Tourism impacts on local life: Socio-Cultural continuity and change in Crete

Abstract

The objective of this article is to address the ongoing need to assess the impact of tourism on local societies, in the context of contemporary tourism studies and social sciences. It seeks to contribute to an understanding of local perceptions of socio-spatial transformation through processes of a “new cultural economy of space”—in cases where tourism constitutes the major agent of change. The case study in Crete explores the imprint of this new cultural economy of space on local societies, by laying out their understanding of such change through interviews with locals in the wider region of Hersonissos in northern Crete. Generally speaking, cultural and social roles, structures and values of the communities under study emerge from this empirical research as more resistant to change, whereas economic practices and lifestyles seem to be more susceptible to a transformation in favor of an urban, Western way of life.

 Key words: local development, coastal tourism, socio-cultural change, local perceptions, Hersonissos, Crete

Keywords

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TOURISM IMPACTS ON LOCAL LIFE: SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN CRETE

Abstract

Bu makalenin amacı, güncel turizm çalışmaları ve sosyal bilimler bağlamında turizmin yerel toplumlardaki etkisini değerlendirmeye yönelik sürmekte olan gereksinime işaret etmektir. Makale, değişimin başlıca aktörünü turizmin oluşturduğu yerlerde, “mekânın yeni kültürel ekonomisi” süreci ile sosyo-mekânsal dönüşümüne ilişkin yerel bakış açılarının anlaşılmasına katkı sağlamayı hedeflemektedir. Girit’teki alan araştırması, mekânın bu yeni kültürel ekonomisinin yerel toplumlar üzerindeki izlerini, Girit’in kuzeyindeki Hersonissos bölgesindeki yerel halkın bu değişime ilişkin anlayışlarını mülakatlar yoluyla ortaya koyarak incelemektedir. Genel anlamda, incelenen toplulukların kültürel ve sosyal rolleri, yapıları ve değerleri değişime daha dirençliyken, ekonomik pratikler ve yasam tarzları ise kentsel ve Batılı bir dönüşüme daha yatkın görünmektedir.

 Anahtar kelimeler: yerel kalkınma, kıyı turizmi, sosyo-kültürel değişim, yerel halkın bakış açısı, Hersonissos, Girit

Keywords

• yerel kalkınma, kıyı turizmi, sosyo-kültürel değişim, yerel halkın bakış açısı, Hersonissos, Girit

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