Challenges and Opportunities of Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa in Sub-Sahar… · Challenges and...

AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

Challenges and Opportunities of Tourism

in Sub-Saharan AfricaA Cross-National Study

Susan Sharp

5/2/2008

[The role of tourism in the developing economies of Sub-Saharan Africa proves complex when considering the diversity of landscapes, peoples, services, and nations involved. Whether or not tourism has a positive impact on human and economic development depends upon its implementation, concern for local people, respect for the environment, and degree of interference of MNCs. Pro-poor, pro-local, and pro-environment tourist endeavors tend to have greater positive economic and human impacts, especially when all affected parties participate.]

Susan Sharp

Professor Jim Murphy May 2, 2008

The magnitude of tourism as an industry has increased worldwide and presents

growing importance as an export, especially in less developed countries. Encompassing 35

percent of the world’s total service exports and 70 percent of the same in less developed

countries, tourism represents a growing economic force (World Tourism Organization 2007). By

focusing on economic, social and environmental considerations of several trends in the

industry, this paper will explore the potential for the development of tourist industries in Sub-

Saharan Africa and their prospective contributions to economic growth and human

development. Generally, international tourism by moderately to extremely wealthy individuals

based both in and out of the continent will be considered the default tourism, with special

attention given to the bigger spenders of the discretionary-income enabled Northern countries.

Types of Tourism and Tourism Theories

Tourism has significantly affected the economies of less developed nations, including,

but not limited to the Caribbean Islands, tropical areas in Central and South America, and

Eastern Europe (WTO 2007). Because tourism can bring foreign capital into a nation through

the appreciation of local features, its appeal as a type of local development is understandable.

Nations in the Global South can generate income and revenue through foreign consumption of

local features while increasing domestic employment and regional development (Dieke 1994).

Though the rates of tourism in African nations have recently increased, their global market

share remains low. While African economies have room for growth in this sector, the impacts of

tourism must be addressed. Clearly, the flow of international people into a particular

destination brings potential societal and environmental problems. However, the extensive

variety of services and attractions that comprise the industry we call tourism makes the

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formation of general statements about its merits or harms problematic. For this reason, one

must analyze the impact of different types of tourism in specific contexts.

Traditional tourism brings to mind "Disneyfied" and heavily commercialized

attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Egyptian pyramids, and Caribbean cruise ship destination

points. These sites, while in areas with rich histories and cultures, generate income off of

sensationalized tours and cheap souvenirs. It is almost impossible to envision visiting a place

like the Statue of Liberty without also picturing the green foam crowns for sale at every key

interval along the route, or visiting the leaving the Louvre without standing in line to see a

barricaded Mona Lisa and buying a souvenir with her signature smirk. While vendors gain

revenue off of these sales, such commercialization can the distort historical and societal

significance of these monuments. Several types of tourism theories have developed in response

to these activities that have in turn shaped tourist industries.

One such theory, informed by dependency and World Systems theories,

conceptualizes tourism in the Global South as indulgence in a “pleasure-periphery” (Turner &

Ash 1975). As the shaping theories consider the world divided into the dependent periphery

and the exploiting core, the concept of the pleasure-periphery considers tourism in the

developing world unfair. Rich elites spend leisure time in the Global South to experience exotic

locations and peoples, only for the hosts to become more dependent on their investment

without developing internal industries. Additionally, some scholar voice a concern over

tourism’s tendency to reinforce colonial structures and gender inequality (Elliot & Weaver

1996; Apostolopoulos, Sönmez, & Timothy 2001). Considering this theory, underdeveloped

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places like Sub-Saharan Africa should avoid mass tourism strategies as it will increase

dependency on the core. In response, initiatives for alternative brands of tourism such as

ecotourism and pro-poor tourism have developed.

Popularized as a legitimate economic and responsible travel concept when the

UN declared 2002 the year of International Ecotourism, the term encompasses the idea of

conscientious and sustainable tourism. Ecotourism’s principles call for financial benefits for

conservation, minimal environmental impact, and awareness, respect, empowerment and

financial benefits for local people (TIES 2008 online). The diverse people and landscape of Sub-

Saharan Africa make the region a good contender for international competition in the industry.

Similarly, the concept of pro-poor tourism explores the idea of poverty reduction through

revenue gained from international visitors. According to the Pro-Poor Tourism Partnership,

thoughtful approaches to tourism development and management can result in “increased net

benefits for poor people” (PPT 2008 online). While these styles of tourism can bring developing

nations revenue and support while empowering locals, tourist firms and operations cannot be

verified as followers of either. Yet, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have the potential to attract

the sort of tourists (and also, their money) who appreciated these concerns without necessarily

succumbing to mass tourism or becoming exploited as a pleasure periphery.

How then, can Sub-Saharan African nations generate revenue through

sustainable and respectful tourism?

Sinclair and Stabler espouse that demand for tourism depends first on wealth

and free time. When one has enough expendable income to make tourism feasible, family

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dynamics, foreign exchange rates, travel costs, consumer information, and previous demand

influence which particular location a person visits (Sinclair & Stabler 1997). If this model proves

valid, then Africa faces significant adversity in attracting international tourists in that, when

compared to other regions, it has relatively little previous consumer demand and information

dispersal. However, exchange rates favor wealthy international tourists from industrialized

countries, as even significantly marked up prices on goods and services may seem reasonably, if

not cheaply, priced to travelers from the Global North. Yet this model is limited in scope, as it

fails to consider alternative travelers such as backpackers.

Another issue in generating tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa is the question of

supply. Tourism markets generally include accommodation, transportation, attractions and

intermediaries such as travel agents and tour operators. For certain kinds of tourists, probably

most coming from industrialized nations and upper income groups, infrastructure and

information technology are required investments from the public sector. The private sector

must at least provide attractions and accommodations (Frederick 1993; Sinclair & Stabler

1997). Entry barriers to the tourism market by the poor, or even those in the informal sector

must be considered. While local people might be employed by tourist industries, their ability to

enter managerial or other more lucrative positions could be limited by income, language, and

culture barriers, leaving control of the industry to elites and limiting the geographic scope of

tourism. Tourism suppliers must generate enough interest in their trade to increase demand.

Access to technology, especially the Internet, provides a key strategy for tourism marketers in

reaching their target consumers while reducing the need for expensive overseas

representatives (Sahel 2000). Because Germany, the US, the UK, France, and Japan constitute

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the largest spenders on international tourism, Africa must supply attractions and

accommodations aimed at recruiting tourists from big-spending, industrialized nations (WTO

2008 online).

While comprehensive data concerning the breakdown of Sub-Saharan African tourist

industries and local participation do not exist, World Tourism Organization statistics indicate

that the region does attract international visitors at a growing rate. While several studies have

analyzed the impact of tourism on specific nations and regions of Africa, the body of literature

remains small, especially concerning the effect of the industry on basic needs and human

development. Yet exploration of these issues proves crucial in determining the function of

tourism on development.

Effects of Tourism in Sub-Saharan Africa on

Economy, Environment and an Equitable Society

My research on tourism and basic needs development in Sub-Saharan Africa showed

that in poor nations, the amount of tourist dollars spent correlates with worse health, unequal

economies, and lower educational output than countries of a similar economic status with

fewer tourists. In exploring the causes of this correlation, it is important to consider the

economic, social, and environmental aspects of a particular country, as well as the origin of

international tourists and the nature of the destination tourist industries.

Economic Development

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When considering the impact of tourism on economic development in Sub-Saharan

Africa, inclusion of the analysis of international trade structure becomes crucial. A series of

sociological studies done in the 1990s find that the level of penetration of multinational

corporations (MNCs), debt dependency and IMF conditionality prove detrimental to nearly all

development indicators in non-core nations (London & Williams 1990; Wimberly & Bello 1992;

Lena & London 1993). The indebted condition of most Sub-Saharan African states generally

correlates with a high degree of loans from the IMF that contain multiple conditions and

stipulations. These stipulate that loan recipients must implement a variety of neoliberal

economic policies such as privatization, export-orientation, and tariff-reduction. MNCs have

greater access to developing economies under these conditions, which allows their capital to

penetrate into markets—an injurious effect on most domestic industries.

The effect of these policies on tourism and basic needs are debatable, as Chen and

Devereux find “that tourism increases welfare with import restrictions or export subsidies while

its effects with export taxes or import subsidies are uncertain" and that FDI increases the

benefits of tourism (Chen and Devereux 1999, 219). Poiner and Wright indicate that structural

adjustments limit the potential of tourism development to just a handful of African countries

(Poiner & Wright 1993). Meanwhile, Ghimire calls for an alliance of Global South nations to

encourage tourism between countries in the South as a method of overcoming inequalities

produced by neoliberal policies (Ghimire 2001).

For tourism to prove lucrative, the value of nontradeable service must rise. While capital

subsidies prove more effective than operating cost concessions, in terms of investment (Clark

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2001). Generally, this would imply that a basic and stable level of economic development would

be necessary for the implementation of tourism initiatives, as service valuation and capital

start-up require at least some economic advancement. Thus, the feasibility of tourism as an

economic activity proves limited when considering the indebtedness and stagnation of some

Sub-Saharan economies. Because greater tourism revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa tends to occur

in the states with better developed economies (see appendix), the claims of Poiner and Wright

may ring true, however, this correlation may exist for a variety of reasons, including the

attraction of wealthy tourists to areas they perceive to be more developed, safer, and more

interconnected with the outside world. The majority of tourists are likely to go to destinations

which they consider safe and stable, and the presence of political violence and human rights

violations substantially decreases tourist arrivals (Neumayer 2004). Also, correlations between

economic development and tourism do not necessarily mean that incurred revenue is

distributed among a population, or that it makes its way into development or social welfare

programs.

In the case of the Gambia, Dieke found that tourism represents about ten percent of the

country’s economy and employed 7000 Gambians. While 3000 of these jobs were directly

service-related in the form of restaurants and hotels, 4000 were indirectly influenced by

tourism. Crafts and other trades contribute to some of these jobs, but so do prostitution,

begging, and various other informal kinds of survival facilitated by the presence of tourists

(Dieke 1994). This kind of employment, termed by Farver as “following the tourists,” may

actually bring greater economic development to areas, as it encourages innovation and

entrepreneurship (Dieke 1994, Farver 1984). The Gambia has an advantage in its status as a

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“sea, sand, and sun” destination popular with European tourists, yet the seasonality associated

with the wet season and vacation cycles provides economic challenges, as hotels close and

workers are subsequently laid-off on a seasonal basis (Dieke 1994). This demonstrates the need

for a diversified economy, as tourism probably cannot sustain a significant proportion of the

population year round. Also, the Gambia’s situation cannot be cross-applied to other Sub-

Saharan African nations due to its “discovery” by Scandinavians in the 1960’s and a subsequent

initiative by the government to pursue tourism as an economic activity. Yet, the government’s

acquisition of loans put the Gambia at a further economic disadvantage for several years, while

increasing the disparity between rural and urban populations and relying increasingly on

outside manpower for managerial tasks (Harrell-Bond & Harrell-Bond 1979). The Gambia’s

example provides both positive and negative examples of the role of tourism in an economy, as

despite government debt, thousands of people found employment in both formal and informal

sectors.

Seasonal tourism can impact economies in terms of labor forces and migration. While

tourists migrate to areas for pleasure, so do workers to gain employment generated by tourist

presence. This migration can impact development through population relocation, and

landownership. When tourists gain second or retirement homes in these areas, they may

provide more regular consumption revenue, but also can create “tourist ghettos” and legal

conflicts (Hashimoto 2002).

Lastly, though local communities vary in their perception of tourism’s financial benefits,

enormous leakage of profits offshore results in the majority of profits filtering back to the North

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through the MNCs that arbitrate services and partially or completely own hotels. The

comparatively enormous salaries of expatriate managers in relation to wage labor nearly nullify

the multiplier effect. Information on Kenya’s tourist industries suggest that over 70 percent of

tourism profits go to MNCs (Van Beek 2003; Dieke 1999; Singh et al. 1989). This information

provides evidence to the claims of sociology papers describing the relationship between MNC

penetration and low levels of development, as surplus values enter profit margins abroad

rather than promote reinvestment in the location of consumption.

Tourism’s role as a potential driver of economic development depends greatly on the

context of the host country. Tourists’ preference for stable environments leads to greater

tourism revenue in the Sub-Saharan states with greater perceived economic development and

stability, while greater economic stability facilitates higher valuation of service activities. The

ravaging effects of IMF conditionality combined with the legacy of colonialism results in worse

conditions for tourism in some nations over others. The more investment dependent a state,

the lower proportion of tourism revenue it will keep due to offshore leakage and MNC

intervention. However, small scale and informal tourist industries can generate income for

local people, perhaps despite capital flight.

Environmental Considerations

While environmental degradation may be easier to measure due to the physical and

quantitative measures land use and land cover change, the direct impacts of tourism on these

changes still provides challenges. Environmental conservation efforts might mask the

displacement and constraint of local people and communities.

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The effect of tourism on the environment proves contested in literature, as the

presence or absence of the term “ecotourism” does not reveal true impact of tourism on the

environment. Ecotourism should “benefit and protect conservation; benefit, respect and

empower local communities” and educate while entertaining tourists (Carrier & Macleod 2005).

While the principles sound nice, implementing tourism programs that actually manage to

satisfy all components presents a formidable task, as ecotourism draws many people to

specific, oftentimes environmentally sensitive areas. How, exactly, this type of tourism supports

and empowers local people remains unclear, unless the locals run these businesses themselves.

Yet local ownership of tourism industries, especially in rural, ecotourism areas, remains

incredibly rare. Some scholars criticize ecotourism for perpetuating colonial social structures

through the exhibition of “exotic” African peoples and land by elites for the pleasure of wealthy

foreigners (Elliot & Weaver 1996). Ideally, profits made from ecotourism initiatives would be

redistributed among the people who open their communities to visitors and applied to

conservation strategies.

In Namibia, Elliot and Weaver found ecotourism to create a space economy of an elite,

white core and an indigenous periphery (1996). Windhoek functions as the main core, as urban

infrastructure and airports create a base for rural peripheral tourism. The outer core of

commercial lands beyond Windhoek accounts for the majority of hotel accommodations and

provide access to animal tourist attractions. Tourists reach the rural periphery on state lands,

but seldom venture to the communal lands in which the majority of the black population lives.

Guerrilla warfare in the 1960s and colonialism’s legacy of skilled labor shortages and dismal

infrastructure probably explains the hesitance to explore this area (Elliot & Weaver 1996).

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However, this represents a flaw in ecotourism principles, as the local people do not receive the

benefits of tourism dollars.

The Selous Game reserve in Tanzania is celebrated as the largest protected wildlife

reserve in Africa and receives significant international ecotourism due to the government’s

investment in infrastructure and private sector development. However, when the British

established the reserve during their colonial rule, it was more of a residual effect of efforts to

move the Liwale people closer the city’s civilizing influences. The government then created a

game reserve as a preventative legal measure to ensure the Liwale could not move back

(Neumann 2001). This anecdote provides early evidence that conservation efforts can be easily

coupled with the control and disempowerment of local people (Cater 2005).

Slater’s analysis of Qwaqwa National Park in South Africa reinforces this notion,

as local people and the government clash over the use of lands for livelihoods and tourist

initiatives. While the South African government indeed uses tourism for an economic

advantage, and several successful ecotourism ventures promote both conservation and local

people, the 1992 conversion of formerly public lands to conservation impacted the livelihoods

of the people who depended on the land for cattle grazing. With the introduction of tourist-

friendly wildlife such as zebras into the park land, concerns about over-grazing led the

government to restrict local cattle. Slater calls for participatory conservation as a way to ensure

sustainability and economic security (Slater 2002).

Zimbabwe’s CAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous

Resources) project represents one attempt at participatory conservation. Village communities

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receive benefits from the government while anti-poaching and wildlife conservation initiatives

take place without significantly endangering livelihoods (Pearce & Butler 1999). The program

demonstrates how careful and conscientious implementation can increase the likelihood of

producing mutual benefits. However, this kind of organization is rare, as conservation strategies

often lead to the displacement of people from their land.

Cater’s article on the “Environmental Contradictions in Sustainable Tourism” notes that

Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have a greater percentage of land under

conservation protection than in use for crops. This tactic reduces the chance for agricultural

self-sufficiency, demonstrating that tourism does not necessarily promote basic needs through

neither food security nor agricultural exports. He also notes that the erosion of Tanzanian

beaches from tourism has now reduced environmental quality to the point at which it no longer

generates revenue (Cater 1995).

Carrier and Macleod’s study of ecotourism in the national parks of the Dominican

Republic and Jamaica should provide an element of caution to African nations looking to pursue

this industry as an economic activity. The local people in both cases gave up land to ecotourism

initiatives for no compensation; specifically, fisherman gave up their traditional fishing waters

for shoreline ecotourism, which may very well promote conservation of sensitive fisheries, but

also destabilizes locals' livelihoods (Carrier and Macleod 2005). Additionally, Moreno found that

ecotourism initiatives in the Caribbean negatively impact coral reef environment and constrain

the socioeconomic involvement of local populations. FDI in ecotourism removed the locals

control from coral reef management, which ended up harming the ecosystem due to the heavy

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impact of tourism (Moreno 2005). In these cases, ecotourism disempowered locals through the

removal of jobs and land management, and in the case of the coral reefs, caused, rather than

prevented, environmental damage.

Richards and Hall, however, postulate that in the case of highly fragile ecosystems, the

industry’s success depends on the careful and scientific management of sensitive

environments. This sort of high-risk venture should then ensure that stake-holders, whether

they are foreign elites or locals, carefully monitor degradation so as to guarantee future

revenue through a sustained environment (Richards & Hall 2000). Hashimoto blames the failure

of more recent ecotourism ventures on the exponential growth of small-scale operators, which

altogether constitute yet another form of mass tourism (Hashimoto 2002).

The more inclusive concept of sustainable tourism includes true ecotourism, but also

encompasses cultural or heritage tourism so long as little or no significant environmental

damage results. The irony of sustainable tourism lies in the polluting nature of air travel.

According to the World Tourism Organization, air travel now constitutes the most common

form of international travel, meaning that aggregate emissions contribute appreciably to

atmospheric pollution. While proximity plays an important role in tourist destination

determination, an increase in the generation of new tourist trips to Africa by international or

intercontinental tourists would also create greater pollution.

In general, neither the environmental nor social impact of tourism can be predicted by

ecotourism labels and claims. While enterprises that truly maintain the principles of ecotourism

should benefit ecosystems and people, oftentimes local communities lose their rights to land or

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water on behalf of conservation principles. This phenomenon lessens the positive impact of

tourism on economies and livelihoods as residents must cope with the loss of land use rights

without compensation while international tourists enjoy their ecosystems.

Society and Equality

While discussions concerning economic and environmental impacts of tourism address

the concepts of equality and demonstrate the interconnectivity of tourism with a particular

place, the concept requires further explanation. When a place generates income through the

exhibition of its ecology and people, the possibility for exploitation and inequality exists

alongside the potential for community and human development. What Tooman describes as

the “dichotomous nature of tourism” results in the existence of two main types of tourism

industries: large scale resort-style tourism and small scale community and heritage tourism

(ToomaTooman 1997).

Large scale tourism operates on investors’ development of recreation facilities. These

investors hope that their additions to a locality will attract enough people to the area to buy

and develop additional properties. This kind of tourism development may in turn introduce

technology and improve infrastructure, but also has little association and connectivity with local

people and culture and often result in high levels of imports and little reinvestment in

communities. When large scale tourism increases rapidly, the potential for premature growth

can place strains on infrastructure and communities, as government institutions may not adapt

and expand quickly enough to process the influx of people. Small scale tourist developments,

on the other hand, connect extensively with localities, entail fewer imports, decrease leakage of

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profits and income, and can augment local incomes (Tooman 1997). This type of tourist

industry can improve community development and encourage entrepreneurship through the

expansion of local talents and skills.

When representatives from the host and tourist cultures become acquainted with one

another, a chance for education occurs alongside a chance for judgment and misunderstanding.

Especially when tourists observe traditional cultures as part of their consumption of cultural

exports, Africans become less of people and more of a commodity (Van Beek 2003). While

tourists encounter chances to confront racism and understanding of the post-colonial history

that plagues Sub-Saharan Africa, the divided nature of some of the tourist bubbles can actually

reinforce traditional colonial roles. A tourist’s experience with place entails an ideological

framing of history that can redefine social realities. Marketing of a place creates expectations

on behalf of the tourist, which then influences the destination to adapt (McCrone 1995).

Renovation of old colonial plantations into hotels and tourist attractions represents one way in

which tourist can reshape and recreate history (Harrison 1992; Patullo 1996). When wealthy

tourists visit recreated Game Parks that used to contribute to livelihoods of local people in

order to envision a wild and exotic Africa, they are knowingly or unknowingly reenacting a

colonial past. Poverty tours of slums teeter on the boundary between education and

exploitation, as tourist buses filter through some of the poorest squatter camps in Africa (Nevin

2007). While perhaps the benefits accrued by enterprising tour guides and the educational

exposure of the world’s richest five percent to some of the poorest of the poor might outweigh

the negatives exploitation, creating an industry based on the presence of poverty might create

a tourist demand for the existence of slums. Furthermore, the exposure of tourists to these

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slums does not necessarily entail that they will resolve to help Africa’s structural inequality, or

that they will consider the problem structural, or even consider it a problem.

Elliot and Weaver’s example of Namibian tourist industries demonstrates the

domination of large scale operations by elite whites, with little black, rural participation (Elliot

& Weaver 1996). Apostolopoulos, Sönmez, and Timothy demonstrate that large tourist

endeavors reinforces the role of women as caregivers in low-paid domestic work such as maid

services, sex work, and cooks. In the informal sector, women can create smaller scaled

enterprises based on the presence of tourism that allow for more independence and

opportunity, and many women have fared well in small scale formal industries such as hotels

and retails, where greater numbers enter managerial roles (Apostolopoulos, Sönmez, and

Timothy 2001).

Douglas and Pearce’s analysis of small scale tourist enterprises in Ghana finds that

cultural practices and norms can influence both the monetary success of a venture and its

impact on a community. The study found that the kin-based managerial networks employed in

several small scale businesses such as hotels and restaurants at first proved detrimental in

terms of profits accrued and personal satisfaction. Family members who comprised the staff of

one small hotel took resources and sold them without reinvesting profits, which resulted in a

poorly functioning business. This behavior was informed by the tradition of liberal kin-based

lending practices, in which the staff members felt no immediate obligation to repay money and

was further facilitated by the chop-economics, or the practice of converting money into

material goods as a method of investment protection. While these economic choices make

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sense in network-based market economies, they did not translate into international hotelier

standard business practices. Hiring a manger outside the family and social network resulted in a

flourishing establishment that increased the wealth of the family’s entire network through their

lending chop-economic practices which reinvesting the money into the community (Douglas &

Pearce 1999).

Other successful local economic development projects include those of Utrecht and Still

Bay in South Africa. Still Bay’s beautiful natural beaches created the ideal environment for

tourism-based development when combined with community organizations and a few key

entrepreneurs who created a marketing strategy that attracted tourists, second home buyers

and retirees. When the local white and black community leaders joined forces with the business

chamber and tourism forum, a collaborative effort was made to raise standards of living. By

using their natural landscape to create jobs and generate income through tourism, they

managed to provide vital resources for the public including a clinic, an elderly care center,

housing construction and the improvement of recreational facilities (Binns & Nel 2002).

Urecht, a town formerly dependent on mining, pulled itself out of a steep economic

downturn that included 50% unemployment rates by acknowledging the need to diversify its

economy before complete mine closure. Rallied by the town’s publicity officer, the community

organized to establish a nature conservancy, Game Park, and tourist accommodations in order

to diversify their economy through the marketing of the natural landscape. In conjunction with

the game park, the town used government funds to establish an Arts and Crafts Association to

train and support local artisans complete with workshops and retail outlets. Securing and

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utilizing government funds provided the foundations to develop the tourist attractions, but

foresight and organization of the community led to its realization (Binns & Nel 2002).

These community projects showcase the positive potential tourism can have on

localities and human development through their addressing of context specific needs and

creative marketing of natural features. Representing several pro-poor development principles,

such as the involvement of businesses and institutions, collaboration with different levels of

government, and focusing on the expansion of benefits through the analysis of other sectors

(such as governance and small enterprise), these two South African towns provide examples of

how tourism-based economies can improve basic needs (PPT online 2008). However, tourism

cannot be the saving industry of all communities, as market saturation could lessen sustainable

economic development. When tourism does appear to have the potential for clear benefits, it

must be approached carefully and collectively. Problems with ecotourism and economic

development in mass tourism oftentimes stem from the consideration of only one or two

factors (such as profits or conservation), as well as lack of collaborative effort. When local

people, governments, institutions, and tourists do not consider their impacts on one another,

the chance for inequality and environmental degradation grows.

Strategies for Sustainable and Equitable Tourism

Whether tourism ventures intend to improve lives or environment of Sub-

Saharan Africans or simply make money off of the experience of different places and cultures,

the ethics of tourism development must be considered. While not all entrepreneurs in tourism

enterprises need to necessarily abide by the Marxist principle that “those capable of

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contributing more should do so to help those in less fortunate positions than themselves,” or

take part in a Rawlsian contract that distributes rights and responsibilities in mutually beneficial

ways, the impacts of cross-cultural tourism should be accounted for and respected (Smith &

Duffy 2003, 94).

Strategies that can increase tourism benefits for communities in the economic

realm include the creation and expansion of jobs and business opportunities for locals, with

special consideration to local poor (PPT online 2008). Additionally, the skilling of labor through

community development projects can prove beneficial, yet perhaps only questionably feasible.

Developing collective income through the levying of hotel or bed taxes can produce resources

for development projects and community enrichment that facilitates the growth of human

capital (Bird 1992). In order to create an atmosphere of pro-poor fairness in levying tourism

taxes, tiered fees can charge wealthy international visitors more than regional visitors, who can

be charged more than local residents (Smith & Duffy 2003). This strategy utilizes the wealth of

tourists, oftentimes augmented by exchange rates, to created local revenue in a way that does

not negatively impact inhabitants.

Increasing human development through tourism can be achieved through the

reduction of cultural intrusion and lost land access through collaborative and participatory

tourism administration. Consultation with residents of all incomes does not only afford tourist

industries beneficial partnerships with local people, but also can create a more egalitarian and

democratic business climate. Increasing communication among the private sector, the

disadvantaged, and local institutions can help ease tension (PPT online 2008). While achieving

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this level of communication and participation might entail policy reform and perhaps protest,

implementations could help empower poor people to stand up for their rights.

Ultimately, small scale, community-based tourism ventures have the capacity to

increase human and economic development in that they bypass MNC intervention and ensure

that fewer people get left behind. While expertise concerning retail, hospitality services and

game park management should be seriously considered, participatory planning must be used in

an attempt to ensure that the livelihoods of locals are not sacrificed for the pleasure of visitors.

Conscientious implementation of pro-poor tourism initiatives has the potential to provide a

positive relationship between tourism and human and economic development.

See research paper on the impact of Tourism o

Works Cited

Apostolopoulos, Y., S. Sönmez, and Dallen J. Timothy, eds. 2001. Women as Producers and

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Consumers of Tourism in Developing Regions. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Binns, T., and E. Nel. 2002. "Tourism as a Local Development Strategy in South Africa." The Geographical Journal, 168, pp. 235

Bird, R. M. ( 1992 ) "Taxing Tourism in Developing Economies", World Development, 20, pp. 1145-59.

Carrier, J. G., and D. V.L. Macleod. "Bursting the bubble: the socio-cultural context of ecotourism." Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 11, 2, pp. 315

Cater, E. 1995. Environmental Contradictions in Sustainable Tourism. The Geographical Journal , 161, 1, pp 21-28.

Chen, L. L., & Devereux, J. (1999). Tourism and Welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Theoretical Analysis. Journal of African Economies, 8, 2, pp. 209

Clark, H. 2001. "The Economics of Tourism." Economic Record, 77, 407

Farver, J.A.M. 1984. “Tourism and Employment in The Gambia.” Annals of Tourism Research, 11, pp. 249

Forsyth, T. 1997. "Environmental Responsibility and Business Regulation: The Case of Sustainable Tourism." The Geographical Journal, 163, 270

Ghimire, K. 2001. Regional Tourism and South-South Economic Cooperation, The Geographical Journal, 167, 2, pp. 99-110

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