Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

Among developing economies, India has made a concerted effort to boost its international tourism by investing in niche tourism markets that provide immense economic opportunity. Given the pressure to create unforgettable "experiences," niche tourism incentivizes the investment and development of aspects of a culture that are most easily commodified. Niche tourism exposes the intangible cultural heritage and traditional knowledge of Indian communities in an unprecedented way. Because niche tourism markets are built on experiences and services, rather than products, foreign tourists can exploit artisans and traditional knowledge providers who lack ownership over their products and services The presence of this sort of "commodity culture" in niche tourism markets creates an inequitable dynamic between foreign tourists and local communities. To counterbalance these forces, this Article proposes that an "intellectual property as development" framework can be used to reconfigure the economic benefits and social costs of niche tourism markets.

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