, has
become a strong attraction for tourists in the last few decades and has attracted tourism entrepreneurs, government institutions, and academics. In the Southeast Asian region, ecotourism
has been shaped by both the concept of sustainability, such as poverty reduction and efficient use
of natural resources and the tourism discourses such as searching of “change” around the indigenous
peoples and their “authentic” traditions, cultures, and lifestyles. Ecotourism in the region
is seen as a critical way to address many economic, social, and cultural issues indigenous people
face. In this context, this article seeks to draw a general portrait of ecotourism in the Southeast
Asian region and to bring a post-colonial critique to ecotourism in the region through questioning
sustainability and experiencing human/culture. Employing qualitative research methods, this article reveals that one the one hand, ecotourism in the Southeast Asian region has not been a solution to sustainability and it also has led to the consume the cultures of indigenous communities as others on the other.

Keywords

Authentic and exotic Asia, ecotourism, post-colonialism, Southeast Asian region, sustainability

Güneydoğu Asya Bölgesinde Ekoturizmi Post-Kolonyalizm Üzerinden Anlamak

Abstract

Bu makale, Güneydoğu Asya bölgesinde ekoturizm faaliyetlerinin kapsamını, sürdürülebilirlikle
olan ilişkisini ve yerli kültürlerin yaşam tarzlarını deneyimlemek gibi kültürün keşfi üzerinden ekoturizme
post-kolonyal bir bakış açısı getirmeye çalışmaktadır. Güneydoğu Asya bölgesi, turizmin
en hızlı geliştiği bölgelerden biridir. Özellikle de 1990’lı yıllardan itibaren bölgedeki birçok destinasyonda
turizm sektörü güçlü bir büyüme göstermektedir. Bölgede ekoturizm faaliyetleri 1990’lı
yıllarda gelişme göstermeye başlamış, 2000’li yıllarla birlikte bölgedeki hemen hemen bütün
ülkeler ekoturizmi geliştirecek plan ve programlar uygulamaya başlamıştır. Ekoturizm, yerel ekosistemleri
öğrenme ve destekleme gibi çeşitli bileşenleri içermektedir. Bu yüzden, ekoturizmin
teorik olarak sürdürülebilir kalkınma ideolojileriyle uyumlu ve bir şekilde yerel topluluklara ekonomik
destek sağlamak için tasarlanmış turizm çeşidi olduğu düşünülmektedir. Kitle turizmine
alternatif olarak ortaya çıkan ekoturizm, son yıllarda turistler için güçlü bir cazibe merkezi haline
geldiğinden turizm girişimcilerinin, devlet kurumlarının ve akademisyenlerin dikkatini çekmektedir.
Güneydoğu Asya bölgesinde ekoturizm, hem—görece—yoksulluğun azaltılması ve doğal
kaynakların verimli bir şekilde kullanılması gibi sürdürülebilirlik kavramı ile hem de yerli halklar ve
onların “otantik” gelenekleri, kültürleri ve yaşam tarzları etrafında “değişiklik” arayışıyla hareket
eden turizm söylemleri ile şekillenmektedir. Bölgede ekoturizm, yerli halkın karşı karşıya olduğu
birçok ekonomik, sosyal ve kültürel sorunu ele almanın bir yolu olarak görülmektedir. Dolayısı ile
bu makale, Güneydoğu Asya bölgesinde ekoturizmin genel bir portresini çizip bölgedeki ekoturizme
sürdürülebilirlik ve insan/kültürü deneyimlemek üzerinden post-kolonyal bir bakış açısı
getirmeye çalışmaktadır. Nitel araştırma yöntemlerinin kullanıldığı bu makale, birbiri ile ilişkili
iki sonucu ortaya koymaktadır; Güneydoğu Asya bölgesinde ekoturizmin sürdürülebilirliğe çare
olmadığı ve yerli halkların kültürlerinin öteki olarak tüketilmesine sebebiyet verdiği.

Keywords

ekoturizm, Güneydoğu Asya bölgesi, sürdürülebilirlik, otantik ve egzotik Asya

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