Cultural tourism is a type of tourism where the tourist explores and engages the regional culture that is present in the country that is being visited. The meaning of culture is defined as the aspects of life that shaped the community as it currently is. This would cover so many aspects in life, from the geographical area, the history of the people, their art, down to the little details such as the designs influenced into their buildings, the food, and not limited to the way they treat life itself. It is generally agreed that culture tourist spends more time in a country or region longer than the regular tourist. This is because a longer duration of stay is usually necessary to fully blend into and capture the culture that is being explored. These tourist are classified into the Drifter and Explorer type of tourist according to Cohen’s classification of tourist. These tourist not only spend a longer time than the average tourist, but would also leave their comfort zone to experience the culture’s way of life. In regards to the cultural aspect, the Asian region of the world typically offers more diverse culture tourism due to the fact that the Asian has generally a more conservative mindset, and prefers to keep the history and the cultures of the past. The vast varieties in ethnicity in the Asian region also contributes to the different cultures that grew from different stems. In addition to that, there were many influences that were brought in by the Europeans during the British colonial era, and heavy influences that were brought in when the Chinese fled their own country due to war and poverty in the past. The Japanese also plays a part in influencing the culture in various parts of Asia during their occupation in several Asian countries. Malaysia, being one of the country with the most foreign colonization and early immigration, became the country with the most diverse culture amongst the Asian countries.
Having had an interesting past and being a part of the international spice route many hundreds of years ago, Malaysia has turned into a mosaic of cultures. Everything from its people to its architecture reflect a colourful heritage and an amalgamated culture. Malays, Chinese, Indians and many other ethnic groups have lived together in Malaysia for generations. All these cultures have influenced each other, creating a truly Malaysian culture. Today, the Malays, Malaysia's largest ethnic group, make up more than 50% of the population. In Malaysia, the term Malay refers to a person who practices Islam and Malay traditions, speaks the Malay language and whose ancestors are Malays. Their conversion to Islam from Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism began in the 1400s, largely influenced by the decision of the royal court of Melaka. The Malays are known for their gentle mannerisms and rich arts heritage.
The second largest ethnic group, the Malaysian Chinese form about 25% of the population. Mostly descendants of Chinese immigrants during the 19th century, the Chinese are known for their diligence and keen business sense. The three sub-groups who speak a different dialect of the Chinese language are the Hokkien who live predominantly on the northern island of Penang, the Cantonese who live predominantly in the capital city Kuala Lumpur, and the Mandarin-speaking group who live predominantly in the southern state of Johor. In addition, the smallest of three main ethnic groups, the Malaysian Indians form about 10% of the population. Most are descendants of Tamil-speaking South Indian immigrants who came to the country during the British colonial rule. Lured by the prospect of breaking out of the Indian caste system, they came to Malaysia to build a better life. Predominantly Hindus, they brought with them their colourful culture such as ornate temples, spicy cuisine and exquisite sarees.
Moreover, in East and West Malaysia there are also a myriad of indigenous ethnic groups with their own unique culture and heritage. The general term used for any of the indigenous groups that are found in Peninsular Malaysia is ‘Orang Asli’ which literally translates as the ‘original people’. They are divided into three main tribal groups: Negrito, Senoi and Proto-Malay. The Negrito usually live in the north, the Senoi in the middle and the Proto-Malay in the south. Each group or sub-group has its own language and culture. Some are fishermen, some farmers and some are semi-nomadic. The largest indigenous ethnic groups of Sabah's population are the Kadazan Dusun, the Bajau and the Murut. However, in Sarawak the main indigenous tribe is Iban. They are largely longhouse dwellers and live along the Rejang and Baram rivers. The Bidayuh are concentrated on Sarawak's Skrang River.
Malaysian culture is multi-faceted, each of these facets is adorned with a festival of its own. There are many ethnic festivals and celebration in Malaysia. There are typically 5 important cultural festivals and celebrations in Malaysia which is Hari Raya Aidil Fitri/Eid al-Fitr, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Wesak and Christmas. Festivals in Malaysia are celebrated with much splendour and enthusiasm. Malaysians have embraced each and every culture with open arms, and this is why they celebrate festivals from across the world with so much exuberance. For example, the earliest documentation of fireworks dates back to about the early 9th-century medieval Chinese Tang Dynasty. The fireworks were used to accompany many Chinese festivities. Chinese people originally believed that the fireworks could expel evil spirits and bring about luck and happiness. But nowadays all races are celebrating their festivals with fireworks too.
The cultural tourism becomes one of the main reason that attracts tourist to Malaysia to visit its cultural difference in comparison to other countries which has only very few cultures per country. Looking at Malaysia’s economy, the tourism industry alone is the third largest contributor to Malaysia’s economy, supplying the nation with job opportunity and room for expansion in preparation for the future market. Aside from the economical aspect, the cultural tourism also helps Malaysia promote to the world its rich cultural diversity, and proving to the rest of the world that it is possible to live with each other in peace and harmony despite all its difference. Malaysia becomes one of the leading country to encourage inter-racial harmony among its citizen as well as tolerance when it comes to difference in opinions. This puts Malaysia as a leading example to the world to learn from in terms of multi-cultural harmony.
Having an increase in tourist for cultural tourism has a few perks to be recognised. First of all, an increase in tourist means a positive flow of foreign cash into the country. This raises the value of the Malaysian Ringgit(MYR) since when there are more cash flowing into the country than out of the country, the country essentially gains money and naturally has its money’s value raised in comparison to other countries. In 2017 alone, it was recorded that Malaysia has received 25.9 million tourist, and from that was able to make an approximate MYR82.1 billion. This positive flow of cash into the country is vital for the developing country as it requires a huge amount of funding to be able to successfully head towards becoming a first-world country. In another perspective, since the country’s economic downfall when the long ruling government was finally switch over to the opposition, and having the opposition to find out that the country is in massive debt, the increase in tourist would be a very valuable asset to the government with the help of the tourist tax that was introduced. This tourist tax, which is only applied to foreigners visiting the country, helps the government in managing the extremely huge debt that have been accumulated over many years of mismanagement. Added with the increase in tourist into the country, the country would be able to quickly manage its debt better. Hence the advantage of having influx in tourist, regardless of whether it is for tourism or more specifically, cultural tourism.
Aside from that, the increase in tourist for cultural tourism would mean that our culture is becoming more well-known and appreciated in the eyes of the world. This is important as the Malaysian culture is a one-of-a-kind culture, it does not have a fixed culture that makes it recognisable such as the Italian culture or the Chinese culture, but rather a collection of different cultures, some being true to its roots while others are influenced by other cultures. These collection of culture becomes hard to recognise should there be no recognition in the eyes of the world, instead, Malaysia’s culture would simply become a mixed culture that came from many places in the world. However, from the influx of tourist for cultural tourism, we can tell that the world is starting to recognise the speciality of the Malaysian culture. In addition to that, the fact that the world is starting to recognise the Malaysian culture makes it all the more important for the current generation to diligently learn and understand their roots and what makes their culture, in order to successfully protect their own culture. It is a fact that the younger generation nowadays are beginning to slack when it comes to their own culture, and the increase in tourist who would like to learn and experience their culture should create a sufficient reason for the younger generation to want to keep and protect their own culture that has been passed down for generation before their own.
On the other hand, having influx in tourist for cultural tourism also posts some negative impact on Malaysia. First of all, the increase in cultural tourists which are specifically visiting Malaysia to explore and learn its cultures may inadvertently risk changing the culture altogether. It is a known fact that when there are too much of an outside influence, the local culture itself will begin to change and adapt to the increased external culture. Take for example the local Indian food stalls, also known as “mamak”, which serves mostly Indian cuisines. The local dishes would be Roti Prata, which is originally served in India as a pan fried dough and served with dhal or Indian curry. Due to western influences however, dishes such as Roti Cheese begins to appear, influencing the original cultural cuisine and diverging it from its originality. Cases such as these are some of the example of how the increase in cultural tourists will negatively impact the originality of the culture in Malaysia, and may very soon destroy the ultimate purpose of culture tourism itself.
In addition to that, culture by definition means a way of life. When bringing a person who is entirely new to this new way of life, the community surrounding the person will ever so slightly adapt themselves to accommodate this new person who is still learning the new way of life. However, when there is an increase in cultural tourist, there is an increase in the need to bend the culture to accommodate the many new tourist who are trying to learn the new ways of life. This will also impact the original culture of the Malaysian people, disturbing the authenticity of what was once a “Malaysian” culture. Last but not least, to protect and maintain the “Malaysian” culture for cultural tourism purposes, there cannot be too much changes to the area as it changes the culture itself. To successfully maintain a great cultural tourism in Malaysia, the country must protect its culture by not pushing to be a first-world country. Development of any kind would inevitably change a culture, regardless of minor or major changes. Paired with the influx in cultural tourist, should the government decides that the country would prefer to keep the cultural values and authenticity for cultural tourism purposes, the development of the country would definitely be hindered and ultimately Malaysia would be unable to push forward to be a developed country. This not only makes Malaysia underdeveloped in comparison with the rest of the world but would also create unnecessary inconveniences to its citizen by not developing the infrastructures.
As a famous proverb once said, “Every rose has its thorns”, and it also rings true for this case. There are both economic benefits as well as cultural recognition when there is an increase in tourist for cultural tourism. The country would greatly benefit from the cash flow into the country and the highly diverse multi-cultural society would be internationally recognised as a distinguishable “Malaysian” culture. However, the downside is that the increase in cultural tourist may possibly disturb the current culture, while also possibly hindering the growth of Malaysia towards being a developed first-world country. The Malaysian government should put their future plans on cultural tourism into deep consideration in terms of short term and long term effects that may affect the country’s growth and also whether it would be able to protect its roots.