Tourism and less developed countries: key issues.

Abstract

This chapter focuses on key features of the role of international tourism in the wider development process. Other research areas are closely linked to the topics raised, and that the end of the discussion suggestions are given as to how they might be situated in the wider framework proposed. However, it is argued here, first, that tourism is a crucial feature of a much wider process of migration; secondly, that it is strongly associated with the expansion of capitalism; and thirdly, that of all the major factors in the spread of international tourism, one of the most crucial is the state. It is also argued that commodization (or commodification) and the loss of authenticity have often been analysed within the context of tourism, they are really part of a much wider pattern of capitalist expansion.

The ‘Critical Turn’ in Tourism Studies: A Radical Critique

“…Part of the problem (with regard to the critique of 'structuralist theorizing' amongst advocates of the 'critical turn') lies in the limited legacy of studies that drew on neoMarxist theories of dependency, a paradigm which has received substantial critique -much of it warranted -in the tourism literature (see Harrison 2001;Bianchi 2002) as well as the development studies literature as a whole (see Booth 1985;Kiely 1995). Furthermore, the preponderance of research carried out in peripheral or 'less developed' parts of the world, may perhaps lead scholars to underplay the extent of linkages that do in fact exist to international capital and transnational corporate actors, as Duffy (2002; illustrates with respect to eco-tourism in Belize and Madagascar.…”

Tourism enterprises, the state, and the construction of multiple Dai cultures in contemporary Xishuang Banna, China

“…The administrative decentralization trend in China's tourism after the late-1980s (Oakes, 1998;Wen & Tisdell, 2001;Zhang, 2003) enables local authorities and entrepreneurs to be more independent in the operation of the industry regarding the issues of investment, infrastructure construction, and the plural formats of tourism development in different regions (Xu, 1999). However, what occurs in most developing countries is that the state practices its macro-control power through direct or managerial or developmental involvement in the industry (Jenkins & Henry, 1982;Harrison, 2001;Timothy, 1999;Timothy & Tosun, 2003;Tosun, 2000). It is the same case in China's tourism development in recent years.…”

A Survey of Doctoral Theses Accepted by Universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland for Studies Related to Tourism, 2000–2009

“…As tourism plays an important role in the sociocultural and economic life of many countries (Harrison, 2001;World Tourism Organization, 2002), "tourism education at all levels plays a key role in securing and maintaining sustainable tourism development" (Okumus & Yagci, 2006, p. 90). In this context, several researchers believe that the rapid growth of the tourism industry has led to a chain of consequences regarding both tourism education and tourism research (see Figure 1).…”