How ethnic tourism can bring hope to vanishing cultures

Ethnic tourism, or tribal tourism, as it is often called, refers to traveling to natural habitats of indigenous people and tribes. The travel entails engagement with the locals at a cultural and human level. In return the tourists are expected to make a defined and fair compensation to the community and to the tour companies if any are involved.

Why ethnic tourism is good for the tribes

Indigenous people (original settlers of the land) or the various smaller and unique tribes that they generally split into, offer outsiders a glimpse into a nation’s vast cultural heritage. These communities carry the last stories of past generations as the ‘western’ global influence creeps closer every moment in every country, ironically, in part brought by the visitors themselves. Besides, since these people generally live closer to and with nature, their preservation indirectly means the preservation of the environment and biodiversity itself. Indigenous populations (around 370 million globally and representing over 5,000 cultures) account for just 5% of global numbers, but they protect around 80% of the world’s natural habitat. Hence their survival is critical not just for boosting tourism revenue of a nation but for maintaining the fragile ecological balance of the planet itself, by containing deforestation.

If done sensitively and justly, ethnic tourism money can go a very long way in sustaining and reviving the myriad colorful cultures around our world, not to mention in preserving the last refuges for the Earth’s flora and fauna. For the tribe members, it’s also a way for them to take pride and interest in their own ancestry, heritage and their land. It is a sort of celebration of this age old way of life, which can bring the tribes together.

Being a sensitive tourist is key

Indigenous people all over the world are greatly marginalized with many almost forced to get into tourism just to sustain themselves, since their food and water sources have been depleted due to development. If tourists spend enough time engaging with the tribe and not merely using them as props for pictures, they can convey their interest in the natives. The slightly slower pace of interaction would become a meaningful cultural exchange for the tribe as well. Hence it is imperative for the tourists and the tour operators to not indulge in shallow experiences which make the tribe feel that they are there only for the viewing pleasure of the tourists, quite similar to how one would view wildlife.

Besides the general tourist, the adventure tourist has to be very wary of which tribes they are meeting. If the tour company advertises and claims that these tribes are untouched or that these are first contact experiences, then the first thing you need to know is that it is a fake claim. However the much more sinister part is that your visit to such a tribe is not a travel experience but an intrusion and you could be bringing diseases to these communities to which they have no immunity (even the common cold or flu could be devastating). In the past this has led to dissemination of many such peoples and hence any advertisement to visit a tribe that is not open to tourism is a big red flag.

Some places where you can experience ethnic tourism

Below are our top 5 places in the world where you can have an immersive cultural experience of ethnic tourism

1. Tanzania and Kenya: The Savannah lands of the celebrated and colorful Maasai tribe
2. Jordan and the Arabian Peninsula: belongs to the Bedouin , the desert nomads
3. India: The Naga people celebrate during the famous Hornbill Festival in Nagaland
4. New Zealand: The Maori people, who arrived from Eastern Polynesia, live in the North Island
5. Brazil: Dessana and numerous other rain forest tribes of the Amazon around the town of Manaus