The Amish and Tourism: An Overview of Tourist Representations and the Impact of Tourism on Amish Culture

Amish與觀光：觀光發展對Amish文化之衝擊

10.6130/JORS.1994.7(3)6

吳淑女(Shu-Nui Wu)

文化真實性 ； 觀光動機 ； 懷舊 ； 商業化 ； Staged Authenticity ； Motive ； Nostalgia ； Commoditization ； Amish Quits

戶外遊憩研究

7卷3期（1994 / 09 / 01）

91 - 104

英文

本文之主旨在探討美國賓州Lancaster郡的特殊觀光呈現方式與觀光發展。Lancaster郡爲一群（爲數約一萬六千人）尊崇古老Amish宗教敬義的Amish所定居之社區。雖然Amish對該郡發展觀光之態度極爲冷漠，這一特殊族群卻成爲Lancaster郡招徠觀光客之關鍵。大多數當地的觀光業者以提供觀光客「最真實的Amish文化體驗」爲號召，呈現出的卻是一連串以Amish爲背景所襯托出的人工營造景觀。雖說業者所聲稱的「文化真實性」可議，業者未對Amish的日常生活作無謂干擾的作法，無形中卻將觀光對Amish固有文化的衝擊降至最低。而大部份觀光客似乎也滿足於這種「人工的“真實”文化體驗」，此種現象似乎顯示出對Amish文化的好奇僅僅是吸引觀光客造訪Lancaster的「方便」文化因素，更深層的社會心理動機或許方是將觀光客「推」到Lancaster的真正原因。未來觀光客研究應在社會心理層面上加以探討。

This article focuses on examining the specific tourist representations shown in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where a large community of Old Order Amishmen reside. While the true delivery of the ”authentic experience,” promised by local tourism enterprisers, was in doubt, tourists to the Dutch Country seemed to be content with jostling around the staged attractions. In addition, the traditional designs and materials of Amish quilts inevitably underwent some gradual changes in order to meet increasing tourist demand for quilts. Drastic changes in Amish culture as a whole, however, are yet to come about. The contentment of most tourists with the staged authenticity indicates that tourists' curiosity about the Amish may only be one of the ”convenient” cultural factors driving tourists to visit Lancaster, Socio psychological motives may be the real latent ”push” force. Further re search on better understanding of tourist motives is called for.