It's a fine line between using your culture and traditions to help promote tourism, and destroying that same culture and traditions by being over-displayed and abused by the tourists they attract.
Take the city of Kyoto, where local officials have finally decided to close access to the world-famous geisha area, because the “photographic” tourists are too annoying and rude, and harass “internationally recognized Japanese female artists.”
The ban begins in April.
The historic Gion area will ban spectators and tourists from entering alleyways and streets housing geisha and maiko (trained teenage geisha).
The Independent reported:
“Gion is known as a dense tourist area, with hundreds of thousands of people visiting Kyoto seeking to photograph the famous Japanese professional artists known for their distinctive kimonos and white faces.
said Isukazu Ota, Gion City representative secretary at the city's South Side District Council [media] Small alleys will be completely closed to tourists by next month as the threat from tourists increases.
Starting in April, the alleys, which also host many restaurants and cafes, will only be open to geisha, their clients and residents of the area, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Since 2019, local authorities have been fining tourists who disturb an army, chase them through the area's private streets, photograph them and touch them without their consent.
While their role over the centuries is often seen as involving sexual relations, modern geishas do not sleep with their clients, as prostitution is illegal in Japan, and geishas are highly respected cultural entertainers.
“The problem still exists today, with tourists flocking to Japan in droves after the COVID-19 pandemic with little respect for Japan’s social norms and etiquette,” Mr. Ota says.
'I think foreign tourists are waiting [teenager] Maiko, who ventures out into the alleys of Gion's photography-restricted areas, knows the rules but ignores them. Even if we warn tourists, it is difficult to reach them at this stage.”
Peter McIntosh, a Canadian author based in Kyoto and an expert on geisha culture, said: [media]: 'It's crazy behaviour. “It's completely out of control.”
Now that the area has been closed off, the hope is that the geisha and maiko are safe, and that Japanese art dating back thousands of years will be protected.
Read more about harmful tourism:
Copenhagen Mayor Tells Tourists Not to Buy Pot in Christiania Freetown, After Deadly Shooting – The Problem? Half a million of them visit every year for exactly this purpose
