Creative Tourism

The term creative tourism is an extension of cultural tourism. Richards and Raymond (2000)
are among the first authors to use this term, and argue that consumers are increasingly
looking for more engaging, interactive experiences that can help them in their personal
development and identity creation. Modern consumers are more exposed, educated, and
sophisticated, and always searching for new experiences. In order to remain competitive and
sustainable, the stakeholders of site need to be creative and innovative in developing and
promoting their cultural tourism products. This innovation can attract tourists and investors. By
recognising their resources and the network systems around them, stakeholders can identify
the strengths and weaknesses of their resources, and specifically assist policymakers in
developing good and effective policies for new sectors.

Few authors discuss about the relationship between culture, tourism and creative industries
(exceptions include Richards & Wilson 2006; Roodhouse 2006; Smith 2007). Richards and
Wilson (2006) note the close connection between the three sectors, and their co-existence in
the past, present and in the future. Cultural tourism is a significant factor in attracting tourists
to a destination, and requires creativity and technology in order to ensure competitiveness
with other tourism products. The intangible nature of some tourism products means that
producers have to use their imagination and ICT to make their products become more
tangible. Creative tourism possesses the right characteristics to meet the requirements of
demanding tourists. However, the concept of creative tourism is not widely used in academic
research work or in the tourism industry. A thorough investigation is needed to examine into
details of the relationship between the creative and tourism industries, particularly to refine the
concept and framework so that a strong theory can be built. The usage of creative in the term
will be challenged by many, and the promotion of culture as a commodity in the tourism
industry has already created heated debate in the literature. This research will not engage in
deeper discussion about creative tourism, other than to recognise that tourism researchers are
developing this term further.

3.2.6 Cultural protection

Initially, many leaders in developing countries had seen western culture as the only way for
their countries to move forward. Mahbubani (2008, 127) points out that Kemal Ataturk—who
ruled Turkey from 1923 to 1938—believed Turkey should join the western world by adopting
western values. Ataturk expressed this in symbolic terms by calling fellow Turks to abandon
specifically Muslim head-gear. To date, however, Turkish westernisation policies have failed to
bring any positive transformation. Turkey is still a developing country, although relatively
westernised (Mahbubani 2008, 154), and the country’s long battle since 1959 to join European
Union (EU) is still in process (Arikan 2006, 1). Later generations of Asian leaders, however, do
not share Ataturk’s enthusiasm. Ghandi (India), Sukarno (Indonesia), Mahathir Mohammed
(Malaysia), and Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore) have been sceptical of western culture. They have
been inclined to protect culture values, but at the same time acknowledge the importance of
western economic advancement and technology.

Contemporary Asian leaders had been vocal about cultural protection for their countries. In
addition, Mahathir’s constant criticism towards western policies saw western leaders label him
as “anti-western”. The Look East Policy launched in Malaysia encouraged the public and the
region not to idealise the west. As a consequence of postcolonialism and globalisation, these
kinds of Asian ideologies began to dominate public attitudes in the late-1980s (Yue 2006).
Although Asian countries like Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have reached the
status of developed countries, their governments remain protective of their culture. In
recognition of this, the Malaysian government has focussed on protecting the country’s unique
culture, multi-ethnic identities, and religion, making Malaysia one of the first countries in the
world to proactively promote this image.

A Multicultural Country

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, with a culture that has distinctive features; successive
governments since the 1950s have promoted the calm nature of their mixed cultures and
religions. The three major ethnics include the Malays, Chinese and Indians who shape the
country’s culture, while other smaller minorities such as the Thais and “Baba Nyonya”
(Chinese mixed with Malay community) maintain a notable influence. Malay is the national
language, while other minorities are free to speak their own languages. Malaysia is a
moderate Muslim country, where Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Taoism also are
practiced openly. The Malays opened the country to outside influences from the eighth to
fourteenth centuries, and during British colonisation in the eighteenth-century invited Chinese
workers to mine tin, and Indians to work on rubber plantations. Since then, Malaysians have
learned to live with a multitude of differences and similarities.

Before independence from Britain rule, a lack of socialising and communication existed among
ethnic races. These groups read Chinese and Indian publications, spoke their mother tongues,
and established their own schools, which followed curriculums from their homelands (Fenton
2003). Few could speak Malay, and in 1969, Malaysia experienced the most extreme racial
tension in its history, when two Chinese extremist political parties mocked the Malays (The
National Operations Council, 1969, 28-29), and supported Lee Kuan Yuew (when Singapore
was under Malaysian rule) with the slogan “Malaysian Malaysia”. This activism began in Kuala
Lumpur and spread throughout Malaysia.

In the wake of these activities, the Malaysian government took careful measures to make sure
the same incident didn’t happen again. Public discussion of sensitive issues relating to
ethnicity and religions are prohibited, which has sparked much criticism from western
politicians. While the growth of ICT has meant that these issues are discussed freely on the
Internet, the government is trying to impose some control. After centuries of living together, all
ethnicities in Malaysia embrace each other’s cultural traditions.

Therefore, animation and cultural tourism institutions like museums incorporate the multiethnic
and religion culture of Malaysia, creating different experiences for audience or visitors. This
advantage has been promoted extensively by the government locally and internationally,
however, these institutions have to compete with a rapidly growing global culture.

3.2.7 Global Versus Local Culture

Pietersen (2009) argues that the challenges of cultural globalisation first became apparent
around 1980. The phenomenon can be categorised into several phases: print, radio, and
television, followed by film, and now, the Internet. Today, the Internet has become one of the
most powerful mediums in the world, where news can be gathered and disseminated within
seconds. This has created a virtual culture among Internet users or communities that extends
across the world. Hence, this may create cultural clash between the new community formed
by the Internet itself and the other existing communities bound by locality and cultural tradition
(Hongladarom 1999). On one hand, there can be distinct culture differences between some
countries, while countries within the same region might share cultural similarities. In addition,
cultural differences even occur within the same country in terms of the accent, costume, food
and lifestyle.

Cultural globalisation covers a wide scope, including cross-cultural encounters, cuisine,
fashion, global-local relations, language, lifestyles, migration, marketing, media, film, music,
technology. Knox (1996, 124) defined globalisation as “a globalised infrastructure of unitary
nation states, together with international agencies and institutions, global forms of
communications, a standardised system of global time, international competitions and prizes,
and shared notions of citizenship and human rights”. In addition, many definitions of
globalisation relate to economics, culture, human rights, politics, and neoliberalism (refer to
Kong 1999; Pietersen 2009, vii; Robertson 1992). As Pietersen (2009, 8) notes, there is more
controversy than consensus surrounding the meaning of globalisation. The areas of
consensus on this topic are narrow in comparison to the controversies as described in Table
3.2.7 by Pietersen (ibid.). For this section, the discussion on global culture will focus on those
that relate to the topic of this research, specifically the cultural tourism and animation sectors.

Table 3.2.7: Consensus and Controversy Relating to Globalisation

Consensus – Globalisation:
 Is being shaped by technological change
 Involves the reconfiguration of states
 Goes together with regionalisation
 Is uneven

Controversy
 What is globalisation?
 Is globalisation a recent or a long-term process?
 Is globalisation essentially economic or multidimensional?
 Does globalisation exist or is it rhetoric “globaloney”?
 Is globalisation is neoliberalism or capitalism?
 Is globalisation manageable?
Pietersen (2009, 8)

In a modern world, cultural globalisation once related substantially to western culture,
particularly from the US, and known as Americanisation. With the majority of information
sources and media dominated by western countries, this kind of globalisation is almost
impossible to stop, and is influenced primarily by the western ideals of liberalism,
individualism, respect for human rights, and democracy (Hongladarom 1999). This “global
culture” is supposed to help create a more peaceful world. However, there is also a fear of a
specific effect of cultural globalisation—the “airport culture”, where the rich diversity of human
civilisation will be homogenised and vulgarised. This fear has been vocalised in the rhetoric of
“Asian values”, which recently has attained a certain political significance, particularly in the
expression of various Islamic resurgence movements, and even in some European regions
like Austria (Osman 1998, 174; O’Meara, Mehlinger & Krain 2000).

Although American culture still influences global culture, there are many other key players.
“Asian styles” are popular: the world entertainment industry has experienced Bollywood,
Japanese “cool”, and the Korean waves. Japanese manga and anime, and Bollywood dancing
45
have been embraced around the world. According to McGray (2002), Japan has become the
new world superpower since the 1980s, and today their influence is growing stronger. From
pop music and consumer electronics, architecture and fashion, to food and art, Japanese
culture has a growing cultural reach. The successful Japanese strategies of adopting the
western culture but also preserving their own culture have encouraged other non western
countries follow their lead. As the twentieth-century unfolds, it is becoming apparent that the
Americanisation influence is losing its recognition as the only culture accepted in the world, to
a mixed culture between the East and the West. The evolution of global ICT sectors means
that global culture has spread at an increasing rate. At first, many Asian governments—
including China, India, Malaysia and Singapore—attempted to stop or slow the spread of
global culture, but they eventually realised such a goal was unachievable. Consequently,
these countries adopted a different approach, blending the global and local cultures.

Local culture

Local culture refers to authentic or traditional values and practises that accumulate within the
majority of a community (Hongladarom 1999). Normally, local cultures are shared among the
other neighbouring countries in the same region, such as Australia and New Zealand, the US
and Canada, and Malaysia and Indonesia. According to Cohen (1988) local culture generally
serves as the principal example of such commoditisation, in particular “colourful” local
costumes and customs, rituals and feasts, and folk and ethnic arts become touristic services
or commodities, as they come to be performed or produced for touristic consumption.
Greenwood (1977, 131) argues tourism activities will direct areas in the life of a community
that prior to its penetration by tourism have been within the domain of economic relations, and
regulated to commoditisation by the criteria of market exchange. Commoditisation allegedly
will change the meaning of cultural products and of human relations, making them eventually
meaningless. However, Cancilini (1992, 31) and Murphy (2003) argue that it is necessary to
add modern elements to cultural products for their survival. Furthermore, local culture does
not belong exclusively to one community, particularly as migration has become a common
factor in human life. All cultures to some extent share similarities and differences.
Normally, before any culture can be accepted on a global scale, it must be accepted and have
a substantial impact within its own country. Both Japanese animation and manga, and Indian
films and songs had a significant impact on their local audiences before they became popular
with international audiences. This also is due to the significant number of their immigrant
groups located all over the world, particularly in the US and UK. These immigrants (either
permanent or temporary) directly or indirectly introduced their culture in their adopted
countries. Therefore, if we travel to cities like Dubai, Japan, London, Paris, New York and
Sydney, there are many Japanese and Indian restaurants in those cities. These two countries
managed to export their local culture to the global market, and it has become a common
characteristic for larger cities either Japanese or Indian restaurants. At times, when a local
culture wants to gain better acceptance from the larger global market, they tend to marry their
local culture with global culture. The subsequent result is the term, glocal, which is adopted in
order for a product to develop further in the world market.

Glocal Culture

The hybridisation of global and local into the term, glocal was coined by Roland Robertson in
1995. The term became popular in the early 2000s and has been accepted by academics and
politicians as a description of the combination of global and local culture (Giulianotti &
Robertson 2007). Apart from glocal, other words to describe the mixture of global and local
culture include cultural adaptation, transfer, exchange, accommodation and multicultural.
Almost all countries are adopting glocal culture in order for their products to become more
appealing in the global market. This contemporary characteristic has much to do with the rapid
development of ICT. Japan, India and South Korea have been successful in marrying their
local and global culture in the entertainment products that they market to wider audiences,
although generally their local culture is more prominent than the global culture. As a result,
local actors, actresses and musicians are also embraced by the international market. This has
contributed significantly to their content industry sectors.

3.3 Conclusion: Positioning Malaysia in Creative Economy

While Malaysia has significant potential for developing their creative economy through the
enhancement of their cultural strength, this potential has only been recognised in the last five
years. The government and private agencies are working together to speed up development
relating to ICT sectors and creativity (Vicziany & Puteh 2004). Together with other related
policies and continuous support from all organisations, the future of Malaysia’s creative
economy is significantly bright (UNCTAD 2008). Currently, steps are being taken by the
Malaysian government to amend the Patents Act 1983, so that the country can join the Patent
Cooperation Treaty (PCT) administered by WIPO. This amendment will allow greater flexibility
and efficiency for an applicant seeking patent protection in a number of jurisdictions,
compared to the existing framework (MICC 2009). Also, the government is in the process of
drafting legislation on Personal Data Protection, and considering an Electronic Transactions
Act, and an Electronic Government Activities Act to regulate the collection, possession,
processing and use of personal data according to certain prescribed principles.
Normally, the major challenge for Malaysia to monitor and maintain has been the
implementation and enforcement processes—weaknesses that have been the subject of
constant debate among the public and the government. To solve the problem, and to take into
account the rapid growth of ICT, the government had implemented ICT in their everyday
operation and encourages the public to interact with them directly through this medium. The
Internet and other media channels are the new methods for the government and public to
communicate in the country. For example, the majority of the cabinet ministers have their own
Facebook account and personal email to allow communication with the public. However, the
effectiveness of these processes has not been determined, because only half of the Malaysian
population own a personal computer, and the Internet connection in some regions is unstable.
In positioning herself as a creative economy, Malaysia is using resources such as multi-ethnic
and religious cultures, political stability, cheap human capital and safety. These are among the
significant advantages for Malaysia compared to other countries. By doing this, the country is
offering something unique to the market that will be distinctive from other products, building a
strong image to remain competitive, and providing memorable experiences to their customers.
Multi-ethnic and religious cultures have long been part of Malaysia’s local identity, particularly
in the tourism industry. Now the creative economy sector is using these elements to introduce
Malaysia in the global market.

This country has substantial potential to become one of the powerful countries in the global
creative economy. However, Malaysia is expected to encounter many obstacles and fierce
competition, particularly from neighbours such as Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, which
are already established in creative sectors. The progress of the creative economy in Malaysia
currently is in a slow phase compared to other matured sectors like manufacturing and tourism
industry. This research has found that many of the policies relating to creative economy have
been formulated by Malaysian government (refer to MSC website). However, their
implementation and enforcement are not efficiently applied within the various bureaucracies.
Also, the wider public in Malaysia are still not familiar with the concept of creative economy
since it is using a top-down approach. Only limited numbers of people—specifically policy
makers and those directly involved in creative activities—recognise the term, which implies
that not enough information about these policies have been disseminated to the public.

While the creative economy is producing new opportunities for both developed and developing
countries, future challenges should not be underestimated (UNCTAD 2008, iv). This new
concept needs further investigation, particularly on the key issues surrounding the
development of creative economies in developing nations. Finally, it is important to address
the lack of a strong theory and models to support the concept of a creative economy,
especially in the context of developing nations.