Tourism Culture and Society

Disneyization in Turkey, Istanbul

Friday, December 3, 2010

Disneyfication in Turkey, Istanbul

Through the study of Turkey, I believe that the country has indeed gone through disneyfication especially in the urban parts of the country such as huge cities like Istanbul and Ankara. These cities are the major contributors to the country’s economy. For example, Istanbul, which lies between Asia and Europe, plays an important role for trade as it acts as a junction for trade between land and sea. For example, as stated by UK economic outlook, the city alone generated a GDP of 133 billion dollars. Therefore, many business activities are conducted in that one city alone, and interaction with foreign counterparts due to trade is inevitable.

There are currently four dimensions of disneyfication – theming, hybrid consumption, merchandising and performative labor.

Let’s take a look at the first factor, theming. Theming refers to clothing institutions or objects in a narrative that is largely unrelated to the institution or object to which it is applied, such as a casino or restaurant with a Wild West narrative. This means that several part of the city are having hotels, amusements parks and even restaurants which are "themed"

Let's take the hotels in Istanbul as an example. In Istanbul alone, there are several themed hotels. Such examples includes boutique hotels found on the streets of Istanbul. There is a hotel named "Kybele Hotel", where the hotel is furnished with antique styled fittings. This hotel is located at Kybele Sultanahmet, which is found in Istanbul.

(Below: Kybele Hotel)

(Above: Lobby of Kobyle Hotel)

Another boutique hotel which adopted a unique theme is Adampol Alinda Istanbul which bases their theme on a forest paranoma where visitors feel that they are close to nature. This hotel is currently located at Sultanahmet, Istanbul.

(Front view of the hotel)

With these themes in placed in the city alone, the whole city is like disneyland where there are several themed "accomodations" for tourists to enjoy. Therefore, this provides a range of accomodation for tourists to live in during their stay in Istanbul. Similarly in Disneyland, the visitors can choose the "theme" that they are interested in and pick their favourite rides.

The next factor is hybrid consumption. Hybrid consumption refers to a general trend whereby the forms of consumption associated with different institutional spheres become interlocked with each other and increasingly difficult to distinguish. Basically this means that many elements such as entertainment and shopping is added together in any possible ways to make the destination as a whole more attractive so that many people would increase their stay in the country. In Istanbul alone, there are hybrid consumption is prevalent. There’s a place which is known as a shopping heaven in Istanbul. This place is known as Taksim Square and is located at the European side of the city. In this city alone, tourist developments are very prominent where hotels, major shopping malls, restaurants and shops can all be found here. Therefore, hybrid consumption in this context means that not only can the tourists dine and explore the city; the element of shopping and entertainments in the mall and nightlife leisure is added into the city to add on to the appeal of the area. With such products and services in Taksim placed strategically side by side, this gives off the impression that there are a lot of activities to undertake while on your visit to Taksim Square. Using this hybrid consumption system, where hotels, entertainments and shopping malls are placed next to each other, the government who undertake these tourist developments in Taksim is encouraging tourists to stay longer in that area so that the city can maximize the buying potential of the visitors.

(Taksim Square, Istanbul Note: Shopping malls inside picture)

(Ritz Carlton, Taksim, Istanbul)

Another form of disneyfication is merchandising. Merchandising refers to the promotion and sale of goods in the form of or bearing copyright images and/or logos, including such products made under license. Bryman who wrote the book for disneyization also further states “The key principle behind merchandising is a simple one of extracting further revenue from an image that has already attracted people” This has a strong relationship with hybrid consumption. With hotels, restaurants and shopping malls in Taksim Square, there are some recognized brand names that can be found along the city. Let’s take the hotels for an example. There are famous 5 stars hotel found along Taksim, Istanbul. These hotel brands include: Hilton Hotel Istanbul, Hyatt Regency Hotel and even Ritz Carlton hotel. Aren’t these brand names familiar? Like any major city in the world, such branded hotels can be found there too! In these hotels, customers can purchase merchandises such as the Hotel's pens, mugs or even towels for souveniors. Therefore, the added brand towards these merchandises attracts customers as it is a sign and proof of luxury that they have stayed in these top-notch hotels.

(Above: Hilton Hotel Istanbul)

(Above: Hilton hotel soaps, which can be purchased)

(Above: Hilton Hotel merchandises that were purchased by tourists)

The last form of disneyfication is performative labor. This refers to the growing tendency for frontline service work to be viewed as a performance, especially one in which the deliberate display of a certain mood is seen as part of the labor involved in service work. This means that employees have to put on a front for the audience in order to carry out their jobs. Let's take the Whirling Dervishes Performances in Istanbul as an example. As the "Leisure" posts on turkey states, the whirling dervishes dance to fulfill their spiritual needs and this is sacred to them. However, there is an organization which holds such performances for the tourists' pleasure. For example, in Istanbul, Hodjapasha Arts and Culture centre holds the whirling dervishes performances everday (except Thursdays and Tuesdays) at 7.30 p.m for tourists to get a glimpse of their culture. These dervishes employed are staging an event for the tourists to view and enjoy. Therefore, like the employees is Disneyland, they are required to display a pleasant disposition for their visitors to leave a good impression on them.

(Above: Whirling dervishes in Istanbul)

In conclusion, disneyization has occurred in Turkey. However, this is only prevalent in the urbanized regions of the countries such as Istanbul, Ankara and Bursa. The rural part of Turkey is isolated, and due to this, they have not been affected as greatly as the urban areas which are more exposed to globalization. Through the exchange of foreign goods and innovation, the country has a variety of products to choose from and consumers can enjoy a these products and service in the comfort of their own countries. However, disneyization means that the country is becoming very similar to many major countries in the world. The appearance and culture is getting more westernized and some cities might end up looking the same!