Challenges and potential for linking tourism and agriculture to achieve pro-poor tourism objectives

Abstract

With tourism rapidly increasing in developing nations there is an emerging focus on integrating pro-poor tourism into both the international tourism and aid agendas. Following a brief review of the pro-poor tourism literature, this article argues for the explicit creation of tourism and agriculture linkages to achieve pro-poor tourism objectives. To understand both the potential and the problems associated with linking the two sectors, we present an in-depth case study of tourism and agriculture in Cancun, Mexico. The case study draws on the perspectives of Cancun hotel chefs, who control hotel food purchasing, and Quintana Roo farmers, who have attempted to supply the tourism industry, to provide a unique thorough examination of the challenges and potential for such linkages in a mass tourism resort.

Poverty Alleviation through Pro-Poor Tourism: The Role of Botswana Forest Reserves

“…Whilst many authors note that direct effects can increase economic benefit to the community in a variety of ways [39][40][41][42][43][44], Mitchell and Ashley [9] caution that externalities are not always positive, with losses of livelihood to the community occurring in some instances. For secondary effects to occur, there needs to be a shift in the private sector mind-set and a willingness to collaborate with local communities through the establishment of linkages [45][46][47][48][49][50]. Examples of such linkages include tourism operators sourcing food and beverage supplies from local communities [20,46].…”

“…For secondary effects to occur, there needs to be a shift in the private sector mind-set and a willingness to collaborate with local communities through the establishment of linkages [45][46][47][48][49][50]. Examples of such linkages include tourism operators sourcing food and beverage supplies from local communities [20,46]. Other possible areas include "in-sourcing", which refers to a corporation hiving off an operation; for example, the provision of opportunity for staff employed in housekeeping to run their unit as a business, eventually leading to the removal of these employees from the company's payroll [47,48].…”

Caribbean agriculture–tourism linkages in a neoliberal world: Problems and prospects for St Lucia

“…Support for this position can be seen in the pro-poor tourism literature with calls for strengthening community organisations, focusing on long-term investments in capacity building, and forming joint ventures between the private sector and farmers (Ashley et al, 2000;Torres and Momsen, 2004). Of particular importance is longterm institutional development to strengthen agricultural cooperatives, which has been lacking.…”

“…Tourism and agriculture may also be seasonally complementary in terms of labour demands, which can raise local incomes by creating jobs and reducing underemployment (Momsen, 1998). Hence, increased linkages and the associated rise in demand for agricultural products can more equitably distribute the benefits of tourism to the poorer segments of the population, a goal of the 'pro-poor tourism' movement (Ashley et al, 2000;Renard, 2001;Torres and Momsen, 2004).…”

Sociodemographic Influences on Residents’ Perceptions of Tourism Development in Zimbabwe

“…According to Torres and Momsen (2004), tourism development allows for a multiplier effect to take place in communities, which accrues benefits to the residents, both directly and indirectly. Despite the above, Sinclair-Maragh (2017) argues that the benefits differ, as inequality is ever-present in the distribution of the resources and economic spinoffs of tourism among the residents concerned.…”