In association with Development Policy and Practice
and the International Development Centre at the Open University
Milton Keynes, UK
7th-9th September 2005
Connecting people
and places: challenges and opportunities for development
TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT PARALLEL SESSIONS
ABSTRACTS
There are currently three parallel sessions:
Session C: September 8th, 9.00-10.30
Session D: September 8th, 13.30-15.00
Session E: September 8th, 15.30-16.45
There may also be an additional session on September 7th in the afternoon
(tbc).
Running order of the sessions to be confirmed.
DIFFICULT JOURNEY TO A SUSTAINABLE DESTINATION: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS AND TOURISM
Susy Karammel, Tourism Consultant & Research for GTZ, Tourism and
Sustainable Development Unit; Dorothea Meyer, Senior Lecturer, Centre
for Tourism & Cultural Change, Sheffield Hallam University
The relationship between 'development' organisations and tourism has
been difficult. In the 1970s and 1980s, negative experiences with large-scale
tourism investment primarily in infrastructure forced the development
community avoid mainstream tourism ventures. Instead, because it was assumed
that ‘small is beautiful’, focus was shifted to eco-tourism
or community based tourism (CBT), involvement with which was felt to be
more beneficial.
Early in the 20th century, however, the tables turned and eco-tourism
(adopted by such key organisations as the World Tourism Organisation and
the United Nations) was viewed as an elusive concept and not the 'promised'
panacea for development organisations involved in the tourism sector.
The uncertainty about tourism's' potential as a tool for poverty reduction
meant that few development agencies embarked on tourism ventures. Among
the exceptions are the UK's Department for International Development (DfID),
the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) and the German Technical
Cooperation (GTZ). Recently, their focus has shifted towards stronger
engagement with the 'big players' in tourism, especially the private sector,
for example, Oxfam’s ‘Adopt a Farmer’ programme, ODI's
PPT Pilot programme in Southern Africa, and GTZ's involvement in the Caribbean.
Donor organisations like the European Union (EU), World Bank (WB), the
Asian and Inter American Development Bank (ADB & IADB) have started
to condition funds and credits for the tourism industry/ ministries with
the development of sustainable tourism strategy and policy development.
While tourism has long been associated with employment creation, foreign
investment and foreign exchange earnings, it has received little attention
as a tool for poverty alleviation from the 'development community’.
Compared to such traditional industries as agriculture, tourism is viewed
as a product exclusively for and consumed by the leisurely classes of
the North with little positive impacts on countries in the South. However,
the role of development organisations in guiding governments and the tourism
industry towards the wider context of pro-poor-growth creation is pivotal.
This presentation will provide an overview of the paths development organisations
have chosen to deal (or not deal) with tourism. It is based on primary
and secondary research sources and enhanced by first hand experience in
working for a leading technical co-operation agency involved in dealing
with tourism (GTZ). The aim is to illustrate the mind shift that has taken
place in the past few years away from the mainly negative 'picture' of
tourism as a development tool to one marked by optimism and innovation.
The presentation will conclude with recommendations, from a 'development
organisation's' perspective as to what are the pressing issues that need
to be discussed jointly among the 'development' and the 'tourism' world.
TOURISM IN POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES,
CHANGING INFLUENCES AND THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE WORLD BANK GROUP TODAY.
Sean Mann, World Bank
The Millennium Declaration & the Summits of Doha (Trade): Monterrey
(Debt Relief) and Johannesburg (Sustainability) have firmly established
poverty alleviation as the 21st century strategic priority. The challenges
are being worked on at national, regional and global levels and are slowly
becoming the central issue in public, private & civil society programs.
The World Bank’s (WB) programs, which account for about a third
of global development assistance, are central and catalytic poles for
emerging strategies.
A key underpinning universal strategy is sustained economic growth. In
this arena tourism currently outperforms agriculture, petroleum &
cars in world trade and its influence in the economies of developing countries
is now more important to more countries than ever before.
This paper charts the changing perspectives of tourism at the WB since
the mid-1960s, when the Bank first financed projects in Morocco and Tunisia,
through the extensive portfolio—over US$500 million—in the
mid 1970s, to the shutdown of the tourism projects department in 1979
and the re-emergence of tourism through environmental and sustainable
development approaches. The paper asks whether tourism is on the threshold
of being considered in a new light by developing countries and development
assistance agencies (DAAs) and the World Bank in particular.
But is the WB equipped to meet this demand? Does it want
to meet it? Have other donors, or even the private sector overtaken the
need for the Bank to be involved? Are governments of developing countries
ready to embrace tourism in their poverty reduction strategies? And, critically,
is enough known about tourism’s economic, environmental and social
linkages to allow sound decision-making for the benefit of host country
and community populations?
The paper argues that there is a role for the Bank in harnessing the potential
of tourism, but that this requires a paradigm shift within the institution,
a move toward seeing tourism’s role as an upstream and more central
poverty reduction strategy rather than a downstream add-on. Through the
literature review the paper identifies that there is a pressing need for
more quantitative analysis of the economic impacts from tourism, and argues
that the Bank is has a role in both promoting and doing this work.
BRINGING SMALL AND MICRO ENTERPRISES INTO THE TOURISM
SUPPLY CHAIN:
STRATEGIES OF TOURISM CORPORATES IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Caroline Ashley, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
This paper examines how the tourism sector can increase its linkages
with small and micro local enterprises. Increasing ‘linkages’
is a key channel by which the development impact of economic growth and
corporate activity can be increased. Many international initiatives, such
as the Commission for Africa’s African Enterprise Challenge Fund
and the UNDP’s Growing Sustainable Business Initiative are now focusing
on how to stimulate SMMEs and how to encourage corporates to apply their
core business competences in ways that stimulate the local economy. Such
issues are crucial in tourism, a sector which is touted for its high potential
for linkages, yet which is also heavily criticised in practice for resulting
in enclaves and leakages.
This paper draws lessons from the experience of South African companies
that have sought to develop their business links with small local enterprises.
First issues of definition around linkages and supply chain are reviewed,
highlighting those definitions that are critical to development impact,
which differ a little from conventional economic terms. The paper then
reviews the many factors that constrain local sourcing. While the capacity
of local SMMEs is clearly a critical factor, the paper focuses more on
the corporate side, identifying the range of strategies companies can
adopt to increase local sourcing, and how such strategies do or do not
relate to commercial returns and to processes of internal change. The
important influence of supply side factors and the policy context are
highlighted.
This paper draws on a three year action research project with 4 South
African companies, and an 8 month IFC project which focused on drawing
lessons from South African corporate experience. This material is complemented
by material from the Caribbean, examining strategies that have been used
in tourism destination to develop linkages, particularly agricultural-tourism
linkages. This is based on a current Pro-Poor Tourism training programme
for hoteliers there.
The development benefits and commercial benefits of bringing local enterprises
into the supply chain is discussed, and the paper concludes with the implications
for action by companies, SMMEs, governments and other agencies.
GRASPING REALITY: CO-MANAGEMENT INITIATIVES IN NATIONAL
PARKS
Janet Cochrane, Senior Research Fellow, School of Tourism, Leeds Metropolitan
University
Management philosophy regarding protected areas has undergone considerable
change since the 1970s. Moving away from a focus on species or habitat
protection, there is widening acknowledgement that the human element is,
in many cases, just as significant as the flora and fauna. While earlier
attempts to operationalise this recognition tended to be project-orientated
and, as a result, limited in scope and outcome, current approaches are
more holistic.
These approaches sit within the development paradigm of sustainable livelihoods,
where ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ aspects of societal
activity and resource management are linked, and qualitative elements
are emphasised as well as quantitative ones. The approach is manifested
through cross-sectoral initiatives involving different public sector agencies,
or via partnerships involving public sector, private sector and community
bodies. A linked branch of development thinking is the ‘development
though enterprise’ approach, which is being used to counter the
shortfall in development funding and as a means of integrating the principles
of sustainability into the market economy.
One area where these approaches are being applied is protected areas management.
Traditionally, funding for protected areas has come mainly from the state
or, in the case of poorer countries, from development aid or loans. In
most cases, income from revenue-generating activities such as tourism
has been insignificant or not linked to core funding for parks. This approach
has demonstrably failed, with a range of destructive forces threatening
the biodiversity that protected areas are intended to conserve. To address
this problem, conservation policy-makers are increasingly turning to collaborative
initiatives, with a spread of stakeholders involved in managing the protected
area. Such initiatives may include, for example, the public authority
responsible for the park, representatives of local communities, local
government, private sector organisations, and local or international NGOs.
There is normally some mechanism whereby revenues generated through commercial
activities within the park (primarily tourism) will be returned to the
protected area in some way, either for conservation or for development
purposes.
This paper will examine the philosophy and practice of these co-management
initiatives, situating them within broader development trends, and drawing
on examples from different parts of the world.
HOLIDAYING IN ISOLATION: A STUDY OF ENCLAVE DEVELOPMENT
IN THE GAMBIA.
John Dobson, Mike Snelgrove, Welsh School of Hospitality, Tourism and
Leisure Management, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.
Tourism development in less developed countries (LDC’s) has been
traditionally organised in the form of enclaves. These allow governments
to focus potentially limited funds into geographically concentrated areas
and allow the development of a marketable product to (primarily) Western
tourists. A number of LDC’s have adopted this strategy including
Indonesia, the Dominican Republic and The Gambia. However, using enclaves
as a means of developing a tourism industry can lead to problems. Enclaves
tend to provide only limited potential to generate foreign exchange earnings
and can also isolate the guest from the local community. They have therefore
been criticised as a development strategy.
Studies of enclave tourism have predominately adopted a top-down approach
that pays scant attention to those directly or indirectly involved in
guest-host relationships. The Gambia offers the opportunity for the development
of an important case study that explores these relationships in the context
of an evolving tourism development strategy.
This paper reports on the first stage of an ongoing research project
that explores the perspectives of those people who holiday and work in
The Gambia’s tourist enclaves. A middle-out, tripartite approach
is adopted to gather the views of tourists, locals employed in the formal
sector, and those employed in the informal sector in order to explore
the interactions and interfaces between the enclave, the local community,
and the greater national development imperative.
Preliminary findings from interviews completed with first-time
tourists indicate that the enclave is both an attraction and safe haven.
Many view the outside of the enclave with trepidation; these views being
constructed by the formal sector through such experiences as the ‘welcome
meeting’, and via first contact with the informal sector. Primary
motivations for first time visitors to The Gambia tend to be for winter
sun breaks. This focus of consumption may be fully serviced within the
enclave or through encounters, constructed by the formal sector e.g. during
excursions. This limits tourists’ ability to overcome their trepidation
through wider experience of the informal sector, as well as reinforcing
the isolation of the enclave.
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, SERVICES TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
AND DEVELOPMENT. THE CASE OF TOURISM IN THE CARIBBEAN
Dr Dirk Willem te Velde, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
This paper examines whether and how developing countries can use services
trade negotiations to increase the amount of inward FDI conducive to development,
with a focus on the tourism sector in the Caribbean. The importance of
tourism services to the Caribbean economy is generally acknowledged, though
there is some debate on the varying effects of different types of tourism
(cruise boat/eco/mass/cultural forms of tourism are all present in the
Caribbean).
The paper starts by reviewing the evidence and views on whether and how
services trade rules (supply of services mode 3 relates to cross border
investment) can affect inward FDI, with specific attention to inward FDI
(mainly in Hotels&Restaurants) and the regulatory framework in the
tourism sector in the Caribbean. It complements this with a simple statistical
analysis, presenting panel data (1997-2003) on inward FDI in the tourism
sector in a number of Caribbean countries (around 10) and correlate these
with data describing the regulatory framework committed in fora such as
the General Agreement of Trade in Services, and controlling for other
factors affecting inward FDI. From the totality of the above evidence
it aims to obtain indications on whether services negotiations can help
to attract inward FDI.
The concluding sections discuss options in current trade negotiations
on trade in services to attract tourism FDI. In multilateral trade negotiations
(GATS), Caribbean countries may want to signal openness to inward FDI
while maintaining a degree of flexibility in the use of policy measures;
in current negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU,
the focus could be on liberalising sensitive services sectors as well
as on making use of the development dimension of EPAs such as the inclusion
of support measures for investment in tourism conducive to the competitiveness
of local economic players.
ECOTOURISM IN TOBAGO – TRADITION VERSUS DEVELOPMENT
VERSUS CONSERVATION
Kathy Velander, School of Life Sciences, Napier University, Edinburgh
Ecotourism can bring money into communities providing income as well
as self-esteem to the local people. It should by definition meet the following
requirements: be small scale and nature based, e sustainable in terms
of the environment while providing a living for the local people and be
educative for all participants.
Tobago, named the Best Caribbean Island of the Year by the World Travel
Awards, in 2004, is making a name for itself in ecotourism, but can it
be justified? Does the reality of ecotourism live up to the dream? What
conflicts exist between traditional life styles versus the external demands
of ecotourists? This is an exploratory study into some of these issues.
In particular it looks at:
Role of ecotourism in the local community
The role of ecotourism in providing education to both parties
The impact of ecotourism on the way the local area is used, e.g.
valuing conservation over the traditional ways of the indigenous population.
Questionnaires were used to assess the above aspects of ecotourism, the
results suggest that ecotourism has made a start, but has a long way before
it can meet all of its goals.
GRANDE RIVIERE, TRINIDAD: FROM COCOA TO CONSERVATION?
David Harrison, International Institute for Culture, Tourism and Development,
London Metropolitan University
In 1971-1972, anthropological fieldwork for a PhD was carried out in
the small village of Grande Riviere, NE Trinidad. At the time, the village
economy was based primarily on subsistence farming, government work, and
the cultivation of cocoa, a crop which had brought considerable prosperity
to the village in the 1920s but which was in decline. Cocoa’s decline
(and that of the village generally) continued from the period of fieldwork
but, in the 1980s, tourism was introduced to the village, which has now
become a major ‘ecotourism’ destination in Trinidad. The main
attraction is the nesting Leatherback turtle and visitors come from all
over the Caribbean and further afield. Whereas turtles once provided villagers
a source of food, they are now strictly conserved by the villagers, for
whom tourism has become a major source of income. The paper details the
changes in the village from the 1970s, demonstrates how the village economy
has become linked to tourism and conservation, and indicates how the development
of tourism has led villagers to a different and more outward perspective
towards the world outside.
COMMUNITY-BASED TOURISM ENTERPRISES AS TOOLS OF POVERTY
ALLEVIATION IN KENYA. A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING
Geoffrey Manyara, Professor Eleri Jones and Professor David Botterill
Welsh School of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Management, University
of Wales Institute, Cardiff
Poverty is the scourge of many developing countries, including Kenya.
Major international organisations, such as the World Bank and World Tourism
Organisation (WTO), endorse tourism as a vehicle for economic development
and poverty alleviation in developing countries. WTO emphasises the role
of micro, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in this endeavour
and argues the case for the formalisation of informal SMTEs. However,
a study of indigenously owned enterprises in Kenya, reveals that the development
of formal SMTEs poses major challenges for a number of reasons, including
the weakness of the prevailing entrepreneurship support network, especially
in relation to individually-owned SMTEs.
The study revealed the potential of community-based enterprises (CBEs)
as a model for harnessing the potential benefits of tourism development
for poverty alleviation in Kenya. However the CBEs studied faced significant
challenges, especially in relation to deficiencies in vision and leadership
for tourism product development, entrepreneurship, business and management
skills and issues relating to funding and infrastructure development.
The CBE case studies emphasise the importance of community capacity building
in the promotion of tourism development for poverty alleviation. This
paper therefore explores alternative models to community capacity building.
BACKYARD TOURISM: MAKING THE EVERYDAY PAY
Dorothea Meyer, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Tourism & Cultural Change,
Sheffield Hallam University; Mike Robinson - Professor of Tourism Studies,
Centre for Tourism & Cultural Change, Sheffield Hallam University
In the context of 'open world system' models of global flows and de-territorialisation,
new linkages are emerging which transcend nation-states and are built
upon agendas that are increasingly geo-political, ethical and multi/cross-cultural.
International tourism has a substantive development role to play in generating,
maintaining and altering such relationships.
In recent years new forms of 'responsible' tourism have evolved around
supposedly moral/ethical consciousness and political correctness: "I
experienced how they live(d).." have become the opening phrases for
holiday-slide shows among the 'travelling' classes.
These 'back yard' tourism initiatives, however, often walk a fine line
between drawing attention to particular situations, rectifying problems
through the generation of economic and social opportunities, and spectacularising
issues of poverty and degradation to the point where they are trivialised.
Tourism, in essence, is highly political, in making claims for, and on,
a variety of stakeholders involved in its development.
This paper focuses upon the development of Township Tourism in South
Africa and the issues involved in establishing a form of tourism that
is predicated on the difficult and contested 'normalities' of everyday
life but which has the potential to contribute to the alleviation of poverty.
South Africa's 'rainbow nation' idea, rooted in the newly discovered,
'politically enforced' conviction of ethnic uniqueness, seems to encourage
the development of cultural tourism initiatives particularly aimed at
international visitors. One of the main cultural tourism developments
has been Township Tourism. Township Tourism is highly debated and often
accused of sanitising or even re-constructing the past by using 'the poor'
as a new ensemble in South Africa's ever so present 'Cultural Village'
portfolio. Township Tours are, however, also viewed as the most developed
form of 'community tourism' in South Africa to date as they often rely
on a greater involvement of local SMMEs, and can supposedly offer a less
mediated and 'staged' view of everyday life, compared with their 'Cultural
Village' counterparts.
Township tourism is based on opening the 'back yard' and by doing so
culture(s) is claimed and counter-claimed and open to processes of contestation
and conflict. But tensions around tourism's role in generating political
and moral discourse should not detract from imperatives of action, particularly
in situations where it may be the only practical way of assisting people
out of poverty.
This paper will look at the theoretical underpinnings of 'back yard
tourism', the opportunities it can offer in contributing to the improvement
of livelihoods of township residents, the difficulties of SMMEs in entering
this tourism market, and the contest between the old guard and the new
HDI arrivals, who often dominate and gate-keep.
The paper is based on first-hand experience in trying to develop a township
tourism link between Alexandra Township in Johannesburg and one of the
top South Africa based hotel chains.
REVIVAL OF TOURISM IN THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS:
A POST-TSUNAMI PERSPECTIVE.
Maharaj Vijay Reddy, Department of Geography, University of Exeter
The recent Asian Tsunami (2004) is expected to have a substantial impact
on the tourism resources and island ecosystem of the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands of India (ANI). After the first shock of a magnitude of 8.9 on
the Richter scale hit Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, at 6-30 a.m (IST) on the
26th December 2004, a second earthquake measuring 7.3 occurred at around
9 a.m. with its epicentre in the Great Nicobar Island, the southern-most
island of the ANI which is only about 80 nautical miles from Sumatra.
Most of the islands in the ANI group are very small and these small landmasses
are poorly equipped to withstand strong earthquakes and the following
continuous Tsunamis. Most severe damages were caused by the deadly waves.
Linked to this, the impact of the Tsunami on the nature based tourism
industry and lives of the tourism-dependent poor communities in the Andaman
Islands are anticipated to be widespread and potentially devastating.
The tourism industry in the ANI developed slowly but there was a notable
increase in tourist arrivals from 1980 onwards. Prior to the disaster
the total tourism arrival figures for 2004 were expected to exceed 120,000,
boosting not only the tourism industry but also allied sectors such as
the local souvenirs and hundreds of small firms. Depressingly, tourism
and the lives of the low-income communities involved in tourism have reached
what, at best, can only be called a challenging ‘pause’ stage.
This conference paper aims to present the findings from a pilot study
(sponsored by UNESCO, Paris) conducted to assess the impact of the Tsunami
on the tourism industry, natural resources and ecosystem. There is now
an urgent need to engage the local community and tourism stakeholders
more effectively, in post-Tsunami crisis management discussions to work
for the reinforcement of the tourism industry. Therefore, the paper will
also address the immediate challenges facing community based sustainable
tourism development in the ANI.
CHALLENGING RESEARCH METHODS IN A PRO POOR TOURISM SETTING
Dr Simone Wesner, International Institute for Culture, Tourism and Development,
London Metropolitan University
The tourism industry belongs to one of the most rapidly increasing industries
in developing countries. In the last few years this development has been
associated with issues such as sustainability and poverty elevation and
a research focus on pro poor tourism has emerged. Hence the need to focus
on integrating pro poor tourism research into both the international tourism
development approaches and aid agencies everyday work practice. This has
been widely recognised but the actual research capacity is still underdeveloped.
The project on "Building research capacity for pro poor tourism
(PPT)" was designed to identify, test and analyse suitable methods
for research in pro poor tourism using rural participatory appraisal,
focus groups, semi structured interviews, workshops, surveys and desk
research. It aimed to assess the usefulness of the methods on pro poor
tourism research and to identify examples of good practice for use by
others while located within a broader project framework of research that
focuses on poverty-related issues within the tourism industry in South-East
Asia.
Over 24 months researchers in Bali, Lao PDR and Viet Nam evaluated existing
research, collected first hand materials in the field and held workshops
and exchanges to build capacity in applied research as well as sharing
best practice in research methodology. The partnership included international
research teams from universities in the UK, Belgium, Indonesia, Lao PDR
and Vietnam.
As a result, a series of case studies have evolved, focusing on:
Definitions of poverty (Do we know who the poor are?)
Benefits to the poor from tourism (Who is benefiting and why?)
Policy Implications and current situation (What has been done and
how successful is it?),
All the case studies highlight cultural determinants (language, cultural
values, gender, approaches to time and work as well as differences in
the organisation of local communities) as main “hindrances”
in developing a comparative research approach. The circumstances define
the use of the methods, some of which work better in some national settings
than others. Focus groups, for example, work well in an emerging democracy
such as Indonesia, rather than in such countries as Vietnam, where focus
groups were organised along lines stipulated by government authority structures.
If time permits, examples of the methods used and some of their results
will be provided for Lao PDR.
BEYOND TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT AID: MOTIVES AND PRACTICES
OF 'POLITICAL' TRAVELLERS
Fabian Frenzel, Sheffield Hallam University
At the structural level tourism is political in that it relates to the
distribution and allocation of natural and symbolic resources. At the
micro-level, the tourist is seldom seen as being politically engaged,
but rather has been typified as a value neutral actor engaged in leisure.
However, an emerging and increasingly significant trend within international
tourism relates to travel in the context of various forms of organised
protest, resistance and assistance, linked to wider social and political
movements which are highly mobile and cut across national boundaries.
In addition to organised travel, there is also a more loosely structured
form of political travel working through informal networks of communication.
Sites of political engagement also act as destinations within destinations
with 'tourists' fulfilling a dual role as political activists (e.g. volunteers
in local development) and participants in various leisure pursuits within
temporary spaces.
This paper deals with an example of political tourism and the practices
and spaces that were mobilised during a tour throughout North and West
Africa. The "boundaries to bridges" tour that took place in
winter 2003/4 between the south Spanish province of Andalusia and Senegal,
highlights an example of this emerging trend of political tourism. By
following one of the most significant migration roots into the European
Union - but in the opposite direction - the tour was aiming at connecting
separated geopolitical, national and cultural spaces by realising transnational
networks of cooperation. Central to this practice were festivals at sites
along the route created in cooperation between participants of the tour
and the locals. Among the local people involved were government officials,
members of civil society and artists. The whole project was self-funded
by the fifty or so participants, who came together following an international
call through the internet to join the project. Local partners in Morocco
and Senegal were either mobilised through informal transnational networks
or spontaneously engaged when the tour 'caravan' entered a city or a village.
Central to the motives of the participants was the aim to differentiate
themselves from established tourism as much as from established development
aid, both of which are regarded as merely promoting corporate globalization.
Apart from leaving the participants with a "feel-good-factor"
during their travels, this paper seeks to address the extent to which
their practices actually differ from other forms of tourism. And more
importantly, did local participants actually benefit (and if so, how)
from the visit of the tour in their communities?
