Commercial Tourism
Tourism is an activity of visiting new places for the purpose of leisure. There is domestic or local tourism where people visit places in their own home country while in international tourism people visit other countries apart from their home country. The basic activity of tourism in the past years had been to see the wonder of nature and the aesthetic beauty of the natural environment and the different rich biodiversity that is unique to each and every country.
However in the recent years the activity of tourism has taken a different course and people no longer visit places to see the natural environment but go to see the modern improvements characterized by commercial ego. This work will closely examine the commercialization of tourism in America and its influence on the American culture. The point of reference to a typical commercialization of tourism is the Mall of America that has over the years taken tourism to a different level. Tourism in the Mall of America
The mall of America in Minnesota was established back in the year 1992 and is the largest undercover shopping center in the world. It occupies an area of 78 acres of land and has all types of business activities aimed for entertainment purpose. It has over 500 shops with Macy’s Blooming dales, Nordstrom and the Sears which are giant American shops. This alone attracts millions of people every year to America and also the Americans who frequently visit the place more often than any tourist attraction sites like the national parks, game reserves and museums.
There are nightclubs, restaurants, cinemas and children ride games. There is also a theme park inside the Mall called the Camp Snoopy that occupies seven acre space of land in the park and an underwater Aquarium that is a home for over 300,000 sea species that can be seen face to face by visitors. The mall is a commercial site as its entrance is free just like a market but individuals are charged on the services rendered inside the Mall. There is far much for the tourism that used to be in the world and America in particular.
The people’s culture has changed towards tourism and people nowadays are visiting modern sites designed with high level of technology to boost tourism in the Malls. The true definition of the culture of touring has completely been commercialized. In America for example, people prefer going to places with modern facilities for maximum comfort. This is demonstrated by the increase in the number of classic hotels surrounding the tourist attraction sites such as the beaches, national parks and other unique places with natural aesthetic.
The improvement in modern technology has also contributed to the change of culture for the Americans. The effect of globalization has in particular influenced the theme of tourism in several parts of the world. The internet has been used intensively to advertise the different sites across the globe and most of them are aimed at the beautiful beach resorts and five star hotels neighboring the tourist sites which have given tourism a commercial perspective. In Minnesota, there are several tourism offers that have been favored through a partnership with the Malls of America.
In the real sense the idea of tourism has been outdone by the luxurious modern facilities that have become a major concern for many people in the American culture. The people in America have changed their attitude towards touring in the natural environment in the preserved animal orphanage and prefer to visit modern Malls with a wide range of modern facilities as well as animals in special beautiful cages. People tend to tour to the places that have beautiful holiday packages.
In most occasions, the holiday packages in the United States have been accompanied by several money making activities. The car hiring companies are in the increase in the name of tourism as well as credit vouchers for the luxurious Hotels in the city for tourists. Tourism is no longer a natural adventure; people often go for holiday in places with a variety of packages for maximum comfort during their holiday but not in a natural environment with a lot of adventure. The American’s culture associated to tourism was initially a matter of adventure with nature.
The visiting of the natural scenes in the wild has been taken by other adventurous activities such as mountain climbing activities, sporting activities such as skiing, skating which have a commercial attachment. However these changes might be changing with the culture of the Americans and the generations have taken different perspective of tourism (Melanie, 2006). Cuisine on the other hand has participated in the change and commercialization of tourism, the variety of foods in the American culture is a major attraction to the tourists in America.
People in the US visit different websites to find an ideal package for their holiday in the worlds best tourist sites but the first consideration is the presence of the beautiful luxurious hotels to fit for their holidays. The cuisine also advertised in the company of the tourism destination has a factor in the choice of the place of visit. Conclusion The American’s culture has changed adversely in the world of tourism. These changes have come from the past love for the physical natural environment to modernism.
The majority of the people in America are looking forward for a more comprehensive place to spend their holidays. The idea of modernized shopping malls, with modern lifestyles and modern food has been given preference over the natural biodiversity that is a major tourist attraction in most countries. As a result of this, several countries across the globe has designed modern tourist facilities in their countries to encourage tourists. The Malls of America is one of the best malls in the world and has tourism impact (Melanie, 2006).
