Coastal development in France: Tourism as a tool for regional development

The coastal development for tourism, of Languedoc-Roussillon in South West France represents one of the leading examples of State investment in tourism as a means of regional development. Examination is made of the administration, planning and implementation of the tourism project in Languedoc-Roussillon and its success is evaluated in terms of seasonality, its effect on income and employment in the region, the social value of the project and its contribution to the national balance of payments. On the basis of these evaluations it is argued that the tourism project has achieved only moderate success and tourism alone has not solved, and is unlikely to solve, the region's basic problems. The lessons of its use as a tool for regional development in Languedoc-Roussillon are of relevance to national governments everywhere.     

Tourism in Taos and Patzcuaro: A comparison of two approaches to regional development

This study examines tourism and regional development in terms of the different institutional structures present in the United States and Mexico. Using the methodology of controlled comparison, the analysis shows that, although Taos and Patzcuaro share many social structural characteristics and have similar tourist sectors, the relatively open institutional structure within New Mexico and the United States contrasts sharply with the relatively closed, “elitist” institutional structure operating in Michoacan and Mexico. As a result, the citizenry of Taos has been possible for the people of Patzcuaro. The different roles of the public and private sectors in Taos and Patzcuaro are particularly significant in this respect and illustrate two quite distinctive approaches, from the national to the regional to the local level, to the problems of tourism and regional development.     

Tourism and employment in the Gambia

In addition to providing formal wage labor in hotels, airports, and the service infrastructure, tourism is said to provide possibilities for independent indigenous enterprise in handicrafts, entertainment, transport, through which the Gambians may, in effect, economically “lift themselves up by their bootstraps.” Such is the theory. This paper analyzes the actual employment possibilities in The Gambia provided by its recent tourism investment. From the findings of an economic survey the author concludes that hopes of economic development being catalyzed by tourism are unfounded and misleading. This conclusion is supported by a structural analysis and a characterization of the tourist industry in The Gambia by an investigation into the economic forces at work in the country, and by direct observations made by informants and the author concerning the impact tourism has made in spheres non-economic: the moral, the social, and the family.     

The effects of scale in economic development: Tourism in Bali

Eric E. Rodenburg, The Effects of Scale in Economic Development: Tourism in Bali. Annals of Tourism Research 1980, VII(2):177–196. Planners promote tourism to meet the objectives of economic development. Different scales of enterprise, however, meet the objectives of planners in different ways. Data from Bali, Indonesia, illustrate the differential social and economic effects of three scales of tourism enterprise; large industrial, small industrial and craft tourism. A comparison of these segments of the continuum of tourism enterprises in Bali shows that the objectives of economic planners (increased earnings, foreign exchange, investment, job opportunities, production, entreprenuership, infrastructure, and the minimization of adverse social and cultural effects) are not best met through the promotion of large, industrially scaled enterprises.     

Tourism development and value change

Social changes induced by tourism development are examined from the standpoint of modernization and capitalist development in Vent and Obergurgl, two small Alpine communities in Western Austria. The level of development of these two villages regarding structure and values is determined empirically and the existence of a relationship between these two levels established: traditional precapitalist structures and values dominate in Vent, while modern capitalist structures and values prevail in Obergurgl. Analysis of the conditions and processes of change showed tourism to be acceptable to traditional precapitalist structures as well as to modern capitalist structures and values. However, once tourism evolves to a “mono-culture”, it transcends the traditional precapitalist framework.     

Toward a framework for tourism education: Problems and prospects

Jafari, Jafar, J. R. Brent Ritchie, Toward a Framework For Tourism Education: Problems and Prospects. Annals of Tourism Research 1981, VIII(1):13–34. The purpose of this article is to offer a framework for analysis and discussion of tourism education. It first adopts a definition of tourism within which interaction among its components and extraneous aspects are considered. Specifically, it addresses issues related to travelers, tourism goods and services, socio-physical factors, and the host-guest relationship. Second, it discusses some social science disciplines relevant to the study of tourism, with reference to some methods of research and teaching of tourism. Finally, the article moves on to present some other issues pertinent to curriculum development in tourism. Throughout the paper, a number of questions are raised and attempts are made to point out some critical issues in tourism education.