Tourism and Poverty Reduction - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 137

currently developing in southwestern Nicaragua appears to be exacerbat-
ing inequalities by allowing greater accumulation of capital among both
wealthy Nicaraguan elites and a growing number of foreign/ex-patriot
investors, while furthering impoverishment of rural residents through
increasing costs of living, land displacement, and legal marginalization.
(Hunt, 2011: 265)
These concerns about systemic inequalities can only be addressed by chal-
lenging existing power structures, something which is very difficult to do.
This may be why, so far, PPT researchers and advocates have not grappled
sufficiently with issues of power, even though tourism researchers more
broadly have tried to emphasise the importance of power relations for some
time (e.g. Bianchi, 2004; Hall, 1994c; Mowforth & Munt, 2009; Telfer &
Sharpley, 2008). The relative lack of power developing countries have in
influencing the actions of foreign investors, due to the competition for their
funds from elsewhere, and their lack of power in regional and international
trade negotiations, is not typically raised as an issue of concern. Furthermore,
PPT does not seem to discuss how the actions of local elites, company direc-
tors and government leaders may influence whether tourism is working in
the interests of the poor, or not. Pro-poor policies are put forward then to
take place in the context of existing structures or power hierarchies, consid-
erably limiting their potential.
Conclusion
To date, many reports have extolled the potential of PPT to contribute
to poverty reduction in a wide range of countries and contexts. Such enthu-
siasm for PPT has led others to comment that PPT may be yet another
passing trend: '. . .within the tourism industry pro-poor tourism has
become the latest in a long line of terms and types to attract attention,
funding and energy' (Mowforth & Munt, 2009: 335). There could be a
danger that, like a number of trends before it (e.g. ecotourism in the 1990s),
pro-poor tourism is something of a fad, a new way of dressing up the tour-
ism industry to reclaim its credibility not just as an engine of growth but
also as a 'soft' industry that is both socially beneficial and environmentally
benign. While tourism definitely can benefit the poor, there have been
questions about the strength and validity of some of the claims made about
PPT. Thus, this chapter suggests that there is a clear need for more in-depth
critical exploration of the claim that tourism is an effective poverty allevia-
tion strategy.
It is certainly unlikely that PPT will work in every country and every
context. Where inequalities are particularly entrenched, where corruption is
rife, where human rights violations go unchecked by the ruling powers and