ECOCLUB, Issue 91
13
Added to this, creating partnerships (MDG8) with different interests and the role of gender in most economies can indirectly
impact on education (MDG 2), while success in policies aimed at women can have a positive effect on MDGs 4, 5 and 6. As
most primary tourism attractions are generically referred to as natural, cultural, including built and modified environments,
policies promoting tourism can balance economy with people, culture and environment. To do this effectively depends on
government’s commitment and leadership that is responsible to the development and quality of life of the local population.
Already in the tourism industry, there is a general interest in sustainable tourism, ecotourism, responsible tourism, and the like
that are collectively referred to as alternative tourism and here suggesting to categorise further as ‘new wave tourism’. Where
such trends and development frameworks become exploratory attracting huge investments, it indeed creates a ‘new wave’ of
tourism sector. Thus, this ‘new wave’ can be promoted with the understanding that tourism activities should not deplete the
environmental and cultural base upon which it depends, a theme that resonates well with MDG 7. This theme is already
attracting the interest of major international agencies like IUCN, WWF, etc. effectively implementing the target of MDG8.
Conclusion
This paper has shown that tourism has important potential to contribute to the economic growth and development of third world
countries. If this assertion is to be agreed upon, then it also has the potential to contribute to the MDGs. For this to be the case
there has to be more commitment by governments, proponents of tourism sector, major stakeholders, academics etc., to study
and unravel the benefits that tourism can bring to the local community for application. Such concerted efforts are needed to
create tourism data that will be used to identify, quantify and analyze costs and benefits of tourism ventures accruing to the local
community.
Enhancing tourism's legitimacy in poverty reduction strategies is dependent on host countries policies and development agencies
placing a greater emphasis on the monitoring and analysis of its true costs and benefits. The challenge is to enhance the many
positive impacts it can have and reduce the costs it can place on the poor community.
In discussing poverty, sustainable development and attempting to meet the MDGs by the year 2015, each government can make
the choice to encourage investment, facilitate innovation, create job opportunities, and guarantee respect for local environments,
cultures and social well-being of its people. Tourism as a holistic and multifaceted industry can be used to facilitate these
especially where knowledge of best practices and successes are shared and managed for the benefit of a destination. Where
investment is encouraged and facilitated, the private sector can be deployed as a driver of sustainable development and as a
contributor to quality of life of the people and cultures that it touches. These can be measured in quantifying the achievements
of tourism in pursuit of the MDGs.
*Dr. Lawal Marafa is a Professor at the Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of
Hong Kong, and Director of the Postgraduate Programme in Ecotourism. His research interests include Tourism and
Environment, Tourism Policy and Education, Ecotourism, Leisure, Recreation Planning and Management, Natural Resource
Management, Knowledge sharing and management for Development and Sustainable Development related to the Millennium
Development Goals of the UN.
References
Ashley, C., Boyd, C. and Goodwin, H. (2000). Pro-Poor Tourism: Putting Poverty at the Heart of the Tourism Agenda. Natural Resource Perspectives, Number 51. ODI
Working Paper.
Britton, S.G. (1982). The Political Economy of Tourism in the Third World. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 9(3). 331-358.
Brohman, J. (1996). New Directions in Tourism for Third World Development.; Annals of Tourism Research. Vol. 23. no.l. 48- 70.
Carter, E (1987). Tourism in the Least Developed Countries. Annals of Tourism Research, 14, 202 -206.
Elliott, S. M and S. Mann (2005). Development, Poverty and Tourism: Perspectives and Influences in Sub-Saharan Africa. Occasional Paper Series: CSGOP-05-34.
Grown, C. A. and J. Sebstad (1989). Towards a Wider Perspective on Women's Employment. World Development, Vol. 17, No. 7, 937-952.
Honey, M. (1999). Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who owns paradise? Island Press, Washington, D.C.
Hosni, E. (2000). Strategy for sustainable tourism development in the Sahara. UNESCO, Paris. 66pp.
Inskeep, E. (1991). Tourism Planning: An Integrated and Sustainable Development Approach. Van Nostrand Reinhold. New York.
Jenkins, C. L. (1982). The effects of scale in tourism products in developing countries. Annals of Tourism Research, 9 (2), 229 – 249.
Joppe, M. (1996). Sustainable community tourism development revisited. Tourism Management. Volume 17, Issue 7, 475 – 479.
Kiss, A. (2004). Is community-based ecotourism a good use of biodiversity conservation funds? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Volume 19, Issue 5, 232-237.
Malik, K., (2005). Opening remarks at the launch of the 2005 Global Human Development: UNDP Resident Representative/UN Resident Coordinator, Beijing, China.
Torres, R., and Momsen, J. (2004). Challenges and Potential for Linking Tourism and Agriculture to achieve pro-poor tourism objectives. Progress in Development Studies, 4
(4), 294 – 318.
Tosun, C. (2005). Stages in the emergence of a participatory tourism development approach in the developing world. Geoforum, 36 (3), 333 – 352.
Wang, Y. and G. Wall. (2007). Administrative arrangements and displacement compensation in top-down tourism planning—A case from Hainan Province, China. Tourism
Management, Volume 28, Issue 1, 70-82.
Wisansing, J. (2005). Challenges and Issues in Incorporating Pro Poor Tourism Approach into Hotel Business: Viewpoints of Hotel Executives in Thailand. Paper presented at
the 3rd Global Summit of the IIPT, Pattaya, Thailand, 2nd to 5th October, 2005.
Yunis, E. (2004). Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Alleviation. Paper presented at the World Bank-ABCDE Conference-Europe. Brussels, 10 May, 2004.
