Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
environment on which the foregoing goals depend. Butler
(
1993
) states that the element of change in tourism is a
crucial factor since sustainable development
systems, raise the cost of living for local people and damage
social and cultural traditions and lifestyles. Those engaged in
tourism development have generally not sought to demon-
strate the impacts of tourism on poverty reduction
“
implies some
measure of stability and performance, at least in the very
long-term view, and this does not blend with a highly
dynamic and consistently changing phenomenon such as
tourism
the
focus has been on macro-economic impact and its potential
to bring economic growth to poor and marginalized indi-
viduals and communities, rather than on measuring and
demonstrating speci
—
. According to McIntyre et al. (
1993
), achieving
sustainable tourism development
”
requires a vision which
encompasses a larger time and space context than that tra-
ditionally used in community planning and decision mak-
ing
“
c impacts on poverty.
Ashley and Mitchell (
2005
) show that recent analysis
suggests tourism has reasonable credentials in favour of the
poor. Tourism is labour-intensive compared to other non-
agricultural sectors, has high female employment ratios, and
is not necessarily import-intensive. The sector has low bar-
riers to entry, encompassing a range of enterprises from the
micro- to the multi-national and providing opportunities for
downstream economic linkages in the local economy. Those
who suffer from competition for water, land, and coast are
likely to be the poor, but the poor also gain from opportu-
nities for unskilled and semi-skilled employment and infra-
structure development. But this good news does not justify
complacency. There is increasing evidence (Ashley and
Mitchell
2005
) that actions at the level of the corporate and
government can sharpen the bene
. The demands for sustainable tourism development to
be developed irrespective of whether other, interrelated,
segments are to be sustainable or is inappropriate and con-
tradictory (Hall and Lew
1998
). Notwithstanding this
apparent discrepancy, various authors have recognized dif-
ferent forms of sustainability in the context of tourism. Hall
and Lew (
1998
) suggests that there are at least four ways in
which to elucidate tourism in relation to sustainable devel-
opment. Coccossis describes these as linking to economic
sustainability, ecological sustainability, long-term viability
of tourism and the acknowledgment of tourism as a part of
the overall strategy for sustainable development.
In terms of poverty alleviation; traditionally, the impact
of tourism has been measured in relation to its contribution
to Gross National Product (GNP) and employment created.
Every so often, tourism
”
ts for the poor from
tourism. A growing body of microeconomic evidence sug-
gests that companies themselves can boost their local impact
by doing business differently. They can develop stronger
economic linkages, either by adapting their supply chain, or
by stimulus to local tourism service-providers and cultural
products. There is a range of partnership models for local
people to engage with tourism businesses, often utilising
their land or resource rights.
Garraway (
2007
) argued that there are a number of issues
that must be considered in addressing poverty alleviation
through tourism. Key amongst these are: partnership devel-
opment between government, non-government, private and
international bodies; empowering the poor and creating
access to opportunities in the industry; reducing leakages
and improving linkages with other sectors and monitoring
the economic impact of the industry.
s overall impact on the economy is
estimated by looking at the effect of tourism expenditures
through direct, indirect and induced spending using a mul-
tiplier effect approach. Tourism growth is most often mea-
sured through increases in international arrivals, length of
stay, bed occupancy, tourism expenditures, and the value of
tourism spending. However, none of these measures provide
any means of determining the scale of the impact on the poor
or even the trends which result from overall growth or
decline on the poor. While in the literature there are refer-
ences to the importance of tourism in the Least Developed
Countries (LDCs), developing countries, and rural and
marginalized areas, there is very little consideration of the
impact of tourism on the poor (Walter et al.
2004
).
The reasoning behind tourism development as a means of
alleviating poverty in developing countries has been con-
tended in general terms with a focus on economic modern-
ization and economic growth. The supposition has been that
any tourism development will eventually bene
'
3.3
Opportunities Presented by Geotourism
and Geoparks
t the poor
“
”
through the
effect. There can be no doubt that
tourism development does employ those who are economi-
cally disadvantaged, but there is a growing body of evidence
that indicates that tourism development enriches others also.
Walter et al. (
2004
) state that tourism development enriches
international companies, expatriate workers and the local
elite, while generating low-paying and low-status employ-
ment for the poor local communities. Additionally, poorly
planned and managed tourism can destroy ecological
trickle down
Geotourism has emerged as an opportunity for sustainable
rural development and poverty alleviation. It has immense
potential to help in the global
ght against poverty. Studies
carried out so far on geotourism and the geopark concepts
concluded that there is a great opportunity for geotourism to
contribute to the alleviation of poverty (Dowling
2009b
;
Farsani et al.
2009
; Piranha et al.
2009
). Farsani et al. (
2010
)
state that one of the main strategic objectives of a geopark is
to stimulate economic activity and sustainable development.
