Commodification of Cultures and Tradtions

Tourism is a culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions in New Zealand.

Tourism can turn local culture into commodities where religious, traditions, local customs and festivals are reduced to conformed to tourist expectations. The most significant commodification of culture and tradition in New Zealand can be seen in the case of the Maori.

Maori culture is unique to New Zealand and thus forms a central component of New Zealand’s tourism product. With the increase interest in the Maori culture, many locals are trying to duplicate the Maori culture performance to gain profit from it. In order to adapt to tourist demands, these performers modify the original dance moves.

All Blacks
This can be seen in the All Blacks rugby team whereby Italian truck manufacturer Iveco became the global sponsor for them even though they have no relationship to rugby. This intensify the commodification of Maori culture as All Blacks would perform the Ka Mate Haka prior to each match. As a sponsor, Iveco released a televised advertisement of the All Blacks performing the Ka Mate Haka to equate the power of All Blacks and their trucks. The advertisements were released in Italy, Spain and Great Britain. The Ka Mate Haka moves were changed to accommodate the preference of the audience.


This is the video that Iveco released.


Maori Russian dolls made in China and sold in New Zealand
China-made Russian dolls featuring Maori whanau are being sold in New Zealand. These dolls have nothing to do with the Maori culture but tourists purchase it even so.

This commodifies the Maori culture as it simplifies the nature of the Maori war face paint to a design to be placed on irrelevant products.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I feel that tourism is one of the biggest culprit in commodifying cultures and traditions in New Zealand. Experiences are being commodified into objects that "represent" them. This is all due to the fact that commodification of culture helps to generate economic benefits.