Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Objectives of tourism development
Political objectives
Tourism and politics often go hand-in-hand. National
and local governments make decisions about whether
or not tourism should be encouraged and what tourism
facilities should be provided for visitors. They can
control the numbers of visitors to a country or region
and use money earned from tourism to invest in other
sectors of the economy, for example education, health
and welfare services. Many of the former Soviet states
that have joined the European Union (EU) see tourism
as a way of revitalising their economies and projecting
a positive image of their countries, e.g. the Baltic states
of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Tourism is also being
used to help alleviate poverty in developing nations, a
concept known as 'pro-poor tourism'.
You have learned elsewhere on your course that tourism
is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world,
creating employment and income for destinations in
the developed and developing world. Creating jobs
and revenue are important economic objectives of
tourism development, but political, environmental
and socio-cultural objectives play their part as well, as
Figure 12.2 demonstrates.
It is important to understand that tourism development
is not always a smooth and trouble-free process. There
are sometimes confl icting objectives amongst the
people investing in tourism. Developers, for example,
are keen for any tourism developments to take place
as quickly as possible in order to get a fast return on
their investment. Local people and community groups
will want to make sure that any development does not
cause environmental, social and cultural problems.
Weblink
Check out this website for more
information on pro-poor tourism.
www.propoortourism.org.uk
Political
Environmental
• Improvements
• Habitat and heritage
preservation
•
Revenue
• Identity
• Profi le
• Environmental
education
Objectives of
tourism development
Socio-cultural
Economic
• Community facilities
• Cultural understanding
• Employment
• Multiplier effect
• Cultural traditions
• Quality of life
• Foreign currency
• Economic regeneration
Fig 12.2 - Objectives of tourism development
