Planeta Forum

[planeta]

TOPIC: What role do long-term foreign residents play in educating visitors?

Request - Please keep your posts brief (recommended: 250 words or less) and focused on this question.

REFERENCES

Tourism and Migration Conference
http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/migration.html

Forum Guidelines
http://www.planeta.com/worldforum.html

[planeta]

This topic reviewing the role of long-term residents is one that I hope takes off this month. Those of us who live abroad have many stories of how we are able to connect locals and travelers, plugging them in, so to speak, to protocols and expectations.

In Marianne Heredge's introduction, she writes about living in Nepal: "I do not usually see myself as a tourist, even if I am very much a foreigner living here (and still speak appalling Nepali). When I go trekking and to tourist sites, I find it hard to see myself as a tourist."

I completely understand where she is coming from having lived in Mexico for the past decade, having migrated from the United States to work here as a journalist. That said, it is not so important how I see myself as much as others see me. When I amble around the countryside, I am seen as a visitor. That said, when we talk, most locals see that I have an awareness and appreciation of the local culture that often my paisanos lack.

I have seen how many successful tourism operations are conducted by families that have a foot in two worlds. They know what locals want, how locals work and they also know what travelers are seeking.

Long-term residents operate some of the most successful ecotourism operations featured in Planeta's World Travel Directory - http://www.planeta.com/worldtravel.html - including Costa Rica Expeditions and Ecuador's Black Sheep Inn.

It is no surprise that these enterprises are the ones frequently contacted by media, development agencies and investors seeking an entry point to the country.

There is a lot to explore in this topic and in my next post I'll provide some specific examples from Mexico.

[Amy Krause]

Ron, I think you have brought up some really interesting points. We have been working through some of these issues in Alberta up here in Canada. Of course, the situation is very different than those in most of the developing world, but still interesting.

I think there are some pressing distinctions in the category of "long-term foreign" residents. Specifically, are those people coming to open local businesses or are they coming to retire? Do they develop social networks within the community or are they social islands? Are they involved in local issues or do they choose not to be? Also, what is the ratio of long-term foreign residents to local residents?

We have wonderful long-term foreign residents in our local communities here in the Canadian Rockies, but their impacts in the community are very different depending on the answers to the above questions.

Long-term residents who come to work in a location from "away" often bring experience and expertise that just doesn't exist locally - perhaps from large corporate environments, or other tourism destinations - and when they apply it locally, others learn from their example. Long-term foreign residents who choose to retire in a location may fuel industries related to construction and amenities, health and recreation. But the knowledge transfer - in both directions - may not be as prolific.

[Mary Finn]

I agree with Amy, the answer to this question, as in so many cases, is ¨it depends.¨ I have lived on and off in Ecuador as a long-term resident and I have seen many other long-term foreign residents. I have also moved around quite a bit within the US (including to places where if one is not ´born and bred` you´re considered a ´foreigner´). The fact is, not everyone who decides to live in a different country, state or place has a strong interest in local culture or welfare. Other motivations for expats include personal economic opportunities, adventures, etc. In these cases, I think the tendency is more to displace locals in terms of jobs and other economic opportunities.

However, long-term residents can be a positive influence, to the extent that they are open to the new culture, and willing to learn from locals as well as to (humbly) share their own knowledge. The latter meaning also being willing to train locals (´teach people to fish´so to speak) rather than taking jobs locals could be trained to do. And (to my mind) the most important factor is that LTers should actually come to care about the welfare of their new community, not just the personal opportunities it presents to themselves.

How might this be reflected in terms of ecotourism? I think part of the answer is the extent to which locals are not just relegated permanently to service jobs, but also have the opportunity to become administrators and decision-makers.

Ron also has a very good point that it may matter more how we are seen, than how we see ourselves – this is always a tricky proposition I think when one is new to a place or culture, not to mention sometimes working against existing stereotypes that may exist about ´how foreigners are.´ (I know for ex. that when I`m in Ecuador I must slow down, and change both the pace and directness of my approach to communications and problem-solving to avoid shutting down locals´ willingness to be open with me.

[ECOT_Julia]

I have chosen this forum section to post a message which brings in some more information regarding societies in movement - migrants and tourists. The book 'Fliehkraft' of Tom Holert and Mark Terkessidis has been published (in German) and I will bring to your knowledge a few points they raise:
They are focusing on the historical links of tourists and migrants, as tourist centers often have been built in previous arrival ports of migrants in many Mediterranean countries, for instance; in addition, tourist infrastructure is often re-used by migrants in emergency situations, i.e. what we know from the movie 'Hotel Ruanda' happens on a day by day basis in many migrant 'receiving' countries, for instance the Canary Islands.
As migrants go north, tourists fo south - that's how it used to be. But now a new component comes in: the returning migrants. Apart from the economic contributions of migrants during abroad via remittances they when back in their home country, they have a bigger purchasing power, adapted to different life styles, and thus mingle with the tourist-residents and second-home-retirees.
Both groups have in common that they are 'lost' in a country where they dont feel much of an identity: long-term tourists/retirees as they dont know the country , returning migrants as they have been away for a long time. Both groups , thus, form rather un-political (or de-politised) society in often separated settlements/suburbs. Here, new networks are developing of the mixture of foreigners/tourists and returning migrants, both used to a 'western' lifestyle which is quite different from the original settings they are confronted now.
The authors go one step further and highlight that cities in Europe have also developed in rather de-politized environments as they have been transformed into mere 'shopping cities' for tourists where residents dont feel comfortable anymore (and its too expensive...) and move to suburbs...political interest disappears...

Furthermore, the setting of tourism and migration have also a lot in common regardign migartion/trafficking processes in terms of transport/infrastructure/ tickets/visa, or the so-called cross-border suitcase-merchants using the same infrastructures as tourists do...

Finally, the authors claim that a new forms of participation in society life must be found for the people wherever (!) they are living - for short term or long term.

This book is a great ressource giving new in-sights in migration/tourism processes and the component of political participation, which has not be dealt with before, as far as I know.
Living in Chiang Mai, which is a huge destination for retired foreigners, I learnt that interest in political issues is really very (!) low or rather not existing. But the purchasing power is huge!
The globalised world where free and forced migration is an ever growing factor sees the challenge to develop new forms of civil participation. Living in Thailand as a German, I do see that I have almot no possibility to become politically active, as I used to in Germany.

And this brings me to one more 'group' I would like to add to the discussion forum: people who are working with international (aid) agencies in 'developing' countries. That's us, labor migrants who have a lot in common with migrants and with tourists as we usually are interested in knowing the country/sites etc., but also live in our labor-destination, without political participation and always careful to raise our (political) voiceas as our visa might be not extended ...

I would like to hearing back from other so-called Expatriats about their migrant-tourist feeling and behaviour.
Thanks.
Julia (a German in Chiang Mai/Thailand)

[planeta]

The life stories that motivate me are those of people who have traveled abroad, dug in and made an impact. I am not saying those are the only stories that motivate me, but that is the subject of this particular topic in the e-conference!

The role that long-term foreign residents play is usually divided into 1) appreciating what is local, and particularly what is indigenous, even if that is not valued highly by most locals and 2) communicating these values abroad, particularly one's compatriots, but it doesn't end there. Communication has no boundaries and what we tell others, perhaps far away, invariably ends up at our doorstep.

I'll be taking a good look at some of the 'foreigners who made good' stories in the next few months. One good example is that of William Spratling.

In the 1930s writer-architect William G. Spratling arrived in Taxco - http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/mexico/guerrero/taxco.html - from New Orleans. Enchanted by the city, he set up a silver jewelry shop specializing in indigenous designs, many of which are still used by the silversmiths. His house is now called the the Museo Guillermo Spratling.

True, this sounds like a Paul Harvey minute (and that's something I am none too pleased with), but this might be the lead-in to a variety of articles that talk up the good work of migrants.

[planeta]

Posting an exchange from today's online chat with Leo Hickman hosted by the Guardian
http://traveltalk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@@.775e9a39
http://traveltalk.guardian.co.uk

[Gerhard]

Thanks Ron for the interesting link about the potential negative impacts of long-term migrants on their new host city.

However for any surrounding rural areas with ecotourism ventures the "snowbirds" and other short and long-term expats - including aid workers mentioned by ECOT_Julia, English teachers, and those with a local partner or spouse (a considerable group in Mexico for example) - form an interesting niche market for ecotourism that could be targeted by advertising in places where this group is likely to see it – websites or actual places.

Some reasons why I consider the local expats as a potentially good niche market:

1. I am convinced from personal experience and contacts that those living in another country by choice for mostly non-economical reasons are generally very interested in travel including rural tourism and ecotourism. After all they have decided to travel to a different environment by choice and are likely to want to travel more and explore it. In fact: I would like to see a scientific survey comparing expat and local travel patterns someday.

2. In a country like Mexico many of these "migrants" at least speak some of the local language making them more accessible to fledgling ecotourism host communities than other international visitors.

3.The local expats are also likely to receive visitors from their home town that are more likely to join their semi-local hosts to lesser-known destinations than your average tourist.

4. They are more likely than other foreign tourists (and maybe even locals that have a very fixed routine) to also travel outside of main travel seasons, spreading the tourism potential over a longer time.

4. They can help form a critical mass for the success of events or locations of interest to some locals and tourists alike. Two Oaxaca (Mexico) examples: The Pochote market and the Mushroom Fair.
http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/mexico/oaxaca/pochotemercado.html
http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/mexico/oaxaca/hongos.html

[planeta]

Any other comments on the role of long-term foreign residents?