Tourism also brings in huge amounts of foreign exchange for an LEDC to use. One of the recurring themes of the twentieth century has been that poor countries have often found that they do not have enough foreign currency to import the raw materials they need. For example, Tanzania suffered from such a severe balance of payments deficit, that it simply could not afford to import enough oil to industrialise. What tourism does is bring in foreign currency, which allows LEDCs to import machinery, in order for them to industrialise, and ‘kick-start’ economic development. Foreign exchange has been used in this way in Kenya, where $400m a year in foreign exchange comes in, to buy the products necessary for development.
Thirdly, tourism is a huge provider of employment in countries that often suffer from high levels of unemployment. Not only does it create stable, formal, service jobs in restaurants and hotels, but also large numbers of informal jobs. For example, in countries like Zimbabwe, there are many markets and street vendors, selling merchandise to tourists, and in the National Parks of Kenya, the Maasai perform in front of tourists. All these seemingly minor activities provide a fairly stable wage to many people. Through the provision of both formal and informal jobs, tourism boosts the average purchasing power of ordinary people. With greater disposable income, greater consumption follows, thereby leading to the creation of local companies to cater for this demand.
Tourism also creates a stream of investment into an LEDC. In order to cater for tourists, capital is transferred into these countries to pay for the building of hotels, bars, and other facilities. Whilst most of the skilled jobs are taken by foreigners, the provision of raw materials such as cement, is often locally sourced. Furthermore, the construction work itself can often be done by local workers. Thus, investment helps ‘inject’ money into an LEDC’s economy, boosting orders for firms and creating jobs. This strategy has been applied by Uganda in order to rebuild their war-torn economy.
Lastly, tourism is seen is as contributing to the image of a country. Large numbers of Western tourists going to a particular area means that the West’s perception and knowledge of that country rises. This often acts as a psychological boost to would-be investors to locate. It is thus not surprising that tourism’s growth has been so closely aligned with economic growth in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.
The benefits of tourism are largely those described above: economic development. Tourism brings foreign exchange, investment, employment, credibility, and infrastructure improvement to LEDCs. In addition, tourist schemes can be used to benefit the whole community, such as the ‘Campfire’ agreements in the Zambezi river in Zimbabwe, whereby local communities rent land to developers. Tourism can also be sued as a tool to improve the environment. For example, in the African National Parks of Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, revenues from tourists visiting these parks have been used to protect and manage the endangered species living in them, since locals have an economic incentive to do so. They also provide an important source of revenue for local schools and hospitals, as well as being a source of employment.
However, there are a number of drawbacks to tourism. Economically, tourism often provides many menial, low paid jobs to locals, whilst leaving overall control, and profits, to Westerners. For example, of the $400m of foreign exchange that flows into Tanzania every year, 40% leaves the country. In addition, the foreign control of many tourist areas leads to democratic control being usurped, for example in Hawaii. Socially, tourism can also damage. Many are unhappy at the cultural vandalism of traditional cultures – Hawaii in particular has had its distinct culture reduced by worthless stereotypes. In addition, Western tourists often bring with them cultural differences and insensitivities that offend individuals – Kenya has recently produced a guide advising tourists on dress code.
Environmentally, mass tourism can also damage the environment. In National Parks, such as Kenya, animals are often disturbed, and the fragile savannah environment damaged. Tourists create large amounts of pollution / rubbish that in many LEDCs is not dealt with properly. Insensitivity to fragile environment, such as coral reefs, has often damaged ecosystems inseparably.
In conclusion, LEDCs place such an emphasis on tourism in their economic development plans, because it is an excellent source of revenue, employment and foreign exchange. Nevertheless, tourism has had many negative effects on LEDCs, bringing with it environmental destruction, exploitation, and cultural imperialism. However, on balance, tourism is beneficial to a country. It helps ‘kick-start’ economic growth, and if managed properly and carefully, can actually be a force for good environmentally and socially.