Ethnic Tourism

Ethnic tourism is motivated by tourists’ search for exotic cultural experiences through interaction with distinctive minority groups (Yang and Wall 2014), and the desire of those groups to use aspects of their culture to create economic opportunities. It provides the chance for tourists to experience aspects of unique cultures, landscapes, and ways of life. It has been promoted globally as a strategy for economic development and cultural preservation in several ethnic areas, particularly as such minority groups are relatively disadvantaged when compared to the majority population and their culture may be viewed as one of their strongest assets. Activities typically include visiting ethnic villages, native homes, and ethnic theme parks; involvement in ethnic events and festivals; eating local foods; watching traditional dances and ceremonies; and shop** handicrafts and other souvenirs.

Most ethnic tourism studies concentrate on visits to exotic and often peripheral destinations, which...