Growth Versus Equity: The Continuum of Pro-Poor Tourism and Neoliberal Governance

This paper proposes a model which integrates tourism in a continuum of poverty alleviation strategies within the antipodes of neo-liberalism and protectionism. It is argued that despite growing evidence in favour of regulative and (re)distributive approaches that in practice come closer to protectionism than neoliberalism, the most influential international organisations, as well as governments worldwide, follow a largely neoliberal laissez-faire approach to poverty alleviation coupled with market-friendly ‘pro-poor’ supplements. This paper argues that tourism per se fits very well into neoliberal interpretations of poverty alleviation, while it tends to aggravate poverty-enhancing inequalities if allowed to operate in a free market environment. Drawing on evidence from current research into poverty alleviation, it is argued that in order to be pro-poor, growth must deliver disproportionate benefits to the poor to reduce inequalities which have been found to limit the potential for poverty alleviation. Hence, it is necessary to shift policy focus from growth to equity, which calls for strong institutions capable of regulating the tourism industry and distributing assets in order to facilitate ‘pro-poor growth’. In this respect, this paper challenges the conventional pro-poor tourism approach with its implicit growth-bias, where strategies are judged as pro-poor if they deliver net benefits to ‘the poor’ even if ‘the rich’ benefit disproportionately. However, through a contextualisation with the reality of politico-economic governance, this paper shows that strategies enhancing equity through shifting benefits towards the poor and, importantly, the poorest, are unlikely to be pursued in practice given policy-makers' neoliberal bias and systemic constraints. Hence, only strategies that are largely in sync with a neoliberal ideology and the ‘World Bank orthodoxy’, such as industry self-regulation or government incentives, have much potential to be implemented on a large-scale basis. More radical approaches such as pro-poor regulation and distribution – the equity side of the continuum – are bound to remain predominantly rhetoric of some United Nations organisations.     

Tourism yield measures for Cambodia

This paper develops new measures of tourism yield in the context of Cambodia, a developing country in South East Asia. It first sets out some data regarding tourism in Cambodia and the reasons for tourism being identified as a tool for economic development and poverty alleviation. It then sets out the method and findings of a study by the International Finance Corporation-Mekong Private Sector Development Facility to develop standard and extended measures of tourism yield to assess the pro-poor impact of international tourism in Cambodia. These yield measures extend earlier work undertaken by the first author. It then discusses the policy implications of the findings. It is concluded that while tourism goes some way in reducing poverty in Cambodia, informed policy initiatives can enhance the effect. It is argued that different visitor yield measures provide an important basis for the development of strategies to increase tourism's pro-poor impact. A substantial barrier to the formulation of appropriate policies to increase the pro-poor benefits of Cambodia arises from the limited data available in poor countries generally.     

Ethnic tourism in Lao PDR: gendered divisions of labour in community-based tourism for poverty reduction

A simultaneous analysis of gender and ethnicity provides a fuller understanding of how tourism initiatives benefit marginalised groups in developing countries. In this article, the gendered division of labour is analysed as a way to understand the micro-politics of ethnic tourism production aiming at poverty reduction in Laos. The aim is to demonstrate how constructions of gender and ethnicity impact on women's possibilities to benefit from community-based pro-poor tourism initiatives. Socially constructed notions of gendered behaviour influence divisions of tourism labour in specific spatialities, which we argue is crucial knowledge in the implementation of tourism projects aiming at poverty reduction. The assumption that ‘the poor’ constitute a homogenous group might hide an uneven distribution of tourism benefits in local communities. By focusing on factors which marginalise women, the article demonstrates inequalities between men and women in the division of tourism work. A village in northern Laos is used as a case study to examine aspects impacting on gendered divisions of labour in community-based tourism in Laos. Two examples, the Akha people's belief in and worship of spirits, and provision of massage, are used to illuminate reasons behind gendered imbalances in more detail.     

Nature-Based Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: Impacts of Private Sector and Parastatal Enterprises In and Around Kruger National Park,South Africa

International programmes and national policies around the world have identified tourism as an appropriate mechanism for sustainable development, poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. To evaluate the impact of nature-based tourism on the poor, socio-economic assessments were undertaken at enterprises based within South African protected areas. Comparisons were made between local economic interventions reported by enterprises and neighbouring community member's perceptions of their initiatives. Socioeconomic impacts evaluated included employment, gender equality, procurement, corporate social responsibility, dependency on tourism and access to markets. The studies demonstrate that isolated efforts from individual tourism companies have little tangible impact on the majority of people living in highly populated rural communities but impacts are substantial for the few people who directly benefit. Implications of these findings for future socio-economic initiatives through tourism, and options to increase net benefits to the poor are explored.     

Regional road development,rural and urban poverty: Evidence from China

The study estimates the impact of road investments on overall economic growth, rural and urban growth, and rural and urban poverty reduction. To achieve these goals, an econometric model that captures the different channels through which road investment impacts growth and poverty is developed and estimated using provincial-level data for 1982–1999 in China. Low-grade (mostly rural) roads have benefit/cost ratios for national GDP that are about four times larger than the benefit/cost ratios for high-grade roads. In terms of poverty reduction, low-grade roads raise far more rural and urban poor above the poverty line per yuan invested than do high-grade roads. Another significant finding of the study is the trade-off between growth and poverty reduction when investing in different parts of China. Road investments yield their highest economic returns in the eastern and central regions of China, while their contributions to poverty reduction are greatest in western China (especially the southwest region).     

Is tourism employment a sufficient mechanism for poverty reduction? A case study from Nkhata Bay,Malawi

Extensive attention has been paid to the magnitude and distribution of economic benefits derived from tourism employment by impoverished populations. However, less is known about how economic benefits, such as increased income, relate to poverty conditions at the intra-household level, particularly within the unique contexts of least developed countries. In this paper, we examine the relationship of tourism employment to poverty conditions in a lakeshore community in Malawi. First, we quantitatively compare employment and poverty conditions among the households of tourism employees with those of employees of non-tourism sectors. Secondly, we undertake a qualitative investigation into lodge employment, and its remuneration and fringe benefits from the perspectives of lodge owners and employees. Our findings of the former analysis reveal that while employees of the tourism sector experienced better working and monetary conditions, this group did not exhibit an improved status in other poverty conditions. The latter qualitative analysis shows that most tourism lodge owners adhered to labour standards of minimum wage, and voluntarily offered fringe benefits such as paying medical, funeral, and education expenses of lodge employees. However, despite this adherence to labour standards, there is little evidence that lodge employees and their households experience an improvement in poverty conditions.     

Tourism as a Tool for Poverty Alleviation: A Critical Analysis of ‘Pro-Poor Tourism’ and Implications for Sustainability

Forecasts of high tourism growth in developing nations, where widespread poverty exists, has led to considerable interest in tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation. Powerful bureaucratic and business alliances have been forged to expand this programme. International development agencies are also turning to tourism as a way of alleviating poverty. This is sometimes termed ‘pro-poor tourism’ (PPT). Distinguished from other forms of ‘alternative tourisms’ such as ecotourism and community-based tourism, the stakeholders involved in this enterprise are no less divided. Ideological divisions manifest themselves in the political struggle over how tourism in developing countries should unfold. This paper identifies the different sustainability positions of prominent pro-poor tourism stakeholders and considers the implications for meeting pro-poor and sustainability objectives. Generally, tourism is too often regarded a panacea without an attendant recognition that, like any other industrial activity, tourism is highly political. As a global industry, tourism operates within a neo-liberal market economy which presents severe challenges to meeting pro-poor and sustainable development objectives. This paper therefore recommends a fundamental re-evaluation of tourism's pro-poor potential in the absence of significant commitment to directly address structural inequities which exacerbate poverty and constrain pro-poor attempts.     

Tourism and Poverty Alleviation: An Integrative Research Framework

The past decade has seen an upsurge of interest from the governments and development organisations in a tourism-based approach to poverty alleviation. More specifically, poverty alleviation has been established as a major priority within the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) itself, as is evidenced by the launching of the concept of ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism as an effective tool for Eliminating Poverty). In contrast, the implications of tourism for poverty alleviation have been largely neglected by the tourism academic community. Relevant research to date is fragmented, limited in scope, and lacks a consistent methodological development. To address these deficiencies, this paper presents an integrative research framework, which synthesises multiple perspectives and can be used as an overarching guideline to stimulate and guide other future enquiries on tourism and poverty alleviation. Towards this end, a number of research needs and opportunities have also been identified and suggested along with the presentation of the framework.     

What’s in the black box? Evaluating anti-poverty tourism interventions utilizing theory of change

Increasing interest in poverty alleviation at the beginning of twenty-first century has facilitated the rapid growth of various anti-poverty tourism interventions (ATIs) around the globe. The tourism–poverty alleviation link, however, is still not well established, partly due to a paucity of appropriate evaluation approaches that are capable of simultaneously providing researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with a deeper understanding of an ATI’s mechanisms, the complexity surrounding its operational processes and evidence of its impacts. Additionally, ATI stakeholders’ values and influences play a significant role in ATI evaluation yet their perspectives are often overlooked. Theory of Change (ToC) has the potential to generate a holistic picture of an ATI, as this innovative approach has been developed to connect stakeholders’ theories of context with the mechanisms and outcomes of an intervention. Utilizing a case study of microfinance tourism in Vietnam, this paper provides readers with insight into ToC and proposes a conceptual framework which guides the application of ToC to facilitate the effective evaluation of ATIs.     

The threshold effects of educational tourism on economic growth

ABSTRACT

This study examines the effects of educational tourism and other variables on economic growth using a balanced panel dataset comprising 61 countries. We use the threshold regression model with three different threshold variables (i.e. educational tourism, research, and information and communication technology) to estimate non-monotonic mediating effects on economic growth. Our findings suggest that educational tourism has a significant positive impact on economic growth, but the effect is non-monotonic and contingent upon the level of educational tourism, the output of quality research, and the development of information and communication technology (ICT). It is proposed that policymakers should take into consideration these factors when proposing measures to stimulate economic growth via the educational tourism channel.     

A Panel Cointegration Analysis of the Impact of Tourism on Economic Growth: Evidence from the Middle East Region

This paper examines the contribution of tourism industry to the GDP of three selected destinations in the Middle East region: Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. We introduce a quadratic functional form and apply the advanced panel cointegration dynamic model with robust estimation to test our hypothesis. Our analysis is based on a comprehensive set of panel data of tourism receipts, education investment, foreign direct investment and fixed capital formation over the period of 1981–2008. The results show a long‐run relationship between tourism growth and GDP. We also show that tourism has a stronger impact on the economy than other related sectors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“The effects of gender transport poverty in Karachi”

Karachi is the economic hub of Pakistan, with an estimated population of 20 million (Khawar, 2017). However, it lacks a systematised public transport service, with few buses and no trains, leaving private bus owners to run poor-quality deregulated services. Although it may be argued that poor service fails to accommodate the needs of the inhabitants of this megacity, women are additionally marginalised by restricted transport services. Men not only have more space allocated to them on public transport but also have the freedom to use alternative and cheaper private modes of transport such as motorbikes and cycles, which are socially discouraged for women. However, there is little literature on the barriers to women's mobility in countries in the Global South, which shows how they are differentially deprived of their agency owing to the cultural norms and gender disparity in transport provision. This paper aims to identify and assess the various aspects of gender transport poverty faced by young working women in Karachi using a quantitative survey. It will broaden the understanding of gender transport poverty in the Global South.     

Facing the pain of others: perspectives on international volunteer tourism between agency and spectatorship

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing academic debate on volunteer tourism by reviewing the volunteer tourists' experience in light of their encounter with poverty and sufferance. Through the analysis of data collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews with a group of 29 young Italian adults, the author examines the different ways in which volunteer tourists construct and negotiate their role as agents of change during their vacations abroad. Results show that the expectations of providing effective help to the local communities is often challenged by the limitations and constraints of the volunteer tourism experience and, as a consequence, volunteer tourists need to find new ways of making sense of their experiences abroad. Looking at the work of French sociologist [Boltanski, L. (1999). Distant suffering. Morality, media and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] on the ways in which spectators respond to the distant suffering of others, this paper argues that, in order to avoid an oversimplification and a trivialisation of the volunteer tourism experience, the volunteers' participation needs to be addressed primarily as a matter of spectatorship, rather than as a question of agency.     

The sensitivity of tourism demand to exchange rate changes: an application to Swiss overnight stays in Austrian mountain villages during the winter season

This paper investigates the impact of the depreciation of the euro against the Swiss franc on tourism demand. The data consist of Swiss overnight stays in West Austrian ski resorts during the winter season. Using a panel error correction model, we found that the elasticity of tourism demand with respect to exchange rates is significantly larger than unity in absolute terms. In particular, the real exchange rate elasticity ranges between ?1.5 using the dynamic panel data model and ?2.2 for the long difference regression model. This indicates that Swiss winter tourists are highly sensitive to changes in exchange rates and relative prices. High elevation ski resorts benefit most from the depreciation of the euro against the Swiss franc. For Austrian ski resorts, tentative estimates suggest that the depreciation of the euro against the Swiss franc has led to an additional 173,000 overnight stays over the last four winter seasons.     

Exploring the dynamic linkages between tourism growth and environmental pollution: new evidence from the Mediterranean countries

ABSTRACT

The present study explores the impact of tourism on environmental pollution using a comprehensive set of air pollutants, namely CO₂, CO, NO_x, SO₂, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀, in a multivariate framework under the context of the Mediterranean countries. The panel cointegration tests indicate that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship between environmental pollution, energy consumption, economic development and tourism growth. The tourism-induced EKC hypothesis is validated for four out of six air pollution indicators in the Southern Mediterranean countries, whereas in the Northern Mediterranean region we fail to document any evidence supporting the hypothesis. In addition, tourism growth has a differential impact on different air pollution indicators across regions. The major findings from the panel Granger causality tests show that bidirectional causality exists between four air pollutants (CO₂, NO_x, SO_2, and PM_2.5) and tourism and unidirectional causality runs from CO and PM₁₀ to tourism growth in the Northern Mediterranean. In contrast, there is a feedback relationship between environmental pollution (CO and NO_x) and tourism growth and one-way causality running from environmental pollution (CO₂, SO_2, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀) to tourism development in the Southern Mediterranean.     

New insights into an old issue – examining the influence of tourism on economic growth: evidence from selected small island developing states

This paper uses relatively new heterogeneous panel autoregressive distributed lag cointegration methods to re-examine the long-run equilibrium and Granger causality relationship between tourism and economic growth for the small island developing states (SIDSs). In addition, the study incorporates energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) as alternative growth determinants, during the period 1995–2014. After allowing for the heterogeneous country effect, a positive and statistically significant long-run equilibrium relationship between tourism, energy consumption, FDI, and gross domestic product, with a moderate convergence rate towards the long-run path is confirmed. The panel Granger causality test as proposed by Dumitrescu and Hurlin [(2012). Testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels. Economic Modelling, 29(4), 1450–1460.] shows bidirectional causality running from tourism to economic growth, from tourism to energy consumption and from energy consumption to economic growth, and unidirectional causality between FDI and tourism, between economic growth and FDI, and between FDI and energy consumption. Our empirical findings provide support for tourism-induced growth, tourism-induced energy consumption, tourism-induced investment, and the energy consumption-economic growth relationship in the case of SIDSs. Our empirical results resonate with the existing findings with major policy implications for the SIDSs.     

Influence of varied parking tariffs on parking occupancy levels by trip purpose

The potential impact of parking-pricing on trip generation and modal choice is gaining greater acknowledgement within transport demand management research. However, although the aggregate effect of a transport demand management pricing measure is often noted or estimated, the potential varied impact of pricing measures on specific subsets of the market are often overlooked in the policy process. The variance of price impacts on different trip purposes, initially, and as tariffs increase progressively, is an important consideration for policy makers. Using the results from a survey on 1007 on-street parkers in Dublin, Ireland, this paper shows a progressively widening gap in price sensitivity between trips made for business purposes relative to non-business purposes, as the suggested parking pricing scenarios are increased. The results highlight the complication that the varied price sensitivity of particular market subsets can bring to development of a pricing policy and warns of threshold points where the gap between the price responsiveness of specific market subsets become considerably more pronounced.     

Prospects of basket production in promoting sustainable rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta,Botswana

This paper uses the concept of sustainable rural livelihoods and income diversification to assess the role that basket making as a cultural tourism activity can play in improving rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Using both primary and secondary data sources, this paper points out that shocks and natural causes such as drought, disease and changing flood levels in the Okavango River, particularly the drying of the Thaoge (one of the distributaries of the Okavango), have contributed to a decline in livestock and crop yields and increased poverty levels in the region. Therefore, alternative livelihood options that can diversify rural incomes from agricultural production need to be identified. This paper argues that basket making has the potential to diversify rural incomes and improve livelihoods in the Okavango. Baskets are a cultural tourism product that can raise income earning and employment opportunities for rural residents in the Okavango. For this to be successful, basket making will need to be developed as part of cultural tourism. A sustainable cultural tourism sector where baskets are key products requires the sustainable use of natural resources used for basket making. These resources are at present overharvested and are threatened with depletion. There is also a need to promote the empowerment of basket weavers particularly in entrepreneurship and managerial skills in the tourism business, attract young and educated people and promote the preservation of traditional basket making skills, which are important in the development of cultural tourism. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tourism development and economic growth in the Mediterranean countries: evidence from panel Granger causality tests

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between tourism development and economic growth in the Mediterranean countries using the newly developed panel Granger causality tests for the 1995–2010 period. It is concluded that while there is bidirectional causal nexus between tourism development and economic growth for Portugal, unidirectional causal nexus from economic growth to tourism development is found for Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Cyprus, Croatia, Bulgaria and Greece. Therefore, the growth-led tourism hypothesis is supported in case of these seven countries. On the other hand, there is no causal relation for Malta and Egypt. The study finds evidence to support the tourism-led growth hypothesis for a group of panel in Mediterranean countries. The results of the overall study suggest that governments of Mediterranean countries should focus on economic policies to promote tourism as a potential source of economic growth.     

Measuring access to urban centres in rural Northeast Brazil: A spatial accessibility poverty index

This study proposes two innovative methods to measure transport-related exclusion in rural areas caused by the lack of access to basic opportunities (e.g. healthcare, education, jobs, etc). The Spatial Accessibility Poverty (SAP) indices, that are developed, are tailored for rural areas of the Global South and particularly illustrated in a case study in Northeast Brazil, where spatial data is most scarce. Gravity-based models are proposed based on travel impedance methods derived from i) Friction surface datasets, and ii) Kernel density maps. The spatial information is then aggregated at a municipality level creating indices that conjugate factors of severity and extent of SAP. The findings show that factors like deprivation of housing facilities (electricity and sanitation) and low population density are associated with critical SAP levels. The results also point out to higher prevalence of SAP in inner areas than the coastal areas of Northeast Brazil. The sensitivity analysis shows how data-poor contexts present a particularly complex environment to develop robust SAP measures. The findings emphasise the importance of considering sensitivity analysis and complementary factor analysis when applying SAP indicators for planning transport and for action prioritisation purposes. Since access to services and opportunities has been claimed to be a key difference between those who have escaped chronic poverty those still trapped in it, SAP indicators tailored to areas where poverty is most spread are of primary importance to promote a new standard of transport development strongly committed to eradicating poverty.