Dear All,
To some extent I agree with Michael Davie's pessimistic
observations, however the socio-economic and geographic
distribution of benefits international tourism cannot be
reduced to simple dualisms between northern-controlled
international tourism and 'locally-owned' internal tourism.
As we know there are myriad organisational structures which
underpin the relations between suppliers, inter-mediaries and
tourism markets. Thus we need systemtic empirical evidence
before we can blandly compare the effect of FDI and tourism
in Cuba to say, Fiji. The same goes for the less integrated
independent forms of tourism enterprise that exist in
destination areas.
Moreover, TNC-controlled hotels may offer better working
conditions, a unionized labour-force and the prospect of
regular tourism visitation whilst local hotels may be run by
a local capitalist bourgeoisie and yet offer fewer reliable
job prospects (at best), and worker exploitation and
environmental degradation (at worst).
The dependency paradigm is thus only of limited analytical
relevance today, particular when national economic
development priorities have been usurped by trans-national
capitlaist classes who respond to shareholders (regardless of
national origin), rather than the interest of metropolitan
states per se. In a sense African states, for example,
resemble neo-mercantilist formations in which there are nodes
of development, through which capital is channelled (eg.
Abidjan, Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesberg) presided over by
trans-national agencies (IMF/WB, political elites, NGO
networks, TNC representatives etc) surrounded by
states/regions which are becoming increasingly marginal from
international capital flows. This is reflected in the figures:
Africas share of world arrivals actually fell from 2.6% in
1980 to 2.0% in 1992, whilst between 1980 and 1997 the value
of its total receipts only increased from $2.7million to
$7.6m. Despite praiseworthy attempts to spread the
economic benefits of tourism the large proportion are still
soaked up by a few dominant metropolitan-tourism destinations.
Whilst local and regional elites may benefit via the
reimposition of global free trade (through the Multilateral
Agreement on Investment), and tourism TNCs may well prosper,
the danger is of reinforcing the divisions between alliances
of investors and national politicians, on the one hand, and
local populations on the other, for whom the former will bear
less and less responsibility as the fabric of post-colonial
states is dismantled (eg. witness Kenya's current crisis).
Raoul Bianchi.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Raoul Bianchi
Research Fellow
Tourism, Culture and Development
Centre for Leisure and Tourism Studies
University of North London
Stapleton House
277-281 Holloway Road
London N7 8HN
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On Fri, 07 May 1999 10:49:41 +0100 Dr neil Carr
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >Date: Fri, 7 May 1999 10:41:53 +0200
> >Subject: Third World Tourism
> >From: "Michael F. Davie" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >X-Unsub: To leave, send text 'leave crit-geog-forum' to [log in to unmask]
> >Reply-To: "Michael F. Davie" <[log in to unmask]>
> >Sender: [log in to unmask]
> >Precedence: list
> >MIME-Version: 1.0
> >
> >To the statement "The tourism is the only way to development of the Third
> >world", I replied that I did non agree. Here are my reasons.
> >
> >There are two types of tourism. The first is international, the second
> >internal. The first type is important and heuristic. International tourism
> >caters, for the most part, to tourists coming from rich, Northen,
> >countries. They expect, and get, top-quality hotels, food and exotic sites
> >and landscapes. However, these have a price. The hotels do not belong to
> >local companies, but to Northern multinationals. They were built using
> >imported material, are staffed, at least in the upper echelons, by
> >foreigners, and were built because of favourable tax laws, passed just for
> >them by compliant governments. Benefits are not re-used in the country, but
> >exported, while salaries for the local work-force remain low.
> >The food that is presented is never completely locally-produced, but
> >imported at great cost to the host country. Even the fresh water is often
> >diverted from agricultural use for the hotels (pools, showers, gardens,
> >golf-couses), as tourism is often branded a national priority, following
> >the lines dictated by the World Bank or similar agencies in the context of
> >structural adjustments of the economy.
> >As for helping national culture, it is probably the contrary that is being
> >done, with a global "Macdonaldization" of culture, arts and handicrafts.
> >To end, the whole industry is often in the hands of the Power structure
> >(government ministers, deputies and followers), and thus the system works
> >for itself and for personal profit.
> >
> >As for internal tourism, it functions using the local facilities, or family
> >networks. The input of capital may be important, but it is in local
> >currency, and insufficient to launch any major development of a whole
> >country.
> >
> >Perhaps the statement should read : "Tourism in one of the causes of the
> >persistence of underdevelopment in the Third World".
> >
> >Regards
> >Michael Davie
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@@*@*@*
> >Michael F. DAVIE [log in to unmask]
> >Professeur
> >Directeur du DEA "Espaces, Societes et Villes dans le Monde Arabe"
> >UMR 6592 URBAMA (Urbanisation dans le Monde Arabe)
> >Universite Francois-Rabelais
> >23 rue de la Loire, B.P. 7521, 37075 Tours Cedex 2 (France)
> >Tel : (+33) 02 47 36 84 67 Fax : (+33) 02 47 36 84 71
> >*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@@*@*@*
> >
>
> Dr Neil Carr
> Dept. of Business and Finance
> University of Hertfordshire
> Mangrove Road
> Hertford
> Hertfordshire
> England
> SG13 8QF
> Tel. (01707) 285511
> Fax. (01707) 285455
> email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
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