What tourists think about Māori eco-cultural tourism products
We talked with visitors from New Zealand and overseas who had participated in one of nine different Māori operated tourism experiences. Here are a few of the things that we found. Tourists do not always recognise Māori culture or people when they are not part of a cultural performance. They often did not realise that they had participated in a Māori tourism experience and had actually participated for other reasons like the scenery, the adrenaline rush, the wildlife or nature experience.
Photo: Whale Watch Kaikoura
When tourists did have some knowledge of Māori culture, it was generally based on things that are in traditional promotional material – images of haka or of performers in traditional clothing.
The experiences that tourists most commonly talked about as being Māori were cultural performances, visits to museums with historical displays of cultural items, and buying paua, greenstone or bone carvings as souvenirs. This lack of recognition made it difficult for people to tell us about the Māori experiences that they had had. Interestingly, meeting Māori people, having Māori bus drivers tell Māori stories, experiencing mihi or karakia were not considered ‘real’ Māori experiences. People did not think of experiences as Māori unless they were wholly Māori and explicitly labelled this way.
New Zealanders we talked to said that they had participated in Māori cultural activities as part of their work or as part of an educational activity and they did not see it as something to do whilst on holiday.
New Zealanders sometimes also accompany family or friends from overseas, or may recommend experiences to overseas visitors.
In general, tourists are not prepared to pay a premium for Māori experiences. However some tourists felt that if they knew what they were gong to get at the start, they might pay a premium. Right now, they don’t know enough about the culture to know what they would be buying (or missing out on when they don’t buy it).
In time, we think this may change because the tourists we talked to enjoyed having Māori cultural components as part of their general experiences. Mainly this came from how they got on with their guide or the people that they come in contact with. Furthermore, a number of inbound tour operators are interested in having ecocultural tourism in their packages.
Photo Te Urewera Treks
Guides are really important for many reasons. They give people information, explain protocols, mediate between tourists and hosts and they can help make cultural experiences more authentic for the guest. Guides are important in linking traditional aspects of Māori culture with comtemporary practice – something many tourists find difficult to understand.
Authenticity
International visitors who don’t know much about Māori culture may not know how to judge the authenticity of a product from a cultural point of view. Some of the ways people we talked to judged authenticity by:
- The consistency of stories they heard around the country.
- The sincerity they felt in their interactions with their guide.
- The lack of commercialism round an experience. Tourists we talked to really enjoyed the non-commercial feel of visiting small places where they could talk to local people in a non-commercial setting with few other tourists around..
Of course, it is not easy to run a business with low numbers and in a non-commercial setting.
Interestingly, some people we talked to were uncomfortable with cultural experiences that involved lots of personal interaction.
New Zealanders’ interest in Māori tourism products
New Zealanders judge authenticity differently to international visitors and have more knowledge to judge it from.
Overall New Zealanders are less interested in Māori tourism products than are international visitors. However this does not mean they are not interested in learning about Māori culture.
New Zealanders with an interest in learning about things Māori may feel that a tourism experience will not offer them an authentic experience.
A detailed report that looks at these findings in more detail is available here
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