Tourism: A Vehicle for Development? - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 22

economic growth to 'a far-reaching, continuous and positively evaluated
change in the totality of human experience' (Harrison, 1988: xiii). The goal
of the process is, in effect, the self-actualisation of individuals within a soci-
ety, embracing at least five dimensions (see Goulet, 1992):

(1) an economic component: the creation of wealth and equitable access to
resources as a means of overcoming the 'pollution of poverty'.
(2) a social component: the improvement of health, education, employment
and housing opportunities.
(3) a political dimension: the recognition of human rights, the creation of
political freedom and the enabling of societies to select and operate
political systems appropriate to their needs and structures.
(4) a cultural dimension: the protection or affirmation of cultural identity
and self-esteem.
(5) the full-life paradigm : the preservation and strengthening of the meaning
systems, symbols and beliefs of a society.

To these, perhaps, should be added a sixth dimension, namely, an ecological
component, which reflects the emergence of environmental sustainability as
a guiding principle of all development policies. Together, these dimensions
are broadly reflected in the development objectives proposed in the United
Nations' 'Millennium Development Goals' (Figure 1.2).
Development, then, is a complex, multidimensional concept which not
only embraces economic growth and 'traditional' social indicators, such as
health care, education and housing, but which also seeks to confirm the
political and cultural integrity and freedom of all individuals in society. It is,
in effect, the continuous and positive change in the economic, social, politi-
cal and cultural dimensions of the human condition, guided by the principle
of freedom of choice and limited by the capacity of the environment to sus-
tain such change.
This is, perhaps, best summarised in the UNDP's most recent definition
of human development. Though recognising that there remains no consensus
over the term, the 2010 Report (UNDP, 2010b: 22) defines human develop-
ment as:

the expansion of people's freedoms to live long, healthy and creative
lives; to advance other goals they have reason to value; and to engage
actively in shaping development equitably and sustainably on a shared
planet. People are both the beneficiaries and drivers of human develop-
ment, as individuals and in groups. Thus stated, human development
has three components:

• Well-being: expanding people's real freedoms - so that people can

flourish.