'Disney'
Many would have different interpretation of disneyfication. Some may argue it’s the huge array of themed settings or even the setting up of mega shopping cinemas, the disgusting number of eateries, cinemas and what not that is used for human consumption. But my definition of disneyfication is one that makes everything ‘safe’, ‘simplified’, ‘all-inclusive’ and ‘deprived of the original place’s soul’. Disneyfication, in my opinion is also the ‘nestled’ interpretation of the society’s view on a place in a sense that everywhere is the same, acceptable and ‘blah’.
Costa Rica is a place which is very renowned for its Eco-Tourism and also their spontaneous and hospitable nature. Many foreigners think of moving to Costa Rica as it is a well-known ‘paradise’, filled with colourful culture and a myriad of natural formations. So how does a ‘paradise’ like this fit in the dark side of Disneyfication?
To start, the booming tourism industry is much like a double-edged sword. Reaping the benefits without expecting any implication will seem too naive. For Costa Rica, it seems like ‘Disney’ has only just started its act on it. This is shown more in beach areas like Puerto Viejo, Tamarindo and Quepos. I will confess that the Disneyfication in Costa Rica is not as evident as other places due to the strong backing of its niche tourism market, Eco-Tourism, but the slow shifting of their focus to mass tourism especially in the coastal area is definitely a point we should take note of.
About 20 years ago, before Costa Rica really started investing in the tourism sector, there was an abundance of nature, clean beaches and a generic calm and scenic nature to the place. However, as time goes by, the beauty of the place is slowly being invaded by... Tourist? Partially. But their invasion is not as bad as the invasion of the greed of companies, seeing the viability of beach/coastal tourism in Costa Rica.
Greed-motivated companies are just interested in making profits and turning the place into an image of shop houses, resorts, casinos and what not. The line of resorts, hotels have increase significantly over the past 20 years when tourism started developing in Costa Rica. With that line of resorts and hotel came in a huge influx of mass tourist. This reflected on the increasing influence globalisation has on the beautiful island of Costa Rica. The world has 'shunk' and now everyone who has ever enjoyed the beauty of Costa Rica, is sharing it with the world. This made the 'world' increase its traffic in flocking to the mesmerizing country. The commonality of every tourism industry is slowly surfacing in Costa Rica, creating the Tourism sector’s version of ‘Disneyfication’.
The large influx of tourist created an increase for consumption. Soon, a whole array of restaurants, handicraft shops, souvenir shops and also street performers came into play. The once beautiful and scenic beach is slowly losing its soul to the mass tourist market, creating an arena for cultural acts of display, commercialised selling of their cultural products and performing in hotels. Globalization has made commodifying the local culture a scary thought. Starting with the sale of local crafts, moving on to commercial cultural performance .. Then what next?
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| Souvenir shops in Tamarindo |
The influence of tourism has made locals resort to selling cultural acts or even handicraft in the areas where tourist populates. This includes the beach area of Puerto Viejo, Tamarindo and Quepos.
So, how do we prevent this...?
To becoming this...?
Let’s just hope tourism doesn’t shove its commodities (i.e. Hotels, resorts, cultural performance and exploitation of local labour) to the natural beauty of Costa Rica like how it did to Bali.
Information taken from Ticotimes.net and Responsibletravel.org
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