Since the 1950s, tourism has experienced continued expansion and
diversification, becoming one of the largest and m fastest growing
economic sectors in the world. As an export category, tourism currently
ranks fourth globally after fuels, chemicals and automotive products.
For as many as 23 of the 49 least developed countries (LDCs),
international tourism is among the top three foreign exchange earners,
accounting for up to 40% of each country's GDP.
According to figures by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and UN
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the development of tourism
has been identified as an important factor for at least 10 LDCs that
will reach WTO graduation (the economic advancement of developing
countries through industrialization, export development and rising
living standards) thresholds over the next decade. Tourism has also been
singled out as a distinct 'graduation factor' for at least
three former LDCs, notably Cape Verde, the Maldives and Samoa. Growth
supported by the development of tourism can also occur at an impressive
pace, as has been the case in countries like Tanzania and Costa Rica
(see spotlights on page 08).
'This is a sector that from an export perspective is a
relatively new activity for LDCs. Despite this, the development
dimension of tourism is increasingly recognized as central to their
economic recovery and long-term growth. Between 2000 and 2009, receipts
from international tourism in LDCs grew by more than 14% annually,
higher than the growth rate of 10% for other developing economies and
double the global average of 7%,' said WTO Director-General Mr.
Pascal Lamy in his opening address at the World Export Development Forum
(WEDF) in May (see WEDF 2011 Report, page 09).
Despite having been hard-hit by the recent economic and financial
crisis, the tourism sector continues to be among the most dynamic in the
global economy. The worldwide contribution of tourism to GDP exceeds 5%
and its annual turnover has been growing at a faster pace than GDP.
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), demand for
tourism services fell abruptly in mid-2008 but returned to growth in the
last quarter of 2009 and continued to grow throughout 2010 and into the
first quarter of 2011. In 2010 international tourism receipts surpassed
US$ 900 billion, up 4.7% on 2009. According to the April interim update
of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer Worldwide, international tourist
arrivals surpassed 124 million in the first two months of 2011, up from
119 million for the same period in 2010, with emerging economies
continuing to grow at a faster pace (+6%) than developed countries
(+4%).
'These results confirm that in spite of several challenges,
the recovery of international tourism, which was remarkably strong last
year, is consolidating,' said UNWTO Secretary-General Mr. Taleb
Rifai in his address at WEDF 2011.
'News is especially positive for emerging economies and
developing countries, particularly for Africa where tourism is
increasingly recognized as a driver of development, exports and
jobs,' he added,
In part, this recovery can be credited to measures--be they fiscal,
monetary or marketing support to the tourism sector--that many countries
implemented to stimulate their economies and restore growth after the
crisis.
Strong tourism growth in 2010
According to UNWTO Tourism Highlights (2011 edition), the vast
majority of destinations reported positive increases on 2009 figures in
international tourist arrivals during 2010. All regions posted positive
growth in real terms, with the exception of Europe (-0.4%). The Middle
East (+14%) and Asia and the Pacific (+13%) showed the strongest growth,
while the Americas (+5%) was close to the worldwide average and Africa
grew (+3%) somewhat slower, despite strong growth in South Africa (+15%)
after the hosting of the football World Cup. The most significant change
in 2010 international arrivals was the emergence of China to third place
in international arrival numbers and fourth place in terms of tourism
receipts (+15%) (see Growth in International Tourist Arrivals 2010
below).
Emerging tourism trends favour LDCs
Special interest segments such as adventure, cultural and
nature-based tourism are penetrating traditional tourism markets.
According to Mr. Christopher Brown, Co-Chairman of the World Tourism
Organization's Business Council, many LDCs are perfectly positioned
to take advantage of these emerging tourism trends, especially growth in
ecotourism and increasing demand for authentic, off-the-beaten-track,
cultural experiences that lend themselves well to emerging economies.
Defining ecotourism as 'responsible travel to natural areas
which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local
people,' The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) reports that
since 2004, ecotourism has become the fastest growing sector of the
tourism industry and has been growing at a rate three times faster than
traditional tourism. TIES also predicts that sustainable tourism could
grow to 25% of the global travel market by 2012.
According to TIES Global Ecotourism Fact Sheet (September 2006),
the economics of ecotourism outweigh those of mass tourism. The report
states that 80% of money for all-inclusive package tours goes to
airlines, hotels and other international companies, compared to
ecolodges that tend to hire and purchase locally, and sometimes put as
much as 95% of earnings back into the local economy. Daily expenditure
by cultural tourists (over US$ 90) is higher than visitors on a touring
holiday (US$ 67), beach holiday (US$ 62), city break (US$ 54) or rural
trip.
'The high-yield, low-impact ecotourism sector is perfectly
suited to LDCs because they don't have the infrastructure required
to manage mass-market tourism. But usually one of the great advantages
of LDCs is that the lack of development means there is still a natural
environment,' said Mr. Brown.
Citing the example of Costa Rica's tourism industry in
previous years, Mr. Brown highlighted that the country's success
was largely built on the development of its eco-tourism offering.
However, he also alluded to the fact that part of the destination's
relatively fast emergence was a result of the country becoming
politically stable enough to be considered an exotic Central American
destination to the northern market and its focus on managing the
environmental impact of tourism through its national ecotourism
certification programme.
The future for tourism-led growth and inclusive sustainable
development in LDCs
A focus on managing the environmental impacts of tourism was one of
the issues raised in discussions at WEDF 201h Pressures on land use as
well as waste generation can become significant problems for some LDCs,
especially for remote island communities, This is also true for the high
levels of water and energy use for which the tourism industry is known.
Such use may exceed local sustainable limits and displace other economic
and social uses of limited water and energy supplies.
In his address at WEDF, UNCTAD Secretary-General Dr. Supachai
Panitchpakdi called for 'strong regulatory and government
support' which will be 'required to ensure tourism develops in
a sustainable manner, consistent with local needs.'
He also warned that while tourism offers many opportunities for
income and employment generation in local communities, particularly
through links to the local economy with sectors supplying services
consumed by tourists (such as retail, recreational, cultural, ground
transport, agriculture and handicrafts) policymakers need to pay careful
attention to increasing the pro-poor impacts of tourism expenditures for
maximum development impact to be achieved.
SPOTLIGHT
On ecotourism in Costa Rica
With a million tourist arrivals annually, tourism in Costa Rica is
a US$1.92 billion a year industry and the country's second largest
source of income, accounting for 7.8% of GDP in direct terms and nearly
3% of total employment (in 2008) according to data from UNWTO. Taking
advantage of its incredible biodiversity, with 32 national parks, eight
biological reserves, 13 forest reserves and 51 wildlife refuges, along
with scenic beaches, lush rainforests, volcanoes and exotic wildlife,
Costa Rica has focused on the development of ecotourism as the key to
its economic development.
Previously dependent on agriculture for 65% of its exports,
ecotourism has helped diversify Costa Rica's national economy. It
is now one of the world's leading ecotourism destinations and has
been praised for its attention to conservation through the
implementation of the Certification for Sustainable Tourism programme
developed by the Costa Rican Tourism Board and regulated by the Costa
Rican National Accreditation Commission. The certification programme was
designed to differentiate tourism companies based on the 'degree to
which they comply with a sustainable model of natural, cultural and
social resource management' according to the Certification for
Sustainable Tourism.
SPOTLIGHT
On Tanzania
In the United Republic of Tanzania, tourism is the country's
top export earner, outperforming other services categories and
accounting for over 35% of total goods and services exports. The success
is largely attributed to the liberalization of the tourism sector in the
1990s, which revitalized an industry that accounted for less than 10% of
total export earnings in the mid-1980s. Tanzania's pro-poor tourism
success story is largely attributed to its strategy of maintaining a
high-value tourist product through packaged tourism products (e.g.
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and the northern safari circuit) to attract
large numbers of foreign tourists. Unlike many LDCs where profits
repatriated to foreign investors mean that the host country receives
only a small portion of revenues, Tanzania is capturing about half of
the total value of the global value chain for packaged holidays sold
overseas--a reasonable proportion given the cost of long-haul flights. A
2009 Overseas Development Institute/SNV report, Making success work for
the poor: Package tourism in Northern Tanzania, suggests that poor
Tanzanians are capturing a relatively large share of tourist spending,
with approximately 20-30% reaching poor people at the destination.
For a copy of the full report visit www.odi.org.uk/resources/
download/3221.pdf
WORLD TOURISM
At a glance
* Tourism is a US$ 3 billion a day global business, accounting for
US$1 trillion in global export income in 2010. **
* Tourism's contribution to worldwide gross domestic product
(GDP) is estimated at 5%. **
* Tourism exports account for as much as 30% of the world's
exports of commercial services and 6% of overall exports of goods and
services. **
* International tourism receipts surpassed US$ 900 billion in 2010.
#
* Tourism's contribution to employment is estimated to be in
the order of 6-7% of the overall number of jobs worldwide (direct and
indirect). **
* International tourism is among the top three foreign exchange
earners for as many as 23 of the 49 least developed countries. **
* Worldwide international tourist arrivals surpassed 124 million in
the first two months of 2011, up from 119 million in the same period in
2010.
* Tourism arrivals are growing at a faster pace in emerging
economies (+8%) than in advanced ones (+5%). **
* International arrivals are expected to reach nearly 1.6 billion
by 2020, with 1.2 billion arrivals expected to be intraregional and 400
million long-haul travellers. ^
Source:
** UNWTO, Tourism Highlights (2011 Edition)
# UNWTO, World Tourism Barometer, April 2011 Interim Update.
^ UNWTO, Tourism 2020 Vision.
Kris McIntyre, Trade Forum
Editorial
GROWTH IN INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS
2010
6%
AMERICAS
United States +9%
Mexico +4%
Canada +2%
4%
CENTRAL AMERICA
4%
CARIBBEAN
Jamaica +5%
Cuba +4%
Dominican Republic +0.3%
11%
SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina +23%
Uruguay + 16%
Ecuador +8%
Brazil and Peru + 7%
6%
NORTH AFRICA
Morocco + 11%
14%
MIDDLE EAST
Syria +40%
Palestine +32%
Jordan + 20%
Egypt +18%
Lebanon + 17%
Saudi Arabia 0%
7%
AFRICA
15%
SOUTH AFRICA *
Madagascar +21%
Cape Verde +17%
Tanzania +11%
Seychelles +11%
11%
SOUTH ASIA
Sri Lanka +46%
Maldives +21%
India +8%
12%
SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Viet Nam +35%
Singapore +22%
Cambodia +17%
Philippines + 17%
Thailand + 12%
Indonesia + 11%
14%
NORTH-EAST ASIA
Japan +27%
Taiwan +27%
China +9%
6%
OCEANIA
Australia +5%
New Zealand +3%
* Following staging of football World Cup.
Source UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2010 Edition