with Odebrecht, a large Brazilian construction firm, to spend US$200 million to build five resorts, six smaller inns, conventions and sports centres, restaurants, stores, swimming pools, tennis courts and an 18-hole golf course on the Sauipe coast. Previ later bought out Odebrecht’s stake in the project and then leased the five resort hotels to multinationals. Two were leased to the US chain Marriot, two were leased to France’s Accor and one to Jamaica’s SuperClubs (Kepp 2005).
Oppermann and Chon (1997) point out that in many developing countries prosperous hotel chains such as Atlantica Hotels from Brazil, which is the largest multi-brand hotel administrator in South America, have emerged. While some argue that sun-and-sand tourism is entering a decline as a result of environmental damage and a shift in consumer demand to post-tourists or ‘new tourists’, Aguiló et al. (2005) argue that is not the case in the Balearic Islands. Following restructur-ing and quality improvements, it is still a competitive destination. The authors, however, argue that the sun-and-sand model of tourism needs to be adapted to the framework of sustainable development.
While these resorts bring in large numbers of tourists, there is lively debate over their overall benefit to the destination. Criticism has been aimed at these resorts, especially if they are enclave resorts cut off from the local community. They are often controlled from abroad, generate high rates of leakages, and the multination-als are more interested in profit than in establishing strong links with the local community. In Cuba, locals are allowed only reduced access to Varadero beach Plate 4.3 Tunisia, Monastir: Luxury beach resort, Amir Palace Hotel. Note the architectural design.
hotels. As noted in Chapter 3, Britton (1982) developed an enclave model of tourism. Britton is especially critical of package tours. Tourists are transported directly to resort complexes where they typically reside for the duration of their trip. Travel in the destination is only between resort clusters and to the airport to return home. The transportation, organization of tours and accommodation occur largely within the formal sector. Criticisms have also been directed to the trend of all-inclusive packages at these resorts, which include transportation, accommoda-tion and meals. Following arrival at the resort, tourists need to be enticed to venture out of the complex. All meals will have been paid for in advance, so tourists may be hesitant to venture out to a local restaurant to pay for another meal, thereby reducing the potential multiplier effect. Tips are often included in the package, thus removing this opportunity for hotel staff. In an examination of three resort enclaves in Indonesia, including Nusa Dua on Bali, Kuta on Lombok and Bintan Beach Resort on Bintan, Shaw and Shaw (1999) argue that the notion of enclavity is inherently unsustainable, marginalizes local entrepreneurs, and widens the social, economic and cultural gaps that already exist between hosts and guests.
Similarly, in the Okavango Delta of Botswana, Mbaiwa (2005) found that enclave tourism was dominated by foreign companies. While tourism here is in much smaller numbers since they are following a policy of high cost and low volume for safari tours, concerns over enclave developments have surfaced. This type of development has led to the repatriation of tourism revenue, domination of management positions by expatriates, and lower salaries for citizens. Mbaiwa (2005) argues that tourism has failed to contribute significantly to rural poverty alleviation in the Okavango region.
Integrative development and alternative tourism
While criticisms have been aimed at large-scale resorts and enclave resorts, others have called for more integrative tourism development that promotes linkages to local communities. At one end of the spectrum of integrated tourism are larger tourism developments and at the other end are small-scale or alternative tourism destinations where locals are given more opportunity to participate. Telfer (1996) and Telfer and Wall (1996, 2000) examined the efforts of both large- and small-scale hotels in Lombok and Yogyakarta, Indonesia to establish linkages to the local agricultural sector (see Plates 4.4 and 4.5). In both locations, hotels established direct and indirect links to local suppliers, traditional markets and farmers for the purchase of food products. While these initiatives are promising and generate increased multipliers, there are challenges to maintaining these relation-ships long term, especially when five-star hotels place increasing demands on small producers and suppliers at certain times of the year. Another example of alterna-tive tourism which involves locals directly is village-based tourism. In the case of the Solomon Islands, village tourism takes the form of tourists travelling by motorized canoe between villages situated on the edges of lagoons (Lipscomb 1998). Tourists undertake bush walking, snorkelling, historical and nature tours, cultural displays, and arts and crafts in each village, as well as staying overnight in the village to get a greater understanding of village life. Lipscomb (1998) suggests
that the potential for village-based tourism to persist at an early or exploration stage of development for a long period of time, producing a small income for the village, is in itself a compelling argument to develop village tourism. There are, however, challenges with this type of tourism including marketing, planning and cultural problems, and the fact that there is a danger that the local élites may be primarily the ones who benefit. The emphasis on integrated or community-based tourism as a form of sustainable tourism, where the control and benefits remain in the local community including pro-poor tourism designed specifically to address poverty issues by enhancing opportunities for those in greatest need, will be addressed further in Chapter 5.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism continues to receive attention, since theoretically it represents a win-win scenario through environmental protection and improved local livelihoods (Cater 2004). For many developing countries it is promoted as a means of reconciling economic growth and environmentally sustainable development (Duffy 2006). It is often seen at the opposite end of the spectrum from mass tourism and part of alternative tourism. Ecotourism strategies have been endorsed by tourism businesses and destinations but are also advocated and promoted by a wide range of agencies such as the World Tourism Organization, United Nations Environment Plate 4.4 Indonesia, Lombok: Fisherman-turned-supplier in black leather jacket purchases fish in a local fish market which in turn will be sold to an international hotel (see Telfer and Wall 1996).
Programme (UNEP), international lending agencies (e.g. World Bank), indigenous rights groups, development non-governmental organizations (NGOs), environ-mental NGOs (e.g. World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International), the International Ecotourism Society, and bilateral development agencies (Cater 2004; Duffy 2006; Jamal et al. 2006). While there have been debates as to precise definitions of ecotourism, Diamantis (2004: 5) puts forward as a guiding con-ceptual principal that ecotourism ‘occurs in natural settings (protected and non-protected) with an attempt to increase benefits to the economy, society and environment through sustainable educational practices from locals to tourists and vice versa’. It is particularly promoted in the undeveloped world, as it is their
‘underdevelopment’ or ‘lack of modernization’ which makes these environments attractive to tourists from the ‘developed’ world (Duffy 2006). Ecotourism is Plate 4.5 Indonesia, Lombok: Small local fruit and vegetable supplier makes a delivery to the Sheraton Hotel in Sengiggi Beach. The products were purchased at local markets.
promoted as a means for poorer communities to generate income, and for many communities living adjacent to national parks or reserves it is presented as a beneficial return ‘for relinquishing rights over using the plant and animal resources within those reserves for subsistence purposes’ (Duffy 2006). The United Nations declared 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism. During that year the World Ecotourism Summit was held and resulted in the Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism. The Declaration recognizes that ecotourism embraces the principles of sustainable tourism with respect to the social and environmental impacts of tourism, while espousing the following concepts that distinguish it from the wider issue of sustainable development (UNEP/WTO 2002 in Cater 2004: 485):
• It contributes actively to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage;
• It includes local and indigenous communities in its planning, development and operation, and contributes to their well-being;
• It interprets the natural and cultural heritage of the destination for visitors;
• It lends itself better to independent travellers, as well as to organized tours for small groups.
Duffy (2006: 2) suggests that the politics of ecotourism is revealed in debates over definition and raises the question: Can it be ‘provided by global tour operators and luxury nature based resorts, or is genuine ecotourism found in small scale local community run projects and campsites’? Efforts have also been made to develop certification programmes, and one of note from a developing country is the Costa Rican Sustainable Tourism Certification (Jamal et al. 2006). Weaver (2004) out-lines the structural dimensions of ecotourism, which range from hard to soft ecotourism. Hard ecotourism traces its origins to the 1980s as a form of nature-based, small-scale alternative tourism that emerged as a reaction against the perceived environmental, socio-cultural and economic excesses of large-scale development. Traits of hard ecotourism include a high level of environmental commitment among ecotourist participants involved in specialized, often physically and mentally challenging experiences over longer periods of time and in smaller numbers. At the other end of the spectrum is soft ecotourism, which has traits of a moderate or ‘veneer’ commitment to environmental issues and par-ticipants are conventional tourists experiencing ecotourism in larger numbers as one part of a diversified experience. They have extensive reliance on services and an emphasis on package travel through travel agencies and tour operators. A cruise ship, for example, may offer a tour to a nature garden or reserve. Weaver (2004) points out that while hard ecotourism purists would not agree with soft ecotourism, it is perhaps soft ecotourism that can generate the financial objectives to help enhance the natural environment and to be managed into site-hardened intensive zones.
The diversity of ecotourism is evident in South Africa where there are national parks with no accommodation facilities (e.g. Knysna National Park) while others, such as Kruger National Park, have luxury accommodation, extensive road networks, four-by-four routes, wilderness trails, guided safari drives, swimming pools, golf-courses and banking facilities. In South Africa, steps have been taken to
commercialize the ecotourism industry. Many protected areas have management plans that employ zoning to protect some areas while allowing tourism to be developed in other areas. The commercialization of Kruger National Park is now being undertaken by the private sector, with companies submitting proposals which are evaluated in terms of financial aspects, environmental management, social objectives and empowerment. The linking of tourism with environmental protection and empowerment for human development illustrates the potential benefits that can occur if nature-based tourism is properly planned and managed (Spenceley 2004). Elsewhere, ecotoursim lodges, such as those investigated by Johansson and Diamantis (2004) in Thailand and Kenya, demonstrate how the private sector can also contribute towards providing benefits to host communities.
While the various developed forms of ecotourism continue to be a source for debate, the focus on the contribution to conservation and the involvement with local communities is not always followed. As Cater (2004) points out, the ideals of ecotourism have met with harsh market realities, resulting in a considerable divergence between theory and practice, and ecotourism has frequently been misinterpreted, misappropriated and misdirected. Products are marketed as eco-tourism when they do not meet the basic criteria of the concept. Writing ten years earlier, Cater (1994) warned that ecotourism may share many of the same characteristics as mass tourism in terms of leakages, since much of the tourist expenditure is not made in the destination. Citing the case of Belize, Cater (1994) notes that there is a high degree of foreign investment in ecotourism which has created inflationary pressures in the local economy. As sites become popular, the concentration of visitors leads to degradation, and there is debate about whether ecotourists themselves are ‘an environmentally sensitive breed’ (Cater 1994: 76).
Duffy (2006) raises a number of important issues in examining the politics of ecotourism in developing countries. In addition to issues of definition, there are concerns over how destinations are marketed as undeveloped regions perpetuating a particular image of the developing world. Ecotourism resorts also rely on global networks of travel and global tour operators, raising issues of sustainability and power and control. Power issues are also evident in the fact that funding from international agencies may also come with strings attached and, at a local level, not all residents will benefit equally from an ecotourism resort (Duffy 2006). Duffy (2006) argues that ecotourism’s links to the promotion of neoliberalism are the path to development. Jamal et al. (2006) argue that ecotourism has been developed along a modernistic and commodified paradigm and it needs to be reoriented to a social-cultural paradigm based on participatory democracy and meaningful relationships with the biophysical world. Community participation in tourism will be explored further in Chapter 5.
A final trade-off considered here with respect to ecotourism is the financial aspect. While this sector is meant to protect and enhance the natural environment, it also dictates that lower numbers be attracted to the destination in order to protect the initial resource sought out by tourists. Lower numbers, unless they are high-paying tourists, result in smaller overall profits at the destination level compared to more conventional forms of tourism. On an individual basis, those directly involved in ecotourism will see an improvement in income; however, it may
be difficult to gauge how this contributes to overall levels of development for the entire destination. If the destination becomes well known, not only tourists but also those seeking a job in the industry will visit the destination, causing a variety of impacts if not properly controlled.
Culture- and heritage-based tourism
Cultural attractions and historic monuments are part of the attraction in many developing countries (see Plate 4.6). Cultural attractions generate tourism flows