Local residents' responses to the tourist gaze on their life spaces: The case of the Higashi-Iya area of Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the tourist gaze and local residents whose life spaces have recently become valuable as tourism resources. A large number of studies have been done on the impact of tourism on the local host society by presupposing and applying two influential concepts: the tourist gaze of J. Urry and the objectification of culture of Y. Ohta. However, these concepts cannot necessarily be applied to local people, who themselves have come to be tourism resources, especially in modern-day "new tourism." Although residents have become increasingly important and indispensable factors in tourism, they cannot always accommodate themselves to the tourist gaze because they are living their daily lives as well as engaging in tourism practices within their life spaces. Therefore, this paper aims to examine how local residents understand the tourist gaze and carry out their own tourism practices within their life spaces, with special reference to Higashi-Iya, Tokushima Prefecture. In considering these issues, it is important to analyze both the influence of the tourist gaze on the regional promotion plan in Higashi-Iya, and the meaning of tourism practices for local residents (mainly tourism actors). The findings are summarized as follows: First, the regional promotion plan in Higashi-Iya is closely related to an image of authenticity advocated by a chief consultant of the project, Alex Kerr, stemming from the atmosphere of Higashi-Iya in the early 1970s. Second, tourism practices by many local residents are based on their feelings toward and sense of daily life and sincerity rather than with the tourist gaze in mind. In other words, local residents, including active actors, do not necessarily directly accommodate themselves to the tourist gaze. Such a posture by the residents has led to the unique charm that is characteristic of Higashi-Iya, an unsophisticated and authentic rural area. It seems that the relationship is advantageous to both the local residents and the planning consultant in Higashi-Iya because it facilitates participation in tourism practices for the former and provides an authentic image of Higashi-Iya for the latter. However, some residents are not willing but are forced to engage in personal practices of tourism on the basis of their daily experiences and sincerity. That leads to the third point: why do they engage in such tourism practices ? It is clear that some regional factors, such as tourism being a key industry, depopulation, remoteness from cities, etc., are interrelated and have a causal influence on the relationship between local residents and the tourist gaze. In this context, many local residents in the region have a negative perception of tourism because of lower and uncertain income and difficulties with the increase in the number of tourists, especially compared with the neighboring tourism region of Nishi-Iya. It is concluded that how the tourist gaze affects the local society is closely related to its conditions; this kind of tourism practice within life space can presumably be seen in other rural areas, especially those suffering from severe economic conditions such as Higashi-Iya. In sum, the relationship between local residents and the tourist gaze is more complicated than has previously been assumed and is closely related to the local conditions.