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CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
Obviously, the economic costs and benefits of tourism should be examined on a case-by-case basis, and the same is true for what we may term cultural considerations. In this respect, it is very important to keep in mind that, fundamentally, tourism involves the merchandising of fantasy.
GROWTH OF TOURIST ARRIVALS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, 1964-1976
Average annual Average annual
growth rate, growth rate,
Country 1964-1976 1971-1976
Bahamas(a) 21 -1
Brazil 29 18
Colombia 88 33
Egypt 1 8
Grenada 11 -6
Hong Kong 27 14
India 20 15
Israel 18 4
Jamaica 17 -2
Jordan(a) 8 44
Kenya(a) 41 2
Mexico(a) 116 7
Morocco 16 7
Pakistan 17 21
Panama 20 10
Peru 23 14
Philippines 60 72
Republic of Korea 242 44
Singapore 113 22
Sri Lanka 41 40
Thailand 35 14
Trinidad and Tobago11 16
Tunisia 51 12
Turkey 58 34
Venezuela 88 51
Source: WTO, World Travel Statistics, 1976. Cited In UNCTC 1982:91.
(a) Up to 1975 only.
There are really very few places off the beaten path any more. Regular flights now reach Eskimo villages and Amazonian tribes, trips of a few hours that a generation ago would have taken weeks. As for scale, some eight hundred million vacationers travel every year, a quarter of them crossing national frontiers. This constitutes a huge movement of people and a large transfer of resources.
The lure of tourist money, In many cases more apparent than real, initially attracted the Interest of development agencies and governments. The basic argument in favor of touristic development stresses exchange: the tourist purchases goods and services in exchange for recreation and leisure. Very important in this equation is the role of natural, human and cultural environments as resources and commodities. For less developed countries there is a particularly heavy stress on exotic locations and peoples: rustic modes of life, the appeal of sun and sand, open and "wild" spaces, etc. The less industrialized portions of the globe have landscapes that are climatically and economically different from those to be found in developed countries. Economic backwardness and rural poverty may even seem to have an idyllic quality.
How well does this exchange work? A reasonable answer is that in economic terms the benefits to host countries and societies correlate closely to the degree of control they have over the industry. This control is very much a function of the economic strength and political autonomy of the society. Thus, while there is tourism in Senegal and in Switzerland, the Swiss benefit a great deal more from every tourist that visits their country: not only are tourists in Switzerland likely to leave more money in local pockets, staying at Swiss-owned hotels and buying Swiss watches, but much of the infrastructure (tour operators, transportation, etc.) will be Swiss.
The reverse tends to hold true in poor countries. Resort hotels are generally foreign-owned, and so are the agencies and airlines that take tourists to their destination. In such circumstances, a high percentage of the profits earned from tourism are repatriated to parent companies in the developed world. Furthermore, most tourists do not expect to rough it but count on accommodation and cuisine similar to that at home, all adding up to high import costs for materials and food. Maintaining a resort complex in a developing country is not simply expensive; such vast expenditure often underwrites a style of life in sharp contrast to that of local people. As a case in point, every room in a recently built Ivory Coast hotel consumes 150 gallons of water a day, while in neighboring villages even a central water supply is a recent luxury.
AVERAGE BREAKDOWN OF COSTS OF PACKAGE TOURS (HIGH SEASON)
% of % of
% of revenue revenue
Destination Average revenue for trans- to tour
(miles from market) revenue for hotel portation operator
1,000 miles
2/3-star hotels $270 52 40 8
1,000 miles
4-star hotels $390 58 33 8
1,500 miles
A- and B-class
hotels $420 58 36 6
4,000-5,000 miles $840 33 48 19
Source: UNCTC 1982:76.