Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Diversification of traditional rural enterprises into tourism would provide
considerable benefits to local rural economies including:
• wider employment opportunities;
• diversifying the income base of farmers and rural towns;
• additional justification for the development of infrastructure;
• a broader base for the establishment, maintenance and/or expansion of
local services;
• scope for the integration of regional development strategies; an
enhanced quality of life through extended leisure and cultural
opportunities.
(Commonwealth Department of Tourism 1993:24)
Yet despite government enthusiasm for tourism as a mechanism to counter problems
arising out of rural restructuring and depopulation, the success of these policies has been
only marginally successful, with the greatest growth from tourism-and recreation-related
industries occurring in the larger rural service centres and the rural-urban fringe, arguably
those areas which least need the benefits that tourism can bring (Butler et al. 1998;
Jenkins et al.1998). Why has this occurred?
To a great extent it relates to a failure by government to understand the nature of
tourism and its relationship with other sectors of the economy and the policy and
planning process itself. First, all the dimensions of development need to be considered.
Second, it implies the need for us to be aware of the various linkages that exist between
the elements of development. Third, it also implies that 'successful' regional
development will require co-ordination and, at times, intervention, in order to achieve
desired outcomes. Fourth, it also means that tourism should not be seen as the be-all and
end-all of regional development, but instead should be utilised as an appropriate response
to the real needs of regions. Furthermore, the role of growth coalitions and the
distribution of power in a community has enormous implications for the tourism policy
and planning process and its outcomes (Logan et al. 1997; Meethan 1998; Judd and
Fainstein 1999; N.J.Morgan and Pritchard 1999; Church and Reid 2000; Judd 2000;
P.E.Long 2000; Schollmann et al. 2001; Hall 2005a). As Getz (1987:3-4) stated, tourism
'can be a tool in regional development or an agent of disruption or destruction'. Or, to put
it another way, to quote an article from British Columbia in Canada: 'Those who think a
bit of Victorian architecture and an overpriced cappuccino bar are going to turn their
community into a gold mine are in for a disappointment' (Threndyle 1994). However, the
problems of rural tourism and recreation development have long been recognised. For
example, as Baum and More (1966) stated with respect to the American experience in the
early 1960s:
there are and there will be increasing opportunities for [tourism]
development, but this industry should not be considered to be a panacea
for the longstanding problems of substantial and persistent unemployment
and underemployment besetting low-income rural areas.… The successful
development of a particular [tourism] enterprise or complex of enterprises
requires the same economic considerations as the planning and
development of economic activities in other sectors.
