colleagues,
Of course I agree with all the crits of tourism/developing countries
destinations. But here seems a strong arena for creative
critical georgaphical contribution. And one that avoids other
possibilities, even in much of the lousy contemporary tourism - that
seems to get our colleagues places to oversee what`s happening!
Tourism can be coupled with empowerment [some Indian sub-continent
cases], and who are we to `judge` and proscribe `cultural content`?
When georgaphers stop usign overseas visits, when they stop usign
hugely polluting and wasteful environment-bashing [at global level]
supermarkets then they/we deserve to be listened to!!!
David Crouch, Anglia [and,yes] Karlstad- but I cant stand supermarkets!
On Wed, 5 May 1999 12:28:59 GMT Hillary Shaw
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Recent comments on crit-goog have drawn attention to the problems
> posed by touriwm and whether it is a good idea for developing
> countries to use it as a revenue source. The problems caused by
> "tourism" are in fact caused by the tour operators. These problems,
> and possible solutions, include:-
> 1) Poor wages paid to hotel workers, and forcing them to rely on tips
> or gratuities for their basic income. A possibler solution is the
> imposition of a mimimum wage on such worker's employers. The jobs
> involved would not migrate to another country as they might if, say,
> a mimimum wage were introduced at a car assembly plant, as tourists
> to a country require hotel workers there, not elsewhere. The holiday
> price would rise - this requires the host country to differentiate
> its holiday "experience", based on that country's
> cultural/biological/landscape inheritance, so that jobs migration
> does not take place indirectly by holiday makers going elsewhere.
> 2) Visually ugly developments such as the concreting over by large
> hotels and roads of large parts of the Mediterranean coast. In places
> where we already have this infrastructure, it will only cause more
> poverty to pull it down, but no more should be allowed. Strictly
> enforced planning controls to stop other areas suffering this -
> difficult I admit in areas of endemic corruption by local officials.
> If effective, will raise holiday prices by restricting availability
> of hotel beds, so perhaps raising worker's wages.
> 3) Unsustainable use of resources. eg hotel swimming pools, golf
> courses, in arid areas. If holiday numbers are restricted and
> planning controls are enfirced, thisd problem will also be limited.
> One way of limiting holiday makre numbers may be a quota on the water
> allocated per hotel, or per the hotel sector. Hotel operators will
> not erect new hotels if they know they cannot supply decent plumbing,
> baths per guest, etc.
> 4) Damage to wildlife, eg sea turtle nesting disrupted on turkish
> beaches. Again, controls on devpt, either direct throiugh planning
> permission, or indirect through qoutas. Zone certain areas off limits
> for building, AND ENFORCE THIS!
> 5)Transport pollution, through long haul flights to the holiday, then
> excessive coach travel once there. Air travel polln is an international
> problem, tackled through extra flight taxes on long flights. Perhaps
> use these taxes to subsidise more sustainable transport in developing
> countries, eg to their rail, not road , systems.Once there encourage
> walking/cycling holidays. Encourage tourists to view the local area
> more closely, not undertake a quick coach trip of the whole region.
> Such "whistle stop" tours are likely less meaningful to the tourist
> than a really close look at the small area within a few miles or tens
> of miles of the hotel. Host country could impose a milaege tax on
> holiday bus milage, monitored by the coach tachograph. Costs of
> tachograph insytallation and monitoring covered by this tax.
> 6) Finally, for those who want no cultural content, just "two weeks
> sun, sea, and sand", encourage "Centre Parcs" type centres, which can
> be anywhere, so put these anywhere, in least sensitive areas. They can still be
> cheap, so higher holiday prices as described above will not exclude
> the poor from holidays. Cenbtre parcs and its like is essentially
> "location - free", they could even go in areas of industrial
> dereliction, with a bit of prior landscaping, tree planting, etc.
> Hillary Shaw
----------------------
David Crouch
Anglia Polytechnic University
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