Modernism Ethnosymbolism Postmodernism Integrating ethnosymbolism to understand postmodern nationalism Exploring the concept of national myths Identity and national identity National myths National myths in postcolonial nations Postcolonialism and nationalism National myth-making in postcolonial nations Conclusion 11 14 16 19 22 22 24 30 30 34 35 Chapter 3: National Myths and Tourism Marketing 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Tourism, nation and nationalism 3.2.1 The nature of tourism 3.2.2 Tourism and nation 3.2.3 Cultural heritage and cultural tourism 3.3 Tourism marketing, heritage and national myths 3.3.1 The nature of tourism marketing 3.3.2 Conceptual tourism marketing and national myths in a postmodern perspective 3.4 Visualising postcolonial destinations 3.4.1 Postcolonialism and tourism 3.4.2 National myths and tourism marketing in postcolonial destinations 3.5 Conclusion Chapter 4: Chinese Postcolonial Destinations: Hong Kong and Macau 4. 1 Introduction Colonialism and identity change in postcolonial Chinese cities Pre-colonial period Colonial period Contemporary national myth-making: the handovers and now The idea of China and the handovers National myth-making in Hong Kong National myth-making in Macau Tourism and tourism marketing in Hong Kong and Macau Tourism before and after the handovers The mechanism of tourism and tourism marketing in Hong Kong and Macau National myths and tourism marketing in Hong Kong and Macau National myths and tourism marketing in postcolonial Chinese context The conceptual framework Conclusion PART THREE: METHDOLOGY Chapter 5: Research Design and methods Introduction Philosophy of research: locating national myths and tourism marketing Ontology and epistemology Axiology and rhetoric 37 37 37 40 43 46 46 48 55 55 57 59 61 61 62 63 66 67 69 74 76 76 80 90 90 92 94 96 96 96 97 99 100
Chapter 8: National Myth and Tourism Marketing in Postcolonial Chinese Destinations Introduction Nation and tourism Nation and nationalism Nation and tourism Representation and imagination Difference and uniqueness Uniqueness before the handover Myth-making of uniqueness: handover until now Defining uniqueness through others Power and politics Hegemony Categorisation Dependency Absence Beyond “non-China” and “in-between” Tourism and nationmaking Cultural selection and boundary-making Tourism marketing and everyday nationalism Conclusion PART FIVE: CONCLUSION Chapter 9: Conclusion Introduction Meeting the research objectives To understand the representations of national myths through cultural heritages in the promoting of Hong Kong and Macau To explore how the uniqueness of people and place in postcolonial Chinese destinations have been constructed since the handovers To explore the way in which power is reflecting in the production, maintenance and privileging of myths, which construct Hong Kong’s and Macau’s cultural heritage To understand how myths used in tourism promotion influence the myth-making processes Contribution to knowledge Theoretical contributions Methodological contributions Philosophical contributions Practical contribution-implication to Hong Kong, Macau and China Limitations Suggestions for future research The reflexive note: the research and I Concluding remarks REFERENCES APPENDICES Appendix 1: Summary of the analysed secondary data Appendix 2: Introduction letter from the principle supervisor 224 224 225 225 228 230 238 238 239 243 244 245 246 248 249 253 253 255 257 261 264 264 265 265 266 267 269 270 270 273 274 275 276 277 278 281 282 300 300 303 304
handover, and have been interested in producing “text” to describe their people and place. In this vein, language not only reflects our reality, but also speaks of “us” and of “others” (Bathes 1973, Fairclough 1995, 2011). Hence, the produced tourism “text” in Hong Kong and Macau arguably contributes to defining “us” in contrast with “others” – a national myth-making process (Smith 2009, Saurp 1996). To further understand further this national myth-making process, the next section focuses on discussing cultural selection and boundary-making. 8.6.2 Cultural selection and boundary-making In discussing representation, difference and power, themes related to cultural selection and boundary-making have been implicitly discussed. To emphasise the importance of these two themes, this sub-section specifically highlights their influence in relation to the last research objective. Hence, understanding how myth-making in tourism promotion influences national myth-making is the key. Although it is impossible to find a contemporary nation with absolute homogeneity, the of a nation always tries to create a sense of unity out of diversity; to create such unity, defining boundaries through selecting cultural symbols has become the key (Hutchison 2005, Smith 2009, Walker 2001). This key idea can arguably be realised through tourism promotion, as shown below: Figure 8.4: The Peak (The Peak 2012) Figure 8.4 presents a visual representation of the Peak within its on-site tourism promotional material. While the Peak was a colonial symbol, and the Chinese were excluded from the Peak before the Second World War (Carroll 2007), the absence of a Western citizen sitting in the sedan chair connotes a sense of “factual” representation rather than any anti-colonial feeling. As history is open for interpretation, the understanding of the Peak as a negative colonial symbol has been transformed into a nostalgic feeling towards British rule. As Tad (Hong Kong, tourism marketing expert) explained: I think the Peak is the identity of Hong Kong, you can have the panoramic view of Hong Kong. You can see the buildings, the harbour, the greenery. Because the Peak is also strongly associated with the tram, which must be a hundred something years old. That is probably one of the earliest transportations by the British community. Still a very popular transportation now among the tourists. Before it was an important vehicle for the local community. The