Tourism in Third World Development

1. Tourism in Third World Development http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/home.htm http://www.world-tourism.org/index.htm

2. Tourism’s Importance in Development • Tourism is an important economic activity • Over 700 million people traveled to a foreign country in 2000, spending more US$ 478 billion. • International tourism receipts combined with passenger transport currently total more than US$ 575 billion • Thus tourism is the world's number one export earner, ahead of automotive products, chemicals, petroleum and food. • If we consider tourism's potential in encouraging job creation, this would seem to be a natural course of action to stimulate growth • But World Bank has been slow to encourage this and many governments have only moved recently to push this as a means of revenue generation and poverty alleviation.

3. Global Tourism Growth • There were about 700 million international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2002 • Tourism receipts have grown dramatically since 1985 • Air transport increased its share against road in international holidays; together these two account for 85% of all international trips. Rail and sea transport remain below 8% each.

4. Tourism Growth • January-August 2004 period growth is estimated at 12%, corresponding to an increase by some 58 million arrivals. • This leap is primarily a reaction to last year's depressed figures due to the Iraq war, SARS and the weak economy • Terrorist activity and natural disasters continue to have depressing effects on tourism

5. Sustainable Tourism • Three interconnected aspects: environmental, socio-cultural, and economic • Sustainability implies permanence, so sustainable tourism includes optimum use of resources • Including biological diversity; minimization of ecological, cultural and social impacts • Maximization of benefits to conservation and local communities • Also refers to the management structures that are needed to achieve this.

6. Impacts of Tourism • Environmental • The quality of the environment, both natural and man-made, is essential to tourism. • But tourism's relationship with the environment is complex. It involves many activities that can have adverse environmental effects. • Many impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports, and of tourism facilities, including resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas. • Negative impacts of tourism development can gradually destroy the environmental resources on which it depends. • Three main impact areas: natural resources, pollution, physical impacts

7. Impacts of Tourism • Social-Cultural- effects on host communities of direct and indirect relations with tourists, and of interaction with the tourism industry. • For a variety of reasons, host communities often are the weaker party in interactions with their guests and service providers, leveraging any influence they might have. • Tourism may bring about change in value systems and behavior and threaten indigenous identity • Changes often occur in community structure, family relationships, collective traditional life styles, ceremonies and morality. • Positive impacts- supportive force for peace, foster pride in cultural traditions and help avoid urban relocation by creating local jobs.

8. Impact of Tourism • Economic- tourism industry generates substantial economic benefits to both host countries and tourists' home countries • Especially in developing countries, one of the primary motivations for a region to promote itself as a tourism destination is the expected economic improvement. • Increased employment in service sector jobs • As with other impacts, this massive economic development brings along both positive and negative consequences.

9. Leakage Effects of Tourism • For each US$ 100 spent on a vacation tour by a tourist from a developed country, only around US$ 5 actually stays in a developing-country destination's economy. • Two main ways that leakage occurs • Import leakage- occurs when tourists demand standards of equipment, food, and other products that the host country cannot supply. Especially in less-developed countries, food and drinks must often be imported, since local products are not up to the hotel's (i.e. tourist's) standards or the country simply doesn't have a supplying industry. Much of the income from tourism expenditures leaves the country again to pay for these imports. • Export leakage- Multinational corporations and large foreign businesses have a substantial share in the import leakage. In poor developing destinations, MNCs are the only source of investment capital to construct tourism infrastructure and facilities. Thus an export leakage arises when overseas investors who finance the resorts and hotels take their profits back to their country of origin.

10. Ecotourism • Growing concept and increasingly important in the Third World and elsewhere • Ecotourism embraces principles of sustainable tourism • Contributes actively to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage • Includes local and indigenous communities in its planning, development and operation, contributing to their well-being, • Interprets the natural and cultural heritage of the destination to visitor, • Lends itself better to independent travelers, as well as to organized tours for small size groups.

11. Orangutan Rehabilitation • The Bohorok Centre for ex-captive and refugee Sumatran orangutans was established in 1973 by two Swiss zoologists, whose funding was originally provided by the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). • In 1980 the Centre was taken over by the Indonesian Government. • With the recent tourist explosion at Bohorok, the orangutan rehabilitation program was no longer feasible. No longer meets today's standards of species re-introduction. • Furthermore, the area is already over-saturated with orangutans, and therefore not suitable for releasing more rehabilitants. • http://www.orangutans-sos.org/bohorok.html

12. Green Sea Turtle Protection • Size: Adults are 3.5 to 4 feet in carapace length (76-91 cm).Weight: Adult weigh between 300 to 400 pounds (136-180 kg).Habitat: Mainly stay near the coastline and around islands and live in bays and protected shores, especially in areas with seagrass beds. Rarely are they observed in the open ocean.Nesting: Green turtles nest at intervals of 2, 3, or more years, with wide year-to-year fluctuations in numbers of nesting females. Nests between 3 to 5 times per season. Lays an average of 115 eggs in each nest, with the eggs incubating for about 60 days. The greatest threat is from the commercial harvest for eggs and food. Other green turtle parts are used for leather and small turtles are sometimes stuffed for curios. Incidental catch in commercial shrimp trawling is an increasing source of mortality.