Tourist Images of Asia: Bali
We can learn a lot about tourist development by looking at the images
through which destinations are marketed. The following descriptions of a
tourist destination in Asia are typical of
those produced for the tourism market. In reading the material, consider what
it shows about the image of Asia as a tourist
destination.
Bali on the Beach
On Bali's popular beaches you can be as
active or as idle as you wish. Cold drinks, soothing massages and tropical
fruits are at your fingertips thanks to the ever friendly beach vendors. You
can take to the water on a surfboard, a sailboard or hop on a local prahu for a
sailing adventure with a difference. You can indulge your passion for skin and
scuba diving on the island's reefs , or just play in the waves and comb the
coral reefs for colourful shells.
On the Road
Jump in a bemo or a hire car, and you're off through a fanfare of lush
vegetation spilling onto the roads. Banana and Pepper trees, frangipanis and
coconut palms all in a hurry of wild growth. Take the road into Denpasar for
lunch. Here, vendors pushing their two-wheeled carts wander the streets with
all kinds of incredible edibles - spicy soups, exotic fruits, coconut icecream,
roasted nuts. On the roadside, embers crackle and glow beneath the skewered
pieces of meat. Satay is everyone's favourite, and special fried rice, noodles
and gado-gado with delicious peanut sauce is a treat not to be missed.
Into the Hills
Head up into the hills for the art of Bali:
paintings in Ubud, Mas for wooden and sandstone carvings, Celuk for silver.
Young boys merrily work away on mysterious deities and magical garudas.
Enigmatic demons with fang-like teeth cast wild looks with bulging eyes. A
cassette player pumps the rhythmic beat of popular western culture while nearby
smouldering incense drifts from an altar where an offering sprinkled with holy
water pays homage to the Hindu deities and divine spirits. And while you are
there, no trip to Bali would be complete without a visit to the Monkey Forest
at Sangeh. Experience the beauty of the temple and meet the resident monkeys
who have made the sacred forest their home.
Questions
1. The Description
§ What
aspects of the places are highlighted?
§ What
have the writers assumed the tourists want?
§ What
kind of person is this implied tourist?
§ How
successfully does the material stimulate your interest? How does it do
this?
§ Are
there things you might want to do in these places which are not mentioned? If
so, why are they omitted?
2. Images
§ What
is the dominant image of the place? Is it a narrow stereotype or does it
reflect the variety of life in these destinations?
§ What
images of the people are presented? How well would they recognise themselves in
the material?
§ Does
the image in any way enhance or demean their standing as people?
3. The Effect of Images
§ How
would this image feed back into the construction of the environment and life in
these places?
§ What
kind of environment would the realisation of the images create?
§ What
problems might arise from the construction of it?
§ What
impact would the provision of these images have on the life and work of the
people?