Sustainability and Authenticity of Chinese Traditional Crafts in the Contexts of Luxury and Tourism

Meng, Kelly and Hitchcock, Michael. 2020. Sustainability and Authenticity of Chinese Traditional Crafts in the Contexts of Luxury and Tourism. E-Journal of Tourism, 7(2), pp. 205-228. ISSN 2541-0857 [Article]

[img]
Preview
Text
64594-409-172755-1-10-20200930 (1).pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (356kB) | Preview

Abstract or Description

Chinese crafts have been examined from economic, historical and aesthetic perspectives, but rather less attention has been devoted to them in the literature on luxury and tourism. When considering the former, it is worth noting that some of the world’s leading brands had their origins in craft businesses, notably Louis Vuitton, and that craft skills remain important for this industry in the 21st century. On the other hand, there is a common assumption that craft souvenirs represent a cheap and debased version of human material culture but, as many academics have asserted souvenirs come in a wide variety of forms, including what Graburn (2000) has called ‘pride goods’, in which peoples visited by tourists sell products that are simultaneously economically useful and boosters of esteem on behalf of the producing community. It is with these thoughts in mind that we turn our attention to the production of Chinese craft products in the early 21st century. As one of the leading handicraft producers in the world, the expanding demand for Chinese craft products has generated commercial opportunities and strong economic returns, it has also created challenges to the Chinese traditional crafts sector which may influence the direction and sustainability of its future development, and as such is worthy of deeper investigation and discussion.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.24922/eot.v7i2.64594

Keywords:

Chinese traditional crafts, luxury, tourism, sustainability, authenticity

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Institute for Cultural and Creative Entrepreneurship (ICCE)

Dates:

DateEvent
31 August 2020Accepted
30 September 2020Published

Item ID:

25174

Date Deposited:

11 Dec 2018 14:35

Last Modified:

24 Mar 2021 15:01

Peer Reviewed:

Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.

URI:

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/25174

View statistics for this item...

Edit Record Edit Record (login required)