The values of indigenous cultures in the tourism market: appropriation, disposal or resignification?

Abstract

The cultures of the indigenous peoples are immersed in a process of selective value, for its commercialization in the tourist market. Under the mechanisms of the market, tourism has shown its capacity to digest the immense cultural diversity and even encourage the revival of certain traditions with a view to attracting tourists. Thus, under the mechanisms of the market, certain cultural practices are decontextualized and transformed into a tourist product. With the new value acquired they become objects of social recognition and valuation in the market of symbolic goods. However, this does not mean that these cultures are not underestimated in the daily practices of intercultural interaction.

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the “enhancement” of the ethnic and cultural diversity of indigenous peoples, and the way in which this process contributes to the revaluation of their cultures or, on the contrary, to conceal their more conflicting edges.