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“Respecting creativity”

This is a response to Manuela Blapp’s article: Creative tourism in Bali’s rural communities

The thesis of Manuela Blapp is embedded in creative tourism. Contemporary case studies in sustainable tourism (ST) are calling for the importance of new forms of addressing sustainability in tourism (Moscardo 2015). Is creative tourism such a new form or is it merely a marketing concept welcomed by policy makers (Richards & Marques, 2012)? Moscardo pointed out, that tourism is still an economically driven concept with major failures (Moscardo, 2015). Which benefits could come from creative tourism for sustainability and community development when language is action (Bodiford & Camargo-Borges, 2104) and the term creativity would be fully respected and not generally defined as a novel combination of old ideas (Boden, 1994)?

Most people relate creativity to art. So it is not surprising, that the offers in “creative tourism” are art-related events and entertainment. Tourists are invited to visit art exhibitions, concerts or workshops with, for example, an expert who teaches them how to make bouquets of flowers. It is possible to choose between experts who teach us or to be entertained by such artistic events. Art goes further, however.

Art is not reduced to a pre-existing state. Art is free. The process of aesthetic autonomy changes the perspective. It is no longer a mirror of God’s creation or an illustration of religious truth. Art does not have to serve somebody, neither to specific authorities nor to specific systems or organizations. Art questions our ordinary understanding and shows its interpretation while art itself is an interpretation (Jacoby, 2004). Art is related to beauty and aesthetic. Aesthetic is derived from the word aisthesis, which means “with the senses” ––a perception by the senses––in modern Greek. In ancient Greek it means “to breathe.” Beauty can take our breath away. Beauty affects us and touches us. Perceiving and sensing is an active and dynamic process, an active participation and not a passive position. Beuys said “everyone is an artist.” An art-oriented process within the discipline of the arts offers tourists and hosts an active part in an aesthetic and creative process. An aesthetic process opens up new experiences, despite the colour of our skin, our educational background, economical power or academic degree.

In this interpretation, creative tourism turns to its origins of creativity, art and aesthetics. It can become a community based activity that offers a “play-space” to co-create new meanings and new experiences (Kriz, 2002; Gergen & Gergen, 2004), for Balinese villagers as well as for Westerners.

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Author

Astrid Frischknecht
TAOS Institute/Twente University & Faire Ferien, travel agency for
sustainable tourism
astrid.frischknecht@seecon.ch

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We aim to be a forum for dialogue on issues connected with tourism destination management, so please contact us if you would like to write a response to one of the articles in the journal.

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The Master in Tourism Destination Management is proud to present its own online journal “TDM Insights”. The journal is an opportunity for selected programme alumni to present a summary of their master dissertations. BUAS lectureres and other academics and practicioners discuss their work and evaluate their contribution to the tourism literature. Moreover, the editors of TDM Insights invite tourism professionals and experts from other industries to contribute columns on contemporary issues in tourism and destination management.

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AIDA theory animal welfare awareness changes citizen empowerment community-based community involvement COVID-19 Crisis customer journey decision making Destination Management destination recovery digital dog management programme EIFMeT ethnography feedback Free-roaming dogs Greece greenwashing iceberg model ICT Indonesia investment local context locals management marketing multi-stakeholder overtourism residents Rhodes rural shared space social impacts Sustainability Sustainable tourism technology tourism education tourism growth tourist-animal encounters travel advice travel experience Urban tourism

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