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Burkina Faso: A Theory
Burkina Faso, a small country in West Africa that was formerly known as the Republic of
Upper Volta, is a country that offers an enriching touristic experience. The country proffers
something that satisfies every aspect of a tourists’ experience. From wildlife preserves to hunting
grounds, museums to traditional villages, and traditional architecture to regal displays of their
culture, the people of Burkina Faso have it all. The analysis of the five chosen Burkina Faso
tourism websites (iExplore, World Travel Guide or WTG, Virtual Tourist, Trip Advisor, and
Lonely Planet) is split into three distinct sections: the first section talks about the attractions the
country has to offer, the second section talks about the intended audience of the websites used,
and the third section explains how the Burkinabe culture is depicted, explicated, and marketed.
All five websites borrow elements from the theory behind tourism, in all three sections, such as
elements of nature, authentic reproduction, staged authenticity, tourist realism, the ritual of
tourism, the romantic gaze, and commoditization.
The attractions that are displayed and encouraged by the websites for tourists to
undertake fall under three different categories. First is the element of nature. All five websites
describe this small country as being beautiful due to the natural attractions it offers (iExplore)
citing the names of parks and beautiful architectural successes such as the Nazinga Reserve,
Karfiguela Falls, and The Grand Mosque at Bani (Trip Advisor). There is mention of enchanting
landscapes, from Sahelian plains to rolling savannah (lonely planet). Burkina Faso offers a
number of nature related attractions such as the following: wildlife reserves where tourists can go
watch and/or interact with elephants, crocodiles, hippos, and other animals of the like, hunting
grounds, safaris, hiking trails, and parks that display their beautiful landscape features such as
waterfalls and rock formations.

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In The Tourist, MacCannell talks about the two types of the esthetic use of nature, one of
them being, “looking at scenery in the sense of a landscape” (1976: 80) and how tourists take in
certain qualities of that scenery such as mountains, forests, and coastlines. In Burkina Faso’s
case they take in the African savannah and the wildlife to go with it. MacCannell also talks about
the second type which involves “landmarks or outstanding features of the landscape” (1976: 80)
such as mountain peaks, rock formations, caves, or waterfalls: two of which were mentioned as
being popular attractions in Burkina Faso. The Burkinabe people have painstakingly made sure
that they preserve the wildlife while making sure the tourist has an enjoyable experience visiting
all these places hence applying the concept that “modern tourism is reorganizing nature and the
touristic experience of it so it may continue to serve as a basis for unity in the family of man”
(1976: 81). In Edward Bruner’s Culture on Tour the author talked about the Maasai’s cultural
show performed at Mayer’s Ranch in East Africa and how “nature is a cultural construction”
(2005: 36) and how in the case of the Maasai (as well as the case of the Burkinabe people) the
“landscape has long been coded in ways that remove it from human agency” (2005: 36). It is
interesting that it has been coded in such a way in Burkina Faso that in some areas the Burkinabe
people preach conservation and animal sacredness whereas in others they are kept as mere
hunting game for sport and amusement.
The second element is the element of authentic reproduction and staged
authenticity in relation to the cultural tours, the traditional villages (such as the painted villages
of Tiébélé also called the Kassena houses through the virtual tourist website), and the museums
that offer life size reproductions of traditional Burkinabe housing among other things. The
museums such as the National Museum or Museum of Traditional Music are described as
containing a plethora of sacred items, ethnic costumes, masks, artifacts, and statues (iExplore). In

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Culture on Tour Bruner talks about how “in hyperreality the reproduction is better than the
original; for example, a museum diorama is more vivid and effective than the scene it represents”
(2005: 145) as well as seeing “all culture as continually invented and reinvented” (2005: 146).
This connects to the attractions of museums and traditional tribal villages in Burkina Faso
because they represent their actual history, their actual traditional villages, and it makes
anthropologists debate on whether there is a disparity between how they actually live and what
the traditional painted villages or the traditional villages in museums look like. As far as staged
authenticity is concerned, in The Tourist MacCannell talks about how “in modern settings,
society is established through cultural representations of reality at a level above that of
interpersonal relations” (1976: 91-92) meaning cultural reproductions are used to create a
societal structure above that of the norm and again there is the concept of the disparity between
representing the Burkinabe in a certain way and representing the Burkinabe as how they actually
are.
The third element is that of tourist realism and sightseeing combined with social
structure. Tourist realism and sightseeing plus social structure is highlighted through the cultural
ceremonies, display of the diversity of the Burkinabe people (with the 60 plus tribes all living
together today), display of their settlements and costumes all set as tourist attractions. In The
Tourist the author talks about how certain groups of people are considered tourists attractions
(which connects back to the Burkinabe people being seen as tourist attractions) combined with
their culture and cultural dress and places of residence and such. In Bruner’s Culture on Tour the
author talked about tourist realism and how the drama performed by the Maasai is a touristic
experience for the senses as it is like a touristic theater. The same concept can be applied to one
of the ceremonies that occurs in the country’s capital every Friday at 6 am where their history is

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reenacted through dancing, music, colorful costumes, and acting. It provides an all-
encompassing touristic experience for the tourists.
When it comes to the intended audience of these five websites, all five borrow on
elements from Urry’s touristic gaze (specifically the romantic gaze) and Graburn’s concept of
tourism as a ritual. When it comes to Graburn’s concept of tourism as a ritual, he talks about how
people like to get away from their mundane lives and go someplace exciting, new, different, and
exotic because it provides a change in their otherwise monotonous lives. All five websites,
excluding Trip Advisor, talk about how Burkina Faso is a culturally rich country that is filled
with adventure and exploration (iExplore, lonely planet, World Travel Guide) with vivid detail
and pictures of the Burkinabe people that highlights the exciting and exotic aspect of the country.
Graburn also talks about how it’s generally the educated middle class that seeks this freedom to
travel and “get away” so to speak. (2010: 26-31) and the websites appeal to that class as well
looking at the price ranges for hotels and air fare: It is not for poor people but for people who can
afford to travel and that would be the educated middle class and above.
Lastly, when it comes to how culture is represented, marketed, and explained it connects
to the anthropology of tourism through Fisher’s writing on the Sherpas and their culture in
Tourists and Tourism, and Greenwood’s opinion on the destruction versus construction of nature
with the example of the Alarde in Fuenterrabia. Fisher talked about how tourists come to
Khumbu not just to hike and climb the Himalayan peaks but because “they like the Sherpas or
like what they have heard or read about them” (2010: 329). Fisher outlines the disparity between
how the Sherpas and tourists at first seemed like to think well of each other but the truth comes
out over the difference in opinions and how the Sherpas considered the foreigners to be polluting
their bodies so underwent cleansing rituals. On the World Travel Guide and Lonely Planet

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websites, with pictures of the Burkinabe people, they are described as winning the hearts of
travelers because of their disarming charming qualities and memorable warm welcomes (lonely
planet). Excluding Trip Advisor the other sites also talked about how friendly and welcoming the
Burkinabe people are and that begs the question: Is all this authentic? The majority of the
country being Muslim (50%, the rest are a mix of Roman Catholic and animist belief followers)
they are a conservative group of people. It could be that there is a disparity that exists between
how they behave behind closed doors and how they behave in front of tourists because Muslim
culture is based off of treating guests like an extension of God and being the utmost of polite in
terms of hospitality. When it comes to the Alarde of Fuenterrabia it is interesting that the
Burkinabe people have a similar ceremony they conduct and as opposed to destroying their
culture like Greenwood originally thought it adds to their construction of culture not only as
Burkinabe people but it also adds to their construction of self identities of their own tribes.
Overall, Burkina Faso is a fascinating country where it has a lot to offer tourism wise and
culturally. In general, the touristic experience can be summarized as being nature related, tourist
realism and social structure related, and staged authenticity and authentic reproduction related in
regard to Bruner’s Culture on Tour and MacCannell’s The Tourist. In terms of intended
audience, the websites borrow from Urry and Graburn’s concepts of tourism as a ritual and the
romantic gaze. Lastly, the culture is represented as something colorful, and helpful to their
construction of self identity through comparison with the Alarde of Fuenterrabia and how there is
a possibility of a cultural disparity such as through Fisher’s chapter on the Sherpas of Khumbu
through Tourists and Tourism.

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Works Cited
Bruner, Edward. Culture on Tour: ethnographies of travel. University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Print.
iExplore – Travel Guides
About Burkina Faso Travel Guides. <www.iexplore.com/travel-guides/africa/burkina-
faso/things-to-do>
Lonely Planet
About Burkina Faso. <www.lonelyplanet.com/burkina-faso>
MacCannell, Dean. The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Schocken,
1976. Print.
Gmelch, Sharon Bohn. Tourists and Tourism: Second Edition. Waveland Press, Inc. Long Grove,
IL. 2010.
Trip Advisor
About Burkina Faso. <www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293768-Activities-c47-
Burkina_Faso.html#TtD>
Urry, John. The Tourist Gaze. SAGE Publications Ltd. London. 1990.
Virtual Tourist
About Burkina Faso Travel Guide.
<www.virualtourist.com/travel/Africa/Burkina_Faso/TravelGuide-Burkina_Faso.html>
World Travel Guide
About Burkina Faso Travel Guide. <www.worldtravelguide.net/burkina-faso/things-to-do>