Article URL: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/22/travel/india-poverty-tourism/
This article basically discusses the pros and cons of poverty tourism in the slums of India. While many have good intentions for going on these tours, such as opening their eyes to the extreme poverty that many people around the world live in, some locals feel they are being treated as zoo animals who are there for tourists to look at. Tour companies claim they want to show the positive side of the slums and eliminate the negative stereotypes about those who reside in the slums. One company claims that 80% of their profits go back to local communities. Others argue that it portrays poverty as entertainment and as something that can be momentarily experienced and then escaped.
This relates to my service learning project at Mzantsi Restaurant because it is a restaurant catering to the needs of tourists, but it is located in a township. I have heard many great things about the restaurant from Austin about how it provides many jobs to people living in the township that otherwise wouldn't be available to them. I am not necessarily opposed to poverty tourism because I think it does a good job of really raising awareness. It's different to see something on television than to see something firsthand. Seeing something with your own eyes is much more powerful. Without exposing people to the extreme poverty and raising awareness around the issue, I don't think we will be able to inspire people to bring about changes and actually do something to help the situation. I also think it is a good way to pump money into these local townships since many of the people living there don't have the traditional job skills their competition has, such as education, job experience, means of transportation, etc. They are capitalizing off of what they know and what they are good at.
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteThis is an aspect of the project that I did not consider. We will definitely have to factor this in whenever we start on the project plan for the restaurant. I wonder how much of a factor this is in their bottom line.
Although the restaurant is located in a township, it seems to be a hotspot for tourists so I wonder how much of the township experience customers get. Your article makes me curious how the people living in the township view the restaurant, and more specifically, the tourists who eat there.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about poverty tourism's role in raising awareness and providing jobs to the townships. I'm curious if the restaurant also caters to locals, if catering to locals is even profitable, and if locals from the Langa township would even want to eat there.
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