Publications in review / Annals of Tourism Research 38 (2011) 331–346 339

REFERENCE

Dowling, R., & Newsome, D. (Eds.). (2006). Geotourism. London: Elsevier.

Assigned 24 June 2010. Submitted 28 July 2010. Accepted 11 August 2010.

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2010.11.006

TOURISM AND POVERTY REDUCTION

By Jonathan Mitchell and Caroline Ashley. Earthscan<www.earthscan.co.uk> 2010, xiv + 176 pp. (references,figures, tables, index) £22.99 Pbk. ISBN 9781844078899

Harold GoodwinLeeds Metropolitan University, UK

Tourism and Poverty Reduction is a timely publication. It originated as a literaturereview for the World Bank in 2007 and the authors have drawn on Ashley’s expe-rience as part of the Pro-Poor Tourism Partnership and their experience at theOverseas Development Institute, including work with the Netherlands Develop-ment Organization and the International Finance Corporation. The questionthe authors pose is ‘‘whether a private sector service activity, like tourism, can re-duce poverty in developing countries’’ (p. 1). It is significant that the question re-quires answering. Ashley and Mitchell point out that the literature about theeconomic effects of tourism on the poor is limited. What evidence exists is scat-tered and uses a range of research methods and ‘‘scales of analysis that are devel-oping in splendid, and almost total, isolation from each other’’ (p. 2). Because ofthe lack of relevant academic literature, the authors have drawn heavily on the‘grey’ literature.

Three pathways by which the benefits and costs of tourism are transmitted to thepoor are identified: (1) direct effects including income and non-financial liveli-hood changes such as improved infrastructure; (2) secondary effects, induced ef-fects, and indirect earnings in non-tourism sectors such as crafters and farmers;and (3) dynamic effects, which includes long term changes in the economy andpatterns of growth. These three pathways are used to structure the authors’ exten-sive thorough review of the literature. In a necessarily very short chapter, there is areview of the evidence on the scale of flows to the poor. As the authors note it is‘‘surprising that despite a huge literature’’ (p. 27), very few studies can answerthe question about the share of the benefits which go to poor people. The chapterdemonstrates how little is known about this topic. In another short chapter, theyargue the seemingly obvious point that different types of tourism have different im-pacts. They do this to make the point that there is little evidence about how differ-ent types of tourism impact on the poor. There is little to synthesise.

Mitchell and Ashley usefully review the academic and grey literature. The bookis useful for researchers in analysing the findings from those studies and in assem-

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bling a host of examples where tourism has demonstrably had a positive impact onthe poor, and they have not ignored the negative impacts. The twelve pages of ref-erences to the published and grey literature account for nearly 10% of the book.However, for anyone interested in the impact of tourism on the poor, it is a disap-pointing read, reflecting the fragmented nature of the limited amount of work onthe issue. This shortcoming is clearly not the fault of the authors.

The book should feature on the reading lists of specialist economics and tour-ism development courses at undergraduate or Masters’ level. It provides a conciseand readable review of the current state of knowledge. The review of the variousmethods used to measure the size of the tourism sector, describe its size, measureimpacts on the poor, and to enhance the tourism sector (master planning andcompetitiveness analysis) will be useful for many students.

The authors have synthesised evidence generated with a range of methods froma number of destinations. However, that knowledge is fragmented and partial.They are right to point to the need to ‘‘move beyond the sterile dichotomy of viewson the role of tourism in development’’ (p. 129). It is not enough to assume thattourism is not, or is, good for development and the poor. We are still a long wayfrom being able to provide policy makers with the evidence for informed deci-sion-making about how to ensure that the benefits of tourism reach the poor.Mitchell and Ashley are correct in concluding that researchers need to raise theirgame: ‘‘[o]ur collective end of term report should read ‘could try harder’’’ (p.135). However, those same policy makers and donors have denied themselves ac-cess to the knowledge they need to inform better policy-making by failing to re-quire the practitioners to monitor and report the impacts of their work. Ifpractitioners do not monitor and report, how can they know what works and whatdoes not in particular circumstances. How can they know they are having any po-sitive impacts? There is much to research.

Harold Goodwin: International Centre for Responsible Tourism, Leeds Metropol-itan University, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK. Email <Harold@haroldgoodwin.info>

Assigned 10 March 2010. Submitted 27 April 2010. Accepted 7 May 2010.

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2010.11.007

INTERNATIONAL TOURISM: CULTURESAND BEHAVIOR

By Yvette Reisinger. Butterworth-Heinemann <www.elsevier.com> 2009, xxix + 429 pp. (figures, tables, index) £24.99 Pbk.ISBN 978-0-7506-7897-1

David HarrisonUniversity of the South Pacific, Fiji

In this book, targeted at undergraduates and tourism marketer, Reisinger aimsto demonstrate the importance of culture and the need for sensitivity to cultural

Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 340–342, 2011Printed in Great Britain