Tourism, Development and International Studies - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 424

development, in part emphasised by the UN Brundtland Report, has encour-
aged economists to consider the future costs of controlling resource depletion
and global warming as well as maintaining biodiversity (Anderson et al. ,
2013). Non-Western economics have also received attention in the context of
tourism. The Himalayan state of Bhutan promotes its Gross National
Happiness Index in the country, which incorporates non-economic aspects
of well-being and tourism, and has focused on controlling the cultural and
environmental impacts of Western tourism (Brunet et al. , 2001). As discussed
earlier in this chapter, of particular concern has been the global economic
crisis of 2008 in the US that led to the collapse of financial institutions, bank
bailouts by national governments, stock market and housing market slumps
and the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis where entire countries had to be bailed
out (Anderson et al. , 2013). In Africa, countries which had been integrating
into the global financial system saw demand for their products drop and this
was accompanied by a decline in international aid (Anderson et al. , 2013).
International aid has been controversial and Moyo (2009) argues that, over
the last 50 years, over $1 trillion in development aid has moved from rich
countries to Africa with the recipients much worse off as a result. In terms
of the global economic crisis for tourism, Papatheodorou et al. (2010) suggest
that for destination choice, travellers will stay closer to home (staycation),
increasing domestic tourism. Internationally there will be a decline in length
of stay and expenditures, which will be more pronounced than a decline in
the number of arrivals, and value-for-money destinations will be preferred.
An emerging question coming out this crisis is whether there is a change in
the global order as the West struggles financially and countries such as
China, which has been investing heavily in Africa, are on the rise.
Politics
Politics has been referred to as human interactions involving both power
and conflict, and this incorporates not only government decisions but also
those that take place outside government (Anderson et al. , 2013). An impor-
tant distinction needs to be made between international studies and inter-
national relations. International relations is a sub-field of political science,
while international studies is an interdisciplinary approach to exploring the
world (Anderson et al. , 2013). The key fields of politics that pertain to inter-
national studies include comparative politics, political theory and public
administration (Anderson et al. , 2013). The theories discussed in this chapter,
such as realism and liberalism, are key to understanding international poli-
tics, while understanding the type of government in a destination and their
position along the political spectrum is key for tourism investors. The
manner in which a society's members choose their leaders and government
and, hence, the influence on policy is key in a typology of political systems
(Anderson et al. , 2013). The actions of the military government in Myanmar