preview

Critically Analyse and Evaluate the Relationship Between Tourism and Development & Illustrate Your Arguments with Practical Examples from a Variety of Destination Areas.

Best Essays

Critically analyse and evaluate the relationship between tourism and development & illustrate your arguments with practical examples from a variety of destination areas.

In order to be able to understand the relationship that exists between tourism and development, it is important primarily to understand what is meant by the term ‘development’. One important point is that if development is linked to economic progress, then the majority of third world countries are currently not in a developmental stage at all. Sharpley et al (2002:25) state therefore that development should be classified as “the reduction of widespread poverty and unemployment”. However, this solely relates to third world countries, as poverty, whilst existing to some …show more content…

The core issue of modernisation is that all societies follow an evolutionary path to development, and, according to their stage of development, societies can be located at different positions on a path from traditional to modern (Sharpley, 2002:247). Economic growth can result in a variety of methods of development, such as the balanced ‘big push’ approach (Harrison, 1995), which results in the destination being built up at a steady rate. This rational and logical method of development, though, is not being used in Goa, India, where western based organisations are continuously developing the region, with little idea of the impact on rural life. Tourism is Goa’s primary industry, handling 12% of all foreign tourist arrivals in India (WTO, 2004). Wilson (1997:53) reinforces the reality of how successful tourism has become in Goa by stating that “available accommodation in Goa has doubled over the last couple of years”. Conversely, whilst clearly providing the region with a sustainable industry, the reality is that 80% of hotel chains operating in Goa are run by western owned companies (Mintel, 2008). As a result, the majority of the money that is being generated through tourism is ending up back in the western world, rather than being used to help support local communities. In other words, within the single,

Get Access