Human Rights Issues in Tourism Development - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 398

also be protected (e.g. local populations must respect tourists' private
time while on holiday) and security checks must not unduly violate the
privacy of travellers.
• Both tourists and local populations are entitled to work and leisure. Most
tourists are coming from countries where taking a holiday is no longer
solely for a privileged few. However, a large number of people in develop-
ing nations are still unable to take holidays. Tourism developers and
employers must ensure local employees the right to work and leisure.
MNCs and other businesses must ensure equal treatment of employees,
regardless of race, gender and age.
• Authorities in local communities where slum tourism occurs should
devise proper legal accountability mechanisms to hold tour agencies and
NGOs accountable for their promises towards the poor in slums.

• International and national laws governing slavery, inhuman treatment

of people, human trafficking, employment and exploitation must be
strictly enforced to curtail growing incidences of human rights abuses in
the tourism sector.

• Effective state-society cooperation is needed to address many of the

issues raised in this chapter.

• To effectively promote and advance human rights in the tourism sector,

there should be concerted partnerships among all tourism players includ-
ing states, local communities, tour operators, MNCs, tourists, service
providers, NGOs and tourism workers to guard against possible human
rights abuses. This can be achieved when there is human rights education
to create awareness amongst all involved, as well as effective laws and
institutions to address emergent situations. In the end, collaborating
stakeholders will be protecting their own human rights.

Exercising one's human rights, inevitably, has limits and generates many
questions. Tourists should be provided the same level of safety the local
people receive, but what if the protection local people receive from the state
is less than what tourists receive at home ? MNCs should provide fair wages
to their local employees, but what if they are already paying higher than
average salaries in the host communities ? Tourists should not be denied the
right to access certain areas within the destination, but what if there is no
adequate infrastructure to guarantee tourists' safety in the desired area ? One
party's human rights cannot be imposed on the other at the cost of the other
party's human rights. Should tourists' rights to natural resources for enjoy-
ment (e.g. beach access and water use) be prioritised over local people's rights
to natural resources for livelihood ?
This chapter has also tried to show how the UNUDHR is not without
criticism. Many developing nations feel their values are inadequately reflected
in the UNUDHR. Criticising many developing nations for human rights
violations is easy; however, the UN is sensitive to cultural relativities. Some