Tourism: A Vehicle for Development? - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 8

accruing from its development are not outweighed by the costs or negative
consequences. What they do not provide is the justification or reason for
choosing tourism, rather than any other industry or economic activity, as
a route to development.
From a perhaps cynical point of view, the answer might lie in the fact
that, frequently, there is simply no other option (F. Brown, 1998: 59). For
many developing countries with a limited industrial sector, few natural
resources and a dependence on international aid, tourism may represent the
only realistic means of earning much needed foreign exchange, creating
employment and attracting overseas investment. Certainly this is the case in
The Gambia, one of the smallest and poorest countries in Africa. With an
estimated average annual per capita income of US$310 amongst its popula-
tion of 1.6 million, The Gambia lacks any natural or mineral wealth and its
economy is largely based on the production, processing and export of ground-
nuts. As a result, the country remains highly dependent upon international
aid. However, with its fine Atlantic beaches and virtually uninterrupted
sunshine during the winter months, The Gambia has, since the mid-1960s,
been able to take advantage of the European winter-sun tourism market.
Tourism now represents around 11% of GDP and directly provides some
10,000 jobs (Sharpley, 2009a; Thomson et al. , 1995). However, because of the
extended family system prevalent in Africa, up to 10 Gambians are sup-
ported by the income from one job. At the same time, local schools, chari-
table organisations and environmental projects rely heavily upon income
derived directly from tourists whilst, in the absence of scheduled services,
regular charter flights to northern Europe provide essential communications
and freight services. Thus, despite the fragility of the tourism sector in The
Gambia, as evidenced by the collapse of the industry following the military
coup in 1994 (see Sharpley et al. , 1996), the country had no other realistic
choice other than to develop tourism and it now makes a significant contri-
bution to the economy of The Gambia.
More positively, however, a number of reasons may be suggested to
explain the attraction of tourism as a development option (see Jenkins,
1980; 1991).
Tourism is a growth industry
Since 1950, when just over 25 million international tourist arrivals were
recorded, international tourism has demonstrated consistent and remarkable
growth. Indeed, over the last 60 years it has sustained an overall average
annual growth rate of 6.2% in terms of international arrivals and over 10%
annual growth in receipts (see Table 1.1).
Interestingly, between 1950 and 2000 the rate of growth in arrivals and
receipts declined steadily. For example, during the 1990s the average annual
growth in global tourist arrivals was 4%, the lowest since the 1950s (Table 1.2).