Tourism And Poverty Reduction

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Over the past decade, there have been an increasing number of publications that have analysed and critiqued the potential of tourism to be a mechanism for poverty reduction in less economically developed countries (LEDCs). This book showcases work by established and emerging researchers that provides new thinking and tests previously made assumptions, providing an essential guide for students, practitioners and academics. This book advances our understanding of the changes and ways forward in the field of sustainable tourism development. Five main themes are illustrated throughout the book: (1) measuring impacts of tourism on poverty; (2) the need to evaluate whether interventions that aim to reduce poverty are effective; (3) how unbalanced power relations and weak governance can undermine efforts; (4) the importance of the private sector’s use of pro-poor business practices; and (5) the value of using multidisciplinary and multi-method research approaches. Furthermore, the book shows that academic research findings can be used practically in destinations, and how practitioners can benefit from sharing their experiences with academic scholars. This book was based on a special issue and various articles from the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

Poverty alleviation is high on the global policy agenda, its importance being emphasised by its place as the first of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. As a potentially significant source of economic growth in developing countries, tourism may also play a major role in poverty reduction and alleviation under the right circumstances. The incorporation of tourism into development policy and Poverty Reduction Strategies has special poignancy for those Least Developed Countries where natural resources exist to support a tourism industry and there are limited development alternatives. This book offers a holistic, explicit and detailed introduction to the relationship of poverty and tourism within the context of developing countries. The book is divided into distinct sections, progressing from an evaluation of the key concepts of poverty, tourism and development; to the causal factors of poverty; to the mechanisms of how tourism is being implemented in policy and practice to reduce poverty and finally to an analysis of the relationship between tourism to poverty alleviation in the future. The adopted analytical approach of the key themes is multi-disciplinary, incorporating tourism studies, human geography, political economy, economics, development and environmental studies. It integrates examples and original case studies from varying geographical developing regions including Africa, South Asian and East Asia and the Pacific, to lend practical insights into tourism’s role in poverty alleviation. The text will be of particular interest to higher education students from tourism studies, geography, political economy, environmental and development studies, and sociology backgrounds. It will also be of relevance to government and policy makers, alongside those who have a more general interest in poverty alleviation.

1. Introduction -- 2. Poverty and tourism unpacked -- 3. Tourism entrenches poverty -- 4. Poverty attracts tourists -- 5. Tourism reduces poverty-- tourism industry approaches -- 6. Tourism reduces poverty--government approaches -- 7. Tourism reduces poverty-- development agency approaches -- 8. Conclusion.

This publication contains details of private or public tourism projects that have been presented by WTO Member States as examples of good, sustainable practices for poverty reduction through tourism. They are drawn from 26 case studies from 20 countries including three LDCs (least developed countries) of Ethiopia, Mali and Mozambique, and include examples of projects relating to agro-tourism, tourism micro-entrepreneur networks, village tourism, community-based hotels, parks or protected areas, guide training and handicraft development.

Poverty alleviation is high on the global policy agenda, its importance being emphasised by its place as the first of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. As a potentially significant source of economic growth in developing countries, tourism may also play a major role in poverty reduction and alleviation under the right circumstances. The incorporation of tourism into development policy and Poverty Reduction Strategies has special poignancy for those Least Developed Countries where natural resources exist to support a tourism industry and there are limited development alternatives. This book offers a holistic, explicit and detailed introduction to the relationship of poverty and tourism within the context of developing countries. The book is divided into distinct sections, progressing from an evaluation of the key concepts of poverty, tourism and development; to the causal factors of poverty; to the mechanisms of how tourism is being implemented in policy and practice to reduce poverty and finally to an analysis of the relationship between tourism to poverty alleviation in the future. The adopted analytical approach of the key themes is multi-disciplinary, incorporating tourism studies, human geography, political economy, economics, development and environmental studies. It integrates examples and original case studies from varying geographical developing regions including Africa, South Asian and East Asia and the Pacific, to lend practical insights into tourism’s role in poverty alleviation. The text will be of particular interest to higher education students from tourism studies, geography, political economy, environmental and development studies, and sociology backgrounds. It will also be of relevance to government and policy makers, alongside those who have a more general interest in poverty alleviation.

One of the cornerstones of sustainable tourism - ecological, social and economic - to which WTO is committed, is the well being of poor communities and their environment. The World Tourism Organization is convinced that tourism can be harnessed to address the problems of poverty more directly. This reviews current experience of tourism and poverty and makes recommendations for action by government, the industry, development agencies and local communities.

The book offers a comprehensive and integrated approach to the topic of tourism development and its contribution to the fight against poverty. Tourism development is credited to be a powerful source of regional development and improvement in developing countries, and the focus of the book is on the world’s poorest areas and how tourism connects to the poor and unlocks opportunities to escape the poverty trap. This book takes a comprehensive and unique approach by combining a decade of research on the effects of tourism development on poverty reduction in Latin America. The book explores poverty and its impact on development at the macro and micro levels. Then, it goes on to focus on tourism development and its effects on growth, inequality, and poverty reduction and how these dynamic relationships affect the most vulnerable groups of society. The research also documents on how the poor perceive tourism development on their lives and if they see it as an important vehicle to help them escape from poverty. Lastly, the authors map the conditions under which tourism can reach the poor and how tourism can offer opportunities for impoverished areas and their residents. Combining tourism dynamics, development economics, poverty reduction, business practices, and a sustainable perspective, the book takes a broad look at this important issue. The book will be informative and valuable to a higher educational audience, including academia and researchers, as well as practitioners, policymakers, and international organizations, and graduate students.