ABSTRACT
Non-ordinary experiences form the essence of tourism (Jafari & Gardner, 1991). For Western tourists, non-ordinary settings by excellence are provided by cultures, which are markedly different from their own. Traditional Maya farmers in their colourful dresses form an important attraction for visitors to the southern Mexico city of San Cristóbal de las Casas (van den Berghe, 1995). The hill tribes in Northern Thailand attract many foreign tourists to that area ( Cohen, 1989). During the 1890s, the traditional dresses of Volendam and Hindelopen, both located in the Netherlands, were successfully exploited by local entrepreneurs (Benjamin, 1992; Koning & Koning, 2002). The effects of these entrepreneurial actions are evident in several other geographical contexts.
