The sanitization of colonial history: authenticity, heritage interpretation and the case of Macau's tour guides

Macau was founded by the Portuguese in the mid-sixteenth century. The centuries of colonial rule that preceded its recent return to China gave it a distinctive character unique in China. The tangible and intangible imprint of the colonial history of Macau is central to its attractiveness as a cultural tourism destination. A literature review reveals worldwide examples of the manipulation of history for both political and tourism purposes. This research uses in-depth thematic interviews with 14 local tour guides to show how Macau's colonial heritage is presented and interpreted to tourist groups by the local tour guides, as regards both what they are shown and what they are told. It is found that the guides adjust their interpretation to the geographical origin of the tourists in a significant way; in particular, they tend to almost totally eschew any reference to its colonial history when addressing a Chinese audience, in contrast to the interpretation presented to non-Chinese visitors. The use of Hall's three-fold interpretative message framework (dominant – hegemonic/negotiated/oppositional) is discussed, as is Langer's concept of mindless and mindful tourists. Some consequences for the sustainability of heritage tourism in Macau are also explored. 殖民历史的净化:真实性,遗产诠释和澳门导游的案例 澳门在16世纪中被葡萄牙人发现。几世纪的殖民统治加上最近回归中国,给了它在中国的一个独特的特性。澳门殖民历史的有形和无形的印记是它作为一个文化旅游目的地的吸引力的中心。文献阅读揭示了世界上的不同的有政治和旅游目的操纵历史的例子。该研究对14名当地的导游进行了深度专题采访,通过他们表现出来的和被告知的内容,显示了澳门的殖民遗产是如何通过当地导游在旅游者中体现和诠释出来的。研究发现导游根据旅游者来的地理位置很大程度上的调整他们的演绎诠释。特别是对比于非中国游客,他们在中国听众面前几乎完全避开任何关于殖民历史的参考文献。文章讨论了对Hall的三层面诠释信息框架的使用(主导-霸权/谈判/对立)。另外,Lanqer的无意识和有意识旅游者的定义也在文 中使用并讨论。澳门遗产旅游的可持续性的一些后果也被该研究所探索到。 Keywords: interpretationtour guidescolonial historyMacausustainable cultural tourism关键词: 诠释导游殖民历史澳门