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business know-how and access to credit. These things can all be addressed
relatively simply and, certainly, development agencies around the world have
often done a good job of providing support to overcome these barriers. More
complex are the systemic barriers which prevent the poor from benefiting
from tourism: barriers that might include, or be linked to, a history of oppres-
sion, the powers of an entrenched elite class, an intractable bureaucracy, lack
of democratic governance, or inadequate legal frameworks such as land laws
which leave the poor open to exploitation.
An awareness of such barriers has led to a number of development actors
expressing reservations about supporting tourism development. Their reluc-
tance is well summed up by donors in Vanuatu who were concerned about
committing aid for tourism when, first, there was a lack of evidence of the
benefits of this (with perceptions that the 'hype' about tourism could not be
substantiated in terms of outcomes), and second, they thought that tourism
enhanced inequities, as seen in the following quote:
Donors are reluctant to support an industry that is dominated by for-
eigners, for foreigners. Our assessment of tourism is that it provides low
paid, low skilled jobs for ni-Vanuatus. Managers and operators are almost
always foreign. Apart from anecdotal evidence, there is little to substan-
tiate that tourism is benefiting ni-Vanuatu. This is the main concern for
donors. We don't want to be lining the pockets of the private sector
necessarily. (Donor quoted in Cheer & Peel, 2011: 260)
According to Trau, the open environment for foreign investment and lack of
regulation around land leases is heightening disparities in Vanuatu, and
undermining opportunities for local businesses to thrive:
The lack of more comprehensive investment laws in Vanuatu, and the
effective monitoring or enforcement of even existing economic policy
and regulation, directly contributes to the inability of Roi Mata Cultural
Tours and other more grassroots PPT enterprises to expand and grow.
(Trau, 2012: 161)
In another example of systemic inequalities, Hunt's (2011) research on
Nicaragua paints a persuasive picture of how government plans to enhance
foreign investment and rapidly increase tourist arrivals can be realised, but
this will not erase the legacy of decades of autocratic dictators, natural disas-
ters and conflict. Instead of delivering on economic development and poverty
alleviation goals, this might just entrench existing inequalities:
By placing well-heeled travelers in a carefully controlled idyllic setting
where they are presented with bargain real estate speculation and invest-
ment opportunities along the country's Pacific coast, tourism as it is
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