Commercialization

Commercialization is the transformation of cultural forms, both tangible and intangible, through the application of business values and the investment of capital, which is often also seen as involving or creating a market economy. Commercialization is often defined tautologically as the introduction of the commercial to the production or development of new forms of business. This reveals more if the values underpinning the concept of the commercial are explored. It can be observed that people do increasingly live not only in a market economy but also in a market society – which means that the market and its categories of thought have come to dominate over more areas of everyday lives.

This is well demonstrated throughout the history of tourism as the origins of the hospitality relationships and the ability to travelhave been transformed by the injection of capital and the recognition of the success criteria of capitalism. Commercialization also involves the introduction of...