The political impact of tourism dependence in Latin America

This research seeks to test empirically the validity of hypotheses drawn from dependency theory that suggest that economic reliance on tourism creates political dependence. Specifically, it seeks to determine whether the Carribean region, strongly dependent on U.S. tourism, is demonstrably more compliant politically with the United States than other, less dependent, Latin American nations. In addition, the paper examines the relation between political compliance and other indicators of dependence, e.g., investment, aid, and trade. Compliance is measured basically by correlating each nation's voting behavior in the UN General Assembly with that of the United States. A series of tests on a number of relevant economic and political variables yields no confirmation of the dependency argument in the political realm.     

U.S. tourism in Mexico: An empirical analysis

This study estimated demand functions for tourism by U.S. residents in Mexico border areas, the Mexican interior, and overseas. There was no evidence that U.S. tourists substitute Mexico for more distant destinations as transportation costs rise. Border tourism is income elastic when the share of U.S. income of the border states is held fixed. Tourism in the Mexican interior is also income elastic. Tourism along the border is price elastic, while tourism in the interior is elastic with respect to U.S. and overseas prices but inelastic with respect to Mexican prices. The rise in the share of the Mexican interior in U.S. overseas tourism is not related to price factors. Recent devaluations of the Mexican peso are unlikely to provide benefits to the Mexican tourism industry.     

Social planning for tourism in the developing countries

The usual perspectives on tourism planning have been economic. This paper argues for the need to take much more explicit account of non-economic costs (and benefits) in this field, and links the discussion to questions that have preoccupied those concerned with general issues of development in recent years. It emphasises that planners act in specific socio-politocal contexts, and that it is especially the dynamics of class structures and theis expression in the power relations at local and national levels which influence outcomes in this field. Practical issues of social planning for tourism are discussed, and the dangers of development which is too massive and too fast are stressed. Some attention is also paid to the role of transnational enterprises in the tourism field, and to the question of bargaining at the international level.     

The effects of scale in tourism projects in developing countries

The paper by Rodenburg (Annals VII:2:177–196) on the effect of scale in tourism development in Bali raises important questions relating to tourism development in Third World countries. One fundamental question is whether large-scale development is inevitable in such countries, or whether there is persuasive evidence to support smaller and craft scale enterprises. This article undertakes a critical review of Rodenburg's analysis and concludes that large scale developments are likely to be inevitable because of external economies of scale and market structures in international tourism, but that the consequences of such developments can be foreseen and therefore mitigated by appropriate pre-project planning.     

Americans' vacations

This paper explores the nature of Americans' vacations from the perspective of current trends in social and symbolic anthropology. Taking the viewpoint of the vacationers themselves, it suggests that there are two polar types of vacations that are recognized by Americans which are termed “Peasant for a Day” and “Queen (King) for a Day.” Each of these types inverts an aspect of American society, but depending on the class of the vacationer involved, the inversion takes on one of two forms: either dissolution or accentuation of the social hierarchy. Examples and variations of these two basic types of vacation are presented; both domestic and overseas holidays are discussed.     

Site and situation strategy in tourism planning: A Mexican case study

Mexico has experienced all the effects, good and ill, of a large and expanding tourist trade. Tourism's negative consequences--economic dependency, crime, cultural erosion--have manifested themselves in tourist ghettos along Mexico's northern border, on the Mexican Riviera, and in the capital. This study is an assesment of contemporary Mexican tourism planning as it relates to these problems, and further as it seeks to make tourism a stimulus to economically depressed areas of the nation. A case study approach is utilized to identify the strategy of site and situation selection for the new programmed resort complex at Cancun on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan peninsula. It is concluded that Cancun embodies, at least for Mexico, a radical departure in tourism development. The resort is situated to attract a large foreign clientele and to create the greatest possible positive economic and social impact on a resident Mexican population that has suffered chronic underdevelopment.     

Negotiating landscape in rural tourism

Landscape is a vitally important asset for Norwegian rural tourism. Different views and perceptions of landscape are negotiated among key actors such as operators, tourists, and farmers. This article investigates these negotiations in relation to three dimension of landscape: values and requirements; how it is experienced; and future development prospects. The study shows that while actors hold different positions and attitudes, all of them unite in their concerns about landscape change, and in their desire to preserve food traditions and local produce. Further, this paper argues that there is a general re-orientation in landscape perception from “spectacularization” towards “multi-sensing”.     

Geographical aspects of state travel marketing in the USA

Almost all of the formal Federal and state government involvement in domestic travel marketing in the United States has been undertaken by state travel offices. Of particular interest to the geographer are state-to-state variations in the size and activities of these travel offices. In this discussion, differences in the total budgets of state travel offices are presented and compared to differences in state population and domestic travel expenditures by state. A three-fold classification of state travel marketing strategies with a geographical basis is then introduced. While the overall discussion provides some explanation for the differences observed, the conclusion is reached that political and other considerations regarding state travel offices are too subtle to be explained by just a few variables.     

The rise and fall of an aristocratic tourist culture: Nice: 1763–1936

The character of winter society in Nice during the period of 1763–1936 is traced in cultural developmental terms. This society, which originally was comprised of a small homogeneous group of (mostly) sick upper class Englishmen, gradually evolved to a large international group of wealthy (mostly) healthy winter visitors. The character of this later society appears to have conformed to Cohen's model for expatriate communities in which various groups of foreign nationals band together into an international group of expatriates linked with upper status residents. The evolutionary trend from the simple to the complex is seen to be the result of (mostly outside) entrepreneurial acativity directed at an expanding market. A continuation of such activity appears to have led to the mass tourism in present-day Nice.     

Values as determinants of motivation: Tourism and other career choices

Neuman, Yoram, Abraham Pizam and Arie Reichel, Values as Determinants of Motivation: Tourism and Other Career Choices. Annals of Tourism Research 1980, VII (3): 428–442. This study examined the predictive validity of work values in explaining motivational patterns of three groups of career preparation differing in their occupational specificity: Tourism/Hospitality, Management, and Liberal Arts. It was found that the higher the occupational specificity of a career preparation the higher is the predictive validity of work values in explaining work motivations. As predicted, the best relationships between values and motivation was found in the maximally specified occupation, namely: tourism/hospitality students, followed by management students with the liberal arts students — the most flexible occupational group — having the lowest relationship between values and motivation. The implications of the findings for employee selection and motivation prediction in the tourism/hospitality industry are discussed.     

Tourists,black markets and regional development in West Africa

Currency brought into West Africa by tourists is strong support for black market operations. The positive as well as the negative effects of illicit currency exchanges are evaluated for their social and economic significance for the region. The black market is not only an index of economic conditions, but is important for individual and group survival and the maintenance of social structure in countries having long term weakened economies. Anthroplogical data provides Third World planners a broadened base for decisions dealing with the role of tourism in regional development.