Page 209 - sustainable tourism-- Dr.Aya

be offered in an authentic manner, though

tourism in such areas would eventually result

in ‗acculturation‘ of these communities and

‗commoditization‘ of their culture, unless

undertaken in small numbers. Hence, the

process of tourist destination development in

itself can be looked upon as an oxymoron.

How does one develop a tourist destination in

a sustainable manner? Probably by taking a

less utopian approach and establishing a level

of acceptable change in a social, cultural and

environmental context. Globalization features

prominently in the debate of sustainable tourist

destination development in the so-called

‗Third World‘ or developing countries. The

‗international integration‘ allows learning

from mistakes made elsewhere in the world

along with providing models that are being

replicated in an out of context scenario. The

distinctiveness of the various cultures and

environments of the developing world is

certainly celebrated by the global voice while

the same comes under threat due to global

exposure, of which tourist influx is also a

means. What the local communities draw from

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