The Problem of Tourism

The effects of tourism in Vietnam, especially on small town and villages, has always really bothered and saddened me. I was just in Sapa, which is in the mountains near the border with China. The effects of tourism has never been so obvious to me as in this small town. Multiple ethnic minorities live in villages surrounding Sapa. The people from these villages, wearing their traditional clothing, will come to the town to buy things at the market, but especially to sell things to tourists. Whenever I stepped out of the hotel, I was surrounded by women showing me their beautifully hand-made blankets (yes, I bought one) or young teenage girls showing me their handmade metal bracelets (yes, I bought four). It was cute, and charming, at first, I must admit. The girls can speak near-perfect English (which they have learned entirely by their interactions with tourists). It was exhilarting to talk to them and ask them about their lives. But, the more time I spent in Sapa, the more oppressive the constant attention became. I remember we were sitting in a cafe the last afternoon in Sapa, killing some time before our night train (where we slept on wooden shelves with bamboo mats, by the way)- and four women had gathered outside of the door. My friend looked up at them, and they all instantly snapped to attention, opening their blankets to put them on display and smiling at my friend. Sometimes it was difficult to move down the street, I was so surrounded by sellers.

Even the seven-hour hike we took through the terraced rice paddies and down into the valley to see some ethnic-minority villages was the perfect time for the little girls to sell us their goods. About thirty minutes into the hike, over a dozen children, most of them girls, began walking with us. I was charmed by their English. They asked me all about myself and my family and they answered my questions, also. I was communicating with a six year old Black Hmong girl! I was completely charmed. She was adorable. Her name was Mai, and she walked with me the entire day. She gave me a small, colorful bracelet as a present at one point. Later, she constructed a wreath of flowers for my head. I think she worked on it for over an hour on the trail- picking the flowers and weaving them together. My friends on the hike got the same treatment, cute little girls giving them bracelets and making them wreaths of flowers. It wan't until after lunch that they asked us to buy something from them. I had no problem buying a bracelet from the girl. But, I have to admit I was disappointed the children weren't walking with us just for fun or because they found us amusing. I felt slightly used, but I got over it.

What bothered me was that the presence of foreigners has completely changed their lifestyles. Little children go out everyday to court the westerners in order to make a sale. Thirteen year old girls go into town to sell bracelets. When I asked them when they were going home, they said, "maybe tomorrow." When I asked them where they were sleeping they said near the market. These teenage girls did not go home for days at a time!

Cultures are influenced by outside forces, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. Cultures are evolving, changing, modernizing. So, why does it bother me that the culture of the area surrounding Sapa has changed due to tourism? Can I say that their lives are worse for tourism? I can not because I do not know this. Do they prefer selling bracelets and blankets to working on the rice fields? It is possible, I do not know. I realized the reason it upsets me is purely selfish reasons. I feel, that since their culture is being influenced by the West through tourists, that it is not "authentic" vietnamese culture anymore. But, it is impossible to stop the West's influence. Vietnam will always be vietnamese, no matter how much it changes because of globalization, ie the West's influence. What is most important is that the people are benefiting from tourism, that is improving their lives and that people are not being taken advantage of, either by tourists or those benefiting from the tourists. I can not say what the situation in Sapa is now. I don't know if people are suffering or prospering from tourism. I do know that, even now, though Sapa is maybe one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, but that I still have a bad taste in my mouth from all the change that has taken place since the West, and all its wealth, "discovered" this beautiful spot.