Where Asia Smiles

by Ness, Sally Ann

• ISBN13: 9780812218268
• ISBN10: 0812218264
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-31
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr

Summary

Where Asia Smilesoffers an understanding of tourism and its cultural consequences that is neither a lament at the arrival of tourists nor an endorsement of the industry as a blanket resolution of social ills in "underdeveloped" places. Examining the relationship of tourism to cultural identity and practice in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, Sally Ness observes and documents what is at stake for various actors who have entirely different objectives in the creation of a new cultural landscape. Ness takes an approach that emphasizes the relationship of tourism to the idea of home and the cultivation of all that home supports. Without forcing an interpretation, she draws from her own remembrances and hesitations to explore the ways one is obliged to live within the presence of this geocultural reality. Based on twelve months of research conducted in the 1990s, the study tracks the development of tourism during a time when the industry was growing faster in the Asian and Pacific Islands than anywhere else in the world. Ness focuses on individuals and families engaged in three types of tourism development: family-owned beach resorts, urban economy hotels, and a government-developed tourism estate. With great sensitivity to detail, she records the insights of those dealing with tourism in their home territories, observing closely the cultural consequences of tourism's particular way of operating at one unique developing location.

Author Biography

Sally A. Ness is Associate Professor of Dance and Anthropology, University of California, Riverside. She is the author of Body, Movement, and Culture: Kinesthetic and Visual Symbolism in a Philippine Community, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
A Note About Pseudonyms	xix
Part I: Orientation
Tourism and Culture	3	(20)
Davao Arrival	23	(14)
Davao Understandings of Tourism	37	(28)
Part II: Global Enterprises
The Excessive Destination: Pearl Farm Beach Resort	65	(13)
Pearl Farm Beach Resort: Tourate Perspectives	78	(30)
The Flagship Destination: The Samal Island Tourism Estate	108	(18)
The Samal Island Tourism Estate: Tourate Perspectives	126	(47)
Part III: Local Amusements
The Home Away from Home: Marjorie's Inn	173	(30)
Local Expressions of Leisure: Beach Parks	203	(28)
Conclusions	231	(14)
Notes	245	(38)
References	283	(14)
Index	297	(4)
Acknowledgments	301