Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Globalisation
'Globalisation is a dynamic process of liberalization, openness, and inter-
national integration across a wide range of markets, from labour to goods and
from services to capital and technology' (de la Dehesa, 2006: 1). De la Dehesa
(2006) also poses globalisation in the context of freedom. Freedom to trade
globally and capitalise on competitive advantage, freedom to invest where it
is favourable, freedom to open up shop where one chooses whether as a busi-
ness seeking higher profit or an individual seeking better wages. The expan-
sion of globalisation has also been facilitated thorough various institutions
and agreement such as the G8, World Bank, IMF, the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Organi-
sation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as the
EU. With a greater integration in financial markets, however, financial glo-
balisation has been held responsible for increasing frequency in financial
crises (de la Dehesa, 2006). This has been evident in the global financial crisis
that started in 2008 and the Eurozone crisis. There are also challenges to the
nation-state in whether countries give up autonomy in opening up their bor-
ders. The challenges related to global complexity are reflected in the com-
ments by Urry (2003), whereby at the same time there are tens of millions of
refugees and asylum seekers roaming the globe, there are 3 billion people
worldwide that have the same total income as the richest 300. He also states
that globally branded companies that employ people all over the world have
greater budgets than some individual countries.
The tourism industry is highly reliant upon many of the forces at work
in globalisation. From the free movement of tourists across global transporta-
tion networks to the movement of investment capital and technology, which
all play a key role in the tourism development process. Global flows of for-
eign direct investment by multinational tourism corporations, air transport
regulations and the operations of the growing cruise industry (Debbage &
Gallaway, 2009), to name a few, all illustrate the links between international
studies and tourism. Destinations face intense global competition and their
respective development agencies offer attractive investment incentives while
at the same time facing significant economic leakages and potential cultural
erosion. Protests against the inequalities in globalisation have been growing
against global institutions and at their meetings such as the World Social
Forum. As de la Dehesa (2006: 189) argues '[the] greatest challenge for the
twenty-first century is, undoubtedly, finding a way to use the extraordinary
benefits that globalisation and the present technological revolutions are
bringing, to create institutions that enhance international solidarity and
enable us to overcome the comparatively harmful effects on some economies
and some peoples'. Globalisation can be utilised as a lens to examine many
of the global threats in Figure 14.1 that link to tourism, whether it be climate
change, a financial crisis, spread of a disease or cyber-attacks.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search