_The Creative Wealth of Nations_ as investors pile up more and more safeguards to avoid losses. It is no surprise, therefore, that “the strategic development of country brands and their marketing has become big business and will undoubtedly continue to fuel economic growth in the years to come.”<sup>124</sup>

# _Tourism_

The link between nation branding and tourism, which generally falls under Mode II (consumption abroad) in the GATS, is natural. In fact, the “strongest country brands understand that the elements of Tourism combined with the infrastructural considerations of Heritage and Culture represent significant economic stimuli.”<sup>125</sup> Broadly speaking, travel and tourism, “outperformed the entire wider economy in 2012, growing faster than other notable industries such as manufacturing, financial services and retail;”<sup>126</sup> it contributed 9 percent of “global GDP (US $6.6 trillion) and generated over 260 million jobs — 1 in 11 of the world’s total jobs,” reports the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The industry is expected to rise by 4.4 percent per annum, “from 2013-2023, to USD3,249.2bn in 2023 (in constant 2012 prices).”<sup>127</sup> The WBG has long promoted tourism for development. But within the framework of economic diversification, it must be underscored that tourism in Africa, for example, should be realized beyond wildlife. In other words, the tourism sector itself can be diversified, promoting offerings like those of the arts. In addition to preserving cultural heritage sites — they can obviously connect with other arts-related activities — there is a need to ask how the performing arts could play a greater role in promoting local tourism. But before leaping to the WBG’s strategic matters, the relevance of this issue begs some discussion.

Tourism, as Adam Kaul notes, “is a particularly powerful force for economic and social change, rife with ironies, inequalities and essentializations.”<sup>128</sup> In some cases massive tourism can dilute local arts, confirming the doubts some have on globalization. This happens, for instance, when local artists are coerced to adopt their performances to meet the demands of tourists.

It should be no surprise, if such consumer demand echoes Western sentiments — this could occur even if a number of tourists may genuinely be interested in authentic traditional performances. In our contemporary world, as Sen observes, the “overwhelming power of Western culture and lifestyle in undermining traditional modes of living and social mores”<sup>129</sup> is not fiction. And for “anyone concerned about the value of tradition and of indigenous cultural modes this is indeed a serious threat.” If truth be told, the “sun does not set on the empire of Coca-Cola or MTV.”<sup>130</sup> But from food to dance, the “image of regional self-sufficiency in cultural matters is deeply misleading, and the value of keeping traditions pure and unpolluted is hard to sustain.”<sup>131</sup> Italian

> 124 FutureBrand, _2011-2012 Country Brand Index_ . 125 Ibid.

> 126 _Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2013_ (London: World Travel & Tourism Council, 2013), accessed October 10, 2014, http://www.etoa.org/docs/default-source/Reports/other-reports/2013-travel-tourism- <u>economic-impact-by-wttc.pdf?sfvrsn=0</u>

> 127 Ibid.

> 128 Adam R. Kaul, Turning the Tune: Traditional Music, Tourism, and Social Change in an Irish Village (New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2009), 6.

> 129 Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, 240. 130 Ibid. 131 Ibid., 243

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