Impact on the Local Economy

Specialist Reports Special Interest Holidays Green Tourism Impact on the Local Economy 

Tourism looks like an easy way for less developed countries to earn money. In fact much of the money is earnt outside the host country. Even the World Bank admits that 55p out of every £1 spent on tourism in the developing world returns to the West, and local earnings almost always go to local elites. What employment is provided is often limited to the original building work and then more menial, often seasonal roles.

The lack of trickledown to local people is a particular problem on package tours. The UK's Department for International Development looked at trips to Lombok to see the Komodo dragons. They found that with an average two-day visit costing $300, from Bali to Lombok, only 70 cents of this went to the park.

Worse still, the loss of alternative economic activity by the locals - grazing and fuel collection for example - actually costs the local people whose taxes are also used to fund the parks. It was calculated that Zimbabwean taxpayers subsidise each tourist by US$15.78 per day in a park the DFID looked at.

However, independent travellers bucked this trend. While cruise ship arrivals bring on average just three cents to the local economy on Komodo for example, independent travellers spend nearly US$100.

If tourism projects involve local people so that they too benefit - providing services such as guiding, accommodation or transport, and growing and cooking local foods - they are more likely to support them. If they are harmed, they may try to sabotage the projects. The DFID reports that the creation of a wildlife reserve in Zimbabwe resulted in a local hero killing no less than 15 bull elephants every year for 15 years. The idea was that if the wildlife were killed off, the tourists would lose interest and the park lands be made available again for local use.

Relevant Organisations

Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT)propoortourism‘The business case for poverty reduction is straightforward. Business cannot succeed in societies that fail' is one quote on a 2002 briefing on Pro-poor tourism by authors from Responsible Tourism, the International Institute or Environment and Development and the Overseas Development Institute.

The report notes that ‘There are a plethora of sustainable tourism and responsible tourism initiatives, but most have made much more progress on environmental issues than socio-economic ones.' It goes on to comment that ‘commercial market research suggests that tourists are attaching increasing importance to ethics and the corporate social responsibility of holiday companies. holidaymakers prefer to travel with companies that make corporate social responsibility commitments.

The authors note also that improvements in infrastructure, security and communication, which may be introduced to serve tourism, also benefit local people provided they have access to them.

The job security which comes with operators committed to training and employing local people can make a big difference to entire families.

Tips

• Stay in locally owned guesthouses and pensions rather than foreign owned hotels.



• Eat in local restaurants and try to eat local foods. Local people earn more money from something they have grown or made than from selling imported food and international brand drinks.



• Shop from traditional artisans and for locally made products, helping keep traditional crafts alive.



• Use locally owned transport.



• If food will be scarce, bring your own.



• Be wary of giving gifts or money to people you have just met. Supporting the community through a local school, clinic or development project may be more constructive.



• Ask any tour operator you use what involvement there is with the local community, in terms of jobs and money. Ask who owns - and therefore profits from - your accommodation on the trip. Ask about the environmental viability of your accommodation and any measures taken to improve either of the above. (Few operators will have answers to this but just asking will increase awareness of the issues.)