Many countries rely on cultural sites and destinations to support their economies. However, they are faced with the ongoing challenge of sustaining tourist attractions and maintaining the equilibrium between the local community and tourist populations. Sustainable Tourism: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice features current research that takes an in-depth look at cooperative strategies and governance for conserving and promoting tourism within both developed and developing economies. Highlighting a range of topics such as tourism development, environmental protection, and responsible hospitality, this publication is an ideal reference source for entrepreneurs, business managers, economists, business professionals, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and graduate-level students interested in the latest research on sustainable tourism.

This report presents a collection of the papers delivered to the meeting organised by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and UNCTAD, in preparation for the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in May 2001. The aim of the meeting was to highlight the valuable opportunities which tourism can create for the sustainable economic and social development of the least developed countries. This report contains the text of the Canary Islands Declaration adopted at the meeting, which proposed a plan of action to strengthen the capacity of LDCs to develop sustainable and competitive tourism policies in the international marketplace.

This book provides a holistic, explicit and detailed introduction to the relationship of poverty and tourism development within the context of developing countries. The book is divided into three distinct sections, progressing from an evaluation of the key concepts, the causal factors of poverty and how tourism is being implemented in policy and practice to reduce poverty, to the relationship of tourism and poverty in the future. The theoretical framework inherent to the text is inter-disciplinary, incorporating tourism, geography, politics, economics, environmental studies, development studies, sociology and history literature to provide the reader with a range of perspectives from which to explore the key issues of the tourism and poverty relationship. It integrates examples and original case studies from varying geographical developing regions including Latin American, Asia and Africa to show practical insights into tourism’s role in poverty alleviation. To encourage reflection on the main themes addressed and critical thinking, ‘Think points’, discussion questions and links to further reading are included in each chapter.

Tourism is widely considered to be an important factor in socio-economic development, particularly in less developed countries. However, despite almost universal recognition of tourism’s development potential, the extent to which economic and social progress is linked to the growth of a country’s tourism sector remains the subject of intense debate. Tourism and Development in the Developing World offers a thorough overview of the tourism-development relationship. Focusing specifically on the less developed world and drawing on contemporary case studies, this updated second edition questions widely-held assumptions on the role of tourism in development and seeks to highlight the challenges faced by destinations seeking to achieve development through tourism. The introductory chapter establishes the foundation for the book, exploring the meaning and objectives of development, reviewing theoretical perspectives on the developmental process, and assessing the reasons why less developed countries are attracted to tourism as a development option. The concept of sustainable development, as the most widely adopted contemporary model of development, is then introduced and its links with tourism critically assessed. Subsequent chapters explore the key issues associated with tourism and development, including the rise of globalization; the tourism planning and development process; the relationship between tourism and communities within which it is developed; the management implications of trends in the demand for and uptake of tourism; and an analysis of the consequences of tourism development for destination environments, economies and societies. A new chapter considers the challenges of climate change, sustainability of resource supply (oil, water and food), global economic instability, political instability and changing demographics. Finally, the issues raised throughout the book are drawn together in a concluding chapter that assesses the tourism and development ‘dilemma’. Combining an overview of essential concepts, theories and knowledge with an analysis of contemporary issues and debates in tourism and development, this new edition will be an invaluable resource for those investigating tourism issues in developing countries. The book will be of interest to students of tourism, development, geography and area studies, international relations and politics, and sociology.

Many less developed countries are expanding their tourism industries and these are seen to be crucial to their economic development. Yet such activities can also create social, cultural and environmental problems.This book provides a review of many of the key issues involved in tourism in developing countries and presents a range of case studies. These are interpreted from a perspective of the sociology and anthropology of development. Case study chapters are presented from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Oceania. The book provides essential reading for advanced students and researchers in tourism and development studies.

Over the past decade, there have been an increasing number of publications that have analysed and critiqued the potential of tourism to be a mechanism for poverty reduction in less economically developed countries (LEDCs). This book showcases work by established and emerging researchers that provides new thinking and tests previously made assumptions, providing an essential guide for students, practitioners and academics. This book advances our understanding of the changes and ways forward in the field of sustainable tourism development. Five main themes are illustrated throughout the book: (1) measuring impacts of tourism on poverty; (2) the need to evaluate whether interventions that aim to reduce poverty are effective; (3) how unbalanced power relations and weak governance can undermine efforts; (4) the importance of the private sector’s use of pro-poor business practices; and (5) the value of using multidisciplinary and multi-method research approaches. Furthermore, the book shows that academic research findings can be used practically in destinations, and how practitioners can benefit from sharing their experiences with academic scholars. This book was based on a special issue and various articles from the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.