Heritage commodification

Heritage commodification is the process by which cultural themes and expressions come to be evaluated primarily in terms of their exchange value, specifically within the context of cultural tourism.^[1] These cultural expressions and aspects of heritage become "cultural goods," transformed into commodities to be bought, sold and profited from in the heritage tourism industry. In the context of modern globalization, complex and often contradictory layers of meaning are produced in local societies, and the marketing of one's cultural expressions can degrade a particular culture while simultaneously assisting in its integration into the global economy. The repatriation of profits, or "leakage", that occurs with the influx of tourist capital into a heritage tourist site (including handicraft vendors, food vendors, basket makers, and several other items that are produced locally and rely upon tourist capital) is a crucial part of any sustainable development that can be considered beneficial to local communities.^[2] Modern heritage tourism reproduces an economic dynamic that is dependent upon capital from tourists and corporations in creating sustained viability. Tourism is often directly tied to economic development, so many populations see globalization as providing increased access to vital medical services and important commodities.^[3]

The tourism industry has been rapidly growing during the past two decades, and the expansion will probably continue well into the future.^[4] There were nearly one billion tourist arrivals in 2008^{(to where?)}, compared to only twenty-five million in 1950.^[4] Moreover, in 2008, tourism directly accounted for nearly one trillion US dollars. Worldwide, approximately five percent of GDP is generated by tourism, and a similar proportion of people are employed in the tourism industry. As each individual culture positioned for tourism needs a particular "selling point" in order to attract tourist capital, certain aspects of their heritage are allowed to be appropriated in order to give the tourist the impression that he or she is receiving an "authentic" experience. In this way, tourism also provides opportunities for communities to define who they are and bolster their identities through the commodification of certain cultural aspects that the community deems important and worthy of reproduction.^[5][6] Tourist destinations must have a specific set of characteristics that set themselves apart from every other destination, and this is where local communities choose how they will represent themselves to the world. This power to create an identity and reproduce the mechanisms of a group's identity in the realm of cultural tourism allows local populations to express their ethnic pride and "imbue places and events with identities that best represent their particular interests and values".^[5]