Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tourists to that war-torn country and recent reports point to a resurgence of
tourism there. Moreover, as evidence of this emergence of tourism as a truly
global activity, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)
now publishes annual tourism statistics for about 215 states.
However, tourism is not only a social phenomenon; it is also big business.
Certainly, 'mobility, vacations and travel are social victories' (Krippendorf,
1986: 523), yet the ability of ever-increasing numbers of people to enjoy travel-
related experiences has depended, by necessity, upon the myriad of organisa-
tions and businesses that comprise the 'tourism industry'. In other words,
tourism has also developed into a powerful, world-wide economic force.
International tourism alone generated over US$1.075 billion in 2012
(UNWTO, 2013b) whilst, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council
(WTTC), if both direct and indirect expenditure is taken into account then
global tourism - including domestic tourism - is a $7 trillion industry,
accounting for over 10% of world gross domestic product (GDP) and around
9% of global employment. Such remarkable figures must, of course, be treated
with some caution; as Cooper
et al.
(1998: 87) once observed, 'it is not so
much the size of these figures that is so impressive, but the fact that anybody
should know the value of tourism, the level of tourism demand or to be able
to work these figures out'. Nevertheless, there can be no doubting the eco-
nomic significance that tourism has assumed throughout the world.
Owing to its rapid and continuing growth and associated potential eco-
nomic contribution, it is not surprising that tourism is widely regarded in
practice and also in academic circles as an effective means of achieving
development. That is, in both the industrialised and less developed coun-
tries of the world, tourism has become 'an important and integral element of
their development strategies' (Jenkins, 1991: 61). Similarly, within the tour-
ism literature, the development and promotion of tourism is largely justified
on the basis of its catalytic role in broader social and economic development.
Importantly, however, prior to the early 2000s, relatively little attention had
been paid in the literature to the meaning, objectives and processes of that
'development'. In other words, although extensive research had been under-
taken into the positive and negative developmental consequences of tourism,
such research had, with a few exceptions, been 'divorced from the processes
which have created them' (Pearce, 1989: 15). Over the last decade, of course,
increasing academic attention has been paid to the relationship between
tourism and development, including the first edition of this topic.
Nevertheless, tourism's alleged contribution to development generally con-
tinues to be tacitly accepted whilst a number of fundamental questions
remain unanswered. For example, what is 'development'
?
What are the aims
and objectives of development
?
How is development achieved
?
Does tourism
represent an effective or realistic means of achieving development
?
Who ben-
efits from development
?
What forces/influences contribute to or militate
against the contribution of tourism to development
?
Search WWH ::
Custom Search