Chinatown + Tourism = ?

On May 10, 2004. NYC kicked off their new Tourism campaign with "Explore Chinatown!"

There are arguments both for and against Tourism industry in Chinatown. According to Asian Americans by PyongGap Min, the survival of chinatowns depend on tourism. But some of you may have mixed feelings about this like I do.

Chinatown has often been described as a self-sufficient neighborhood. An acquaintance of mine once told me that "you could live in Chinatown and never need to speak english." So why does Chinatown need tourists? Well, it bolsters the chinatown economy that had been heavily disrupted by the 9/11 tragedy. The Tourism campaign helped bring business to the restaurants and bakeries in Chinatown. Furthermore, it brings awareness of Chinatown as an important place in New York City. Although fireworks or anything of the sort are usually banned in NYC, we have experienced pyrotechnicians perform the firecracker ceremony at Chatham square for Chinese New Year.

However, tourism has many, much more negative, side-effects. In order to keep the tourism industry prosperous in Chinatown, the Chinese like to show the Chinatown community to be composed of law-abiding citizens who are fairly well off. This creates a mask over Chinatown as a happy society and hides all the turmoil and under-the-table dealings within (For example, low wage, long hour garment factory jobs and the fact that well-off small business owners live in confucius plaza, which was supposed to be affordable new housing for the poor).

Tourism is also a big player in the gentrification of Chinatown. Affluent people would build commerical establishments like Starbucks to takea dvantage of the influx of toursists. "Because rentals [of low-income housing] were very low and people were moving in, there was a great demand for these industries, and thus, the businesses that were already there could no longer compete because although the rentals were low, they still could not afford it. "(socyberty.com)

I believe the tourism industry has a negative impact on Chinatown. Despite increased city attention, the value of the culture that many Chinese Americans fight so hard to preserve is quickly decreasing. Chinatown may soon turn into another couple manhattan blocks with banks in the middle of the streets and Starbucks on the corners.

- James