Tourism and Poverty Reduction - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 126

Table 4.1 Pro-poor strategies to provide economic and other benefi ts

Strategy focus Examples

Economic benefi ts Expansion of employment and wages through job creation and

training for the poor.
Expansion of business opportunities for the poor through
entrepreneurial opportunities.
Development of collective community income through e.g.
lease fees, donations, equity dividends and cooperatives.

Non-cash livelihood
benefi ts

Capacity building, training and empowerment.
Mitigation of environmental impacts of tourism on the poor.
Equitable management of resources between tourists and local
people.
Improved access to services and infrastructure (e.g. roads,
water supply).

Policy, process and
participation

Supportive policy frameworks at the national and local level
that enable participation by the poor.
Increased participation by the poor in decision-making.
Encouragement of partnerships between public and
private sectors.
Enhancement of communication and the fl ow of information
among all stakeholders.

Source: Based on Ashley (2002: 20).

to continuous out-migration of their youngest and brightest members
(ESCAP, 2003: 28; Scheyvens, 2007b). Third, tourism can also bring 'non-
cash livelihood benefits' to the poor, including conservation of natural and
cultural assets, opportunities for the poor to get training and develop further
skills, and also indirect benefits through tax revenues which governments
use to support infrastructural development such as roading and water sup-
plies, and to provide basic services, including education and health care
(Ashley & Roe, 2002; Goodwin et al. , 1998). Finally, there may be 'policy,
process and participation' benefits for the poor whereby the government puts
in place policy frameworks which encourage more direct participation by the
poor in decision-making, where partnerships between the public and private
sectors are encouraged, and where communication channels are improved so
poorer peoples have better access to information. As Holden et al. (2011: 317)
conclude from their study of the poor of Elmina, Ghana, participation goals
are very important for the poor:

[Poor people] need to be included in tourism policy and practice, not only
as a target group, but also in participatory mechanisms to ensure the