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Tourism policy and planning for developing countries:

some critical issues
a
Carson L. Jenkins
a
Business School, University of Strathclyde, 5/1 100 Clyde Street, Glasgow G1 4LH, UK
Published online: 29 May 2015.

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Tourism Recreation Research, 40:2, 144-156, DOI: 10.1080/02508281.2015.1045363

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 Tourism Recreation Research, 2015
Vol. 40, No. 2, 144–156, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1045363

Tourism policy and planning for developing countries: some critical issues
Carson L. Jenkins*

Business School, University of Strathclyde, 5/1 100 Clyde Street, Glasgow G1 4LH, UK
(Received 17 March 2014; accepted 6 March 2015)

The paper aims at considering the evolution of tourism since 1950 and identifying some of the main influences in
the development process. It also explores the role of tourism in development, and evaluates how tourism has
impacted on developing countries. It concludes by identifying some critical issues both internal and external
to these countries, and suggests how these might hinder or encourage further development of tourism.
Keywords: tourism policy; planning; development; developing countries; critical development issues
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Introduction ment process. The third section concerns the

The aims of this paper are to examine some of the
major barriers to enlarging the tourism sector in devel-
oping countries. Many of these barriers have been
evident since academics first began to study tourism
and, in the context of developing countries, as an
input to development strategies. The author will take
an overview of these barriers and suggest which
among them might be regarded as critical issues.
This macro analysis is required because individual
developing countries will be affected or impacted dif-
ferently by global trends such as trade liberalization
and globalization over which they will have limited
or no control. The effect of global factors will be mod-
erated by the size of the country, resource endowment
(including tourism resources), current stage of devel-
opment and political factors. Internal factors affecting
tourism such as land availability, capacity of utilities
and infrastructure, environmental quality and human
resource development can be influenced, regulated
and controlled. It is often this dichotomy between
internal and external factors which creates the focus
for and difficulties in developing tourism.
The paper is structured into six sections. First,
there is a discussion and rationale for which countries
might constitute the developing world. The second
section considers the nature of the tourism develop-
impacts of tourism. The fourth section deals with
some policy and planning implications arising from
these impacts. The fifth section identifies major criti-
cal issues which will affect the future development
of tourism. The sixth section provides a conclusion
to the paper.
The concept of the developing world
The concept of the developing world is ambiguous.
Various words such as ‘developing’, ‘underdeve-
loped’ and ‘least developed’ have been used as a
means of classification (Harrison, 2001; Sharpley &
Telfer, 2002). In part, this ambiguity arises from the
use of two different indicators in attempting to
measure development. First, is the indicator of econ-
omic growth in a country used by the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World
Bank); second, is the use of the Human Development
Index created by the United Nations Development
Programme (1990). As the Bank noted, ‘classification
by income does not necessarily reflect development’
(World Bank, 2013, p. 7). The Human Development
Report first published by UNDP in 1990 was an
attempt to ‘shift the focus of development economics
from national income accounting to people-centred

*Email: jenkins_kit@hotmail.com

© 2015 Taylor & Francis

 Tourism policy and planning for developing countries
policies’. In effect, it asks the question of how econ-
omic growth, measured by the World Bank as
increases in Gross National Income per capita,
benefits the residents of a country by measurable
improvements in living standards reflected in indices
such as life expectation at birth, education availability
and participation, disease control, access to medical
care and other quality of life indicators.
For operational purposes, the World Bank (in 2013
having 188 member countries and all other economies
with in excess of 30,000 in population) classified
countries into four categories based on Gross National
Income (GNI) per capita: low income less than US
$1025; lower middle income $1036–$4085; middle
income $4086–$12,615; and high income $12,616
and over. The World Bank recognizes those countries
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in the first two categories as comprising the develop-
ing world. However, further recognizing that there are
many very poor countries within this classification,
the World Bank uses an income level of $1205
Gross National Income per capita for countries to
become eligible for access to its ‘soft window’
lending at concessionary rates through the Inter-
national Development Association (IDA).
Even when using the World Bank criteria to ident-
ify developing countries, any analysis remains fraught
with difficulties because of the major differences
between countries; at one extreme is the great size
geographically of China and India and their popu-
lation levels, at the other are small land-locked
countries such as Lesotho and Nepal, island archipe-
lagos such as Indonesia, and islands as different as
Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Barbados. Although
they can be categorized within a level of development,
each will have many important differences such as
political structure, levels of democracy, natural
endowments, public-private sector interaction and,
not least, cultural factors which can all play major
roles in a strategy for development. Examples are
the different paths to tourism development followed
by Cuba from the rest of the Caribbean islands, and
different approaches being followed in Thailand as
opposed to Vietnam. So although developing
countries might share many problems in common,
the intensity of those problems and potential solutions
may require different approaches. In this sense, it is
unrealistic to expect a single model of development;
the way forward will be to be aware of the collective
experiences of other developing countries, but to seek
initiatives and actions which closely reflect the cir-
cumstances of the individual country (Hall, 2008).
145
The next section examines how tourism has
become a significant activity in the global economy
and in the developing world.
The nature of tourism development
The concept of tourism ‒ travelling for reasons of
leisure purposes, family visits, business and religion
‒ has been with us for centuries. As an economic
and development initiative it became a major con-
sideration in the twentieth century, and particularly
from about 1950 when the introduction and regular
publication of a series of international tourism stat-
istics became available to enable measurement of
impacts and to facilitate trend forecasting. The
tourism literature provides many economic and non-
economic reasons for the growth of tourism demand
(Pearce, 1989). In Europe, the recovery from
Second World War austerity measures, availability
of air transport, the impact of the inclusive tour on
holiday pricing and a growing prosperity were all
influencing factors.
The UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism
Organisation) and through its predecessor IUOTO
(International Union of Official Tourism Organis-
ations) has published a series of international
tourism statistics since 1950. In 1950, it estimated
International Tourist Arrivals at 25 million, increasing
to 1035 million in 2012, a trend increase averaging
just over 4% per year. For International Tourism
Receipts, the estimate in 2012 is US$1075 billion in
real terms. It should be noted that this figure of Inter-
national Tourism Receipts excludes international fare
payments which many tourists incur and appear in a
separate International Passenger Transport account
which totalled US$ 213 billion in 2012, substantially
adding to the financial impact of tourism. Further
impact estimates were that tourism contributed 6%
to world exports, 9% of global Gross Domestic
Product, generating 1 in 11 jobs directly and indirectly
(UNWTO, 2013, p. 2). These figures are broadly
reflected in the estimates made by the Economic
Impact Research, mid-year update (WTTC, 2013).
UNWTO forecasts that the growth trend will continue
at about 3‒4% per annum until 2030 when inter-
national tourist arrivals will be 1.8 billion. A much
neglected sector is domestic tourism which
UNWTO estimated to be 6 billion trips in 2012.
This is almost five times the volume of International
Tourist Arrivals and is important not just for its
impact on domestic economies but also because
 146
historically, as Japan and more recently India and
China demonstrate, many domestic tourists eventually
become international travellers. These growth trends
do not apply to every region or country but with
Asia and the Pacific being the leading regions in
increasing international tourist arrivals, and with
Africa and the Americas also receiving above the
trend arrivals figures. These impressive figures do
raise many issues, not least being how to define the
activities and services of the tourism sector which
has led to the development of Tourism Satellite
Accounts which facilitate both inter-country compari-
son of impacts and standardization of coverage data.
There are a number of characteristics of the growth
of tourism on an international scale which are relevant
to any discussion of tourism in the developing world.
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Europe’s continuing but declining position as the
world’s dominant tourist generating and receiving
region confirms that demand for travel and tourism
is a by-product of an affluent society. However, the
emergence of a growing middle class in developing
countries such as India, China, South Africa and
Brazil is boosting initially domestic tourism and
then international tourism; this is also happening in
many African countries (see World Development
Indicators, Table no. 6.14, published by World Econ-
omic Forum, 2013a). There is a strong correlation
between increases in per capita real discretionary
income and the propensity to travel. As tourists
travel more frequently they become increasingly
value conscious, and the compilation and availability
of the World Tourism and Travel Competitiveness
Index (developed by World Economic Forum,
2013b) facilitates pre-planning of destination choice,
as does the growing importance of social media.
Despite the austerity created by the global financial
crisis, rates of international tourist arrivals have
slowed rather than declined absolutely, with figures
for 2012 suggesting that trends are recovering
(UNWTO, 2013). Not every country has had similar
experiences and care has to be taken in generalizing
outcomes. However, tourism seems to have become
a very resilient international activity, with tourists pro-
tecting holiday expenditure as part of their lifestyles
and using destination-substitution to ensure that a
holiday is taken. The phenomenon of the ‘staycation’
in the UK, where a domestic holiday is substituted for
a foreign destination, is perhaps an indicator of how
holidays and tourism is now valued by many
people. It has, at the global level, been a sustainable
activity since 1950, enjoying a long period of
C.L. Jenkins
continuing growth with only a few years of decline
in demand. It is this long-term growth perspective
which, in many developing countries, has encouraged
governments to invest in and support tourism as a
development strategy.
As previously noted above, governments encou-
rage investment in tourism for mainly economic
reasons. At the national level, tourism generates
foreign exchange earnings and through taxation and
other fiscal measures contributes to government
income; it creates employment and entrepreneurial
opportunities; it attracts foreign direct investment;
and as tourists travel to the tourist attraction, it
could stimulate regional development. These econ-
omic benefits, which are further discussed in the
next section, are not without criticism (Brown,
1998; Burns & Novelli, 2008; Young, 1973). In
addition, the rapid and often unplanned growth of
the tourism sector in many developing countries has
caused many problems of a social, cultural, environ-
mental and, sometimes, political nature (De Kadt,
1979; Smith & Brent, 2001). For many developing
countries, including the islands of the Caribbean and
Pacific areas, tourism often brings a comparative
advantage in development terms which more tra-
ditional sectors of the economy such as agriculture,
small-scale manufacturing and mining may not
offer. Use of tourism attractions which can include
climate, culture, wildlife and heritage provide an
economic value to assets which previously might
have been undervalued. However, as these assets
form part of the patrimony of the people of a
country, development and particularly development
by foreign investors can raise many issues and resent-
ment, as some Asian case studies demonstrate (Hitch-
cock, King, & Parnwell, 2010; Singh, 2009).
However, as noted by Sharpley and Telfer (2002,
p. 253) ‘the often rhetorical commitment to the prin-
ciples of environmental protection and conservation
are subordinated by the primacy of economic
growth, forming the ideological basis for mainstream
sustainable development theory’.
Some of the early published work on the Pacific
islands (Britton, 1981) and Bryden’s (1973) analysis
of tourism in the Commonwealth Caribbean both dis-
played concerns with the nature of tourism develop-
ment in these regions, as had other writers
(Huybers, 2007; Lea, 1988). In East Africa, President
Nyere of Tanzania was concerned with the impact of
foreign tourists on local African culture, as was Presi-
dent Banda of Malawi. President Nyere proposed an
 Tourism policy and planning for developing countries
enclave model of tourism development where tourists
were directed to developments isolated from local
communities to prevent too much interchange with
local people and to risk cultural pollution. For differ-
ent reasons, the enclave model was used many years
later by Club Mediterranean and Club Robinson in
their camps in developing countries. So despite the
economic benefits which could accrue, policy
makers were aware of the non-economic impacts of
tourism. It would be fair to say that many critics of
tourism in developing countries saw it as being essen-
tially an exploitative activity and they were grouped
collectively as the dependency school. The depen-
dency argument had been long established in the
economic literature with leading protagonists such
as Raul Prebisch and Andre Gunnar Frank being pro-
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minent commentators. For many observers of tourism,
it seemed that many of the criticisms were reflective of
the development situation in tourism.
The dependency school argued that tourism was
an exploitative activity as it was dependent on
foreign resources for its development; tourists came
from foreign countries on trips organized and sold
by the foreign travel trade, travelled usually on
foreign-owned airlines, often stayed in foreign-
owned accommodation, and used goods and services
which were largely imported. There was limited local
input and control and the economic leakage of tourism
revenues to foreign owners was huge. Cleverdon
(1979) in his early study estimated that only 20‒
25% of total tourist expenditure remained in the
host country. These were and remain powerful argu-
ments for caution in using tourism as a development
option; but the global growth in tourism demand,
growing traffic flows to developing countries,
together with movements to reduce travel barriers,
seem to counteract these considerations. For many
developing countries tourism provided an opportunity
to invest in a growth industry, sometimes the only
export option available to them. The emergence of
powerful organizations such as the UNWTO and
WTTC and the willingness of the World Bank
group to invest in tourism projects have tended to
soften these negative arguments. The dependency
school were opposed by those who might be
described as the modernists.
Modernists argued that tourism was a modern
industry and created a modernizing influence in
many developing countries. It was an activity in com-
plete contrast to the dominant agricultural sector by
offering new jobs, regular hours, secure and better
147
conditions of work and remuneration. It offered
careers and linked with other sectors in the commu-
nity; it could provide through the multiplier effect a
catalyst for growth. It also provided jobs for
women, a neglected part of the workforce in many
countries. As a modern industry, it offered many
advantages that were not available in other sectors
of the economy. The decline of ‘King Sugar’ in the
Caribbean islands and its replacement by tourism is
an example of the support for the new industry and
its growth to become the dominant economic activity
in the Caribbean region. However, in some other
countries the tourism sector has been damaged by
external factors; in Lesotho and Swaziland the local
economies were heavily reliant on casino tourism,
but when South Africa legalized gaming the main-
stays of the two countries’ tourism sector collapsed.
External political perceptions of Zimbabwe and Iran
have virtually destroyed the tourism sectors. Depen-
dency arguments have not gone away and should
always remind policy makers that tourism operates
on a global basis and they often have to react to
events which they cannot control. The global financial
crisis of 2008, although arising from activities in the
USA and Europe, has had global implications affect-
ing tourism in many countries, including those in the
developing world.
The speed of tourism development is a factor
which can have a major influence on how a country
absorbs tourism. Although tourism is usually an incre-
mental form of development, it is sometimes rapid.
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates used its oil
wealth to modernize and expand infrastructure and
then develop tourism (and other sectors in the
economy) very rapidly. The Emirates has been trans-
formed over 40 years from a poor desert state to a
modern metropolis with top class facilities. In so
doing, it has generated the usual economic benefits
from tourism except employment which, for cultural
reasons, is heavily dependent on foreign labour and
expertise. In tandem, it has developed one of the
world’s major airlines in Emirates; similarly but
more slowly, Abu Dhabi has invested heavily in its
tourism sector and also its own airline Etihad, which
is growing very quickly. In the region, Qatar offers
a similar experience. Very few countries have the
financial resources to emulate these examples.
A more long-term approach was demonstrated by
the first major investment by the World Bank in pro-
viding tourism facilities in its projects in Cancun,
Mexico and Nusa Dua in Bali, Indonesia. These
 148 C.L. Jenkins
projects were subject to thorough study and consider-
ations, not just of the rate of return from the projects
but also the design, location, style and impacts of
the project. These large projects took many years to
complete and provided many lessons to tourism
developers and investors, not least the need to
combine public and private sector investment and to
set clear development goals.
In other cases, tourism development has been if
not unplanned then certainly uncoordinated. The
growth of tourism facilities on the west coast of Bar-
bados was seen as a ‘growth point’ which would
attract other investors to that area and to the island.
The concessionary peppercorn rent charged by the
St Vincent Government to the developers of
Young’s Island to build a luxury resort is another
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example. The success of Bali as a tourism destination
has created many unplanned developments in Kutar
and other parts of the island.
Tourism is a powerful force for change and some
changes are not necessarily good development prac-
tice. A tourism development policy requires careful
considerations of potential benefits and costs
(Dredge & Jenkins, 2007; Edgell, Allen, Smith, &
Swanson, 2008). Unfortunately, the dependency of
many developing countries on external partners and
global influences leaves them with little countervail-
ing power, and competition for development funds
can also lead to short-term decisions which may
trigger many difficulties in the long term. The next
section will consider some of these issues.
Impacts of tourism development
Much has been written about the impacts of tourism
development and they continue to attract attention
and debate. A recent report arising from discussion
at the Council of Australasian Universities Tourism
and Hospitality Educators (CAUTHE) conference
held in Brisbane in February 2014, apparently high-
lighted polarized arguments about the benefits and
disadvantages of tourism as a development option
(Beirman, 2014). The report noted that ‘champions
of the global industry including UNWTO Secretary
General Dr. Taleb Rifai and WTTC President
Mr. David Scowsill have effectively communicated
the benefits of responsible tourism growth in confer-
ences all over the world’. However, among the aca-
demics there were ‘many sceptics who argue that
tourism growth will drain scarce resources and lead
the world to an environmental apocalypse’. In
essence, these arguments focus on the sustainability
of tourism as a growth activity and whether it can
be managed responsibly in such a way to balance its
potential benefits against identified costs (Sharpley,
2009). The polarity of these arguments is not new,
with the two groups collecting, interpreting and pre-
senting data to support their positions. A central
problem is that both groups are interpreting macro
data such as global trends whereas tourism takes
place in specific countries and locations. If tourism
is to be managed and controlled this will have to be
done at the level where tourism activity takes place.
For example, the growth in International Tourism
Arrivals was facilitated by the increase in seat passen-
ger miles. International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) statistics indicated that 3.1 billion passenger
miles were flown in 2013, an increase of 5% over
2012, and this figure is expected to reach 6.4 billion
by 2030 (ICAO, 2013, p. 5). Aircrafts are known to
be a serious cause of carbon emissions; research
into fuel efficiency and alternative aviation fuels
seek technical solutions to this problem. It is unlikely
that any country would want to prevent its citizens
from flying for whatever purpose, including minimiz-
ing carbon emissions, and similarly tourist-receiving
countries are unlikely to want to limit a major
source of foreign exchange – inbound tourists.
There is no universal solution and merely appealing
for reductions in flights or by increasing aviation
charges will confront major and powerful vested
interests.
Identifying development problems in tourism is
easier than managing these problems. The essential
part of the management issue is the use of the word
‘sustainable’ as an objective for development.
However, there has not been and there is no agreement
on what is sustainable tourism. The broad discussions
at the Rio Earth Conference in 1992 gave rise to a
definition of sustainability as ‘to meet the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs’
(WCED, 1987, p. 8). ‘Sustainability’ is a word
which most people can accept but in practical terms
it has little salience, particularly relating to the inter-
generational aspects of resource management. It is
well meaning but offers little guidance on how to
reach such a balanced position. It does, of course,
warn of the danger of exhausting what are already
finite resources, and increasing desertification and
global warming provide some evidence of exploita-
tion of natural resources, leading to serious
 Tourism policy and planning for developing countries
consequences including in the tourism sector. In
relation to tourism, perhaps one of the problems of
sustainability is that it has been too closely focused
on environmental quality. However, sustainability
should consider the wide range of tourism impacts
including also economic and socio-cultural factors
(Mowforth & Munt, 2003; Weaver, 2010). To some
extent, this has happened with an advocacy from
major development organizations and particularly
from the academic community to observe the ‘triple
bottom line’ (Dwyer, 2005) in formulating develop-
ment plans for tourism (and other sectors). This advo-
cacy recognizes that any tourism development is
dependent on a massive interchange of people of
different nationalities and cultures and will inevitably
have socio-cultural impacts on the host society and
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the environment. However, like most theoretical
approaches there are major problems in following
this advice. For example, economic impact arising
from tourism is immediate; it begins when tourists
arrive and begin spending. Socio-cultural changes
will take much longer to emerge and are difficult to
control and manage; of course, some changes could
be beneficial. Changes in the environment also tend
to be long term so the ‘triple bottom line’ advocacy
is sensible if only because it encourages a broader
view of tourism impacts, but it is very difficult to
operate as a management strategy. A more realistic
approach would be to develop sub-sector policies
and plans for potential economic, socio-cultural and
environmental impact, based on past experiences
from the host country and other relevant developing
countries and amalgamate these into a development
and implementation strategy. Some of the questions
relating to these impacts are briefly reviewed below.
There can be little doubt that developing countries
invest in and encourage tourism development because
of its economic impact. Most of these countries face
major challenges in funding development and
buying the expertise to manage it. In contrast, where
funds and foreign exchange are not barriers, such as
in the United Arab Emirates, development generally
and specifically in tourism has been very rapid, as
the positions of Dubai and Abu Dhabi illustrate. For
most countries without these financial resources
tourism development is usually reliant on government
funds or through investment from foreign sources
such as development agencies, bilateral assistance
funding, World Bank and private inward investment.
Here the arguments about dependency and moderniz-
ation surface, but as international tourists travel to a
149
country they bring with them foreign exchange
which can be used for development purposes. It is
estimated that the market share of emerging econom-
ies had increased from 30% of global international
tourist arrivals in 1980 to 47% in 2012 and is expected
to reach 57% by 2030 (UNWTO, 2013). This strong
growth trend encourages governments and investors
in developing countries. The same source suggests
that tourism now contributes 6% of total exports of
the least developed countries. For many developing
countries their usual reliance on the export of
primary products, basic manufacturing items and tex-
tiles face trade barriers and global competition in
import markets; however, tourism is relatively free
of restrictions imposed on travel by the main tourist
generating countries, with very few limits on foreign
exchange for travel purposes, exhibiting a strong
market growth trajectory. In many developing
countries, tourism is one of the few alternative
export sectors to increase foreign exchange earnings
as examples from Kenya, Lao, Bhutan, Guyana and
the Caribbean and Pacific nation-states demonstrate.
In addition to earning of foreign exchange, tourism
also brings other economic benefits.
It does contribute to government revenues through
fiscal policy including taxes, fees, import duties,
airport departure tax and so on. As a services sector
industry, tourism has a multiplier impact on the wider
economy to generate related supply and service
inputs. Other activity can have a similar effect, but
analysis through the use of Tourism Satellite Accounts
shows this is an important aspect which can stimulate
investment in other service sectors. As economic
activity increases employment, it helps to widen the
income tax base and also to diversify the economy.
The employment effect of tourism is important in
most developing countries where growing popu-
lations are young and job opportunities are needed
such as in Indonesia and Nigeria. Tourism is a
labour-intensive activity, particularly in developing
countries where labour is abundant and wage costs
low. It also has an advantage of having a low
threshold skills entry barrier which facilitates the
employment of young and unskilled workers. It is
also an industry which employs many women. The
arguments surrounding employment creation in
tourism are complex, but it is regarded as one
means of fast-tracking employment and career oppor-
tunities, usually a priority in developing countries.
As tourism takes place where the tourism attrac-
tions are it can be a positive contribution to regional
 150 C.L. Jenkins
development. There are many examples, such as game
viewing in South Africa and Kenya, mountaineering
and climbing in Nepal and India, beaches in the Sey-
chelles and Mauritius, and built and natural heritage
attractions in many countries. Visitors to Bali are
often attracted to make the relatively short journey
to central Java to visit World Heritage sites at Borobu-
dur and Prambanan. The movement of tourists to
regions will require support infrastructure, accommo-
dation and transport which can also benefit local com-
munities by sharing facilities provided for tourists
such as improved roads and airports, water and elec-
tricity supply, and medical services. Nusa Dua in
Bali is an example of how a local community has
developed around the resort complex.
Socio-cultural impacts take longer to emerge and
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in the tourism literature they are usually regarded as
being negative (Smith & Brent, 2001). There are
many examples where social ills such as prostitution,
gambling, drugs and child sexual exploitation are
closely linked with tourism, but sometimes these pro-
blems already existed in a society before tourism
developed. There are many examples from the devel-
oping countries where these and other abuses have
been associated with tourism; they forewarn of the
need to consider these issues at the inception of
tourism planning and to closely monitor what
changes are taking place in the society (O’Grady,
1981; Turner & Ash, 1975). Benign neglect is not a
strategy and it will take political will and legal sanc-
tions to arrest the development of these problems.
Although charities can help and specialist organiz-
ations such as End Child Prostitution in Asian
Tourism (ECPAT) in South East Asia have a long
history of combating such problems, government
involvement is an essential input. It should not be for-
gotten that tourism has also brought with it many
benefits for communities, not just in improvements
through jobs and quality of life but also in contribut-
ing to the conservation of both natural and built heri-
tage. Festivals and similar community events have
become tourist attractions such as carnival in Rio,
Perhara in Sri Lanka and the Chinese new year cele-
brations which are found throughout the world.
Socio-cultural impacts of tourism are manifest in all
tourist receiving countries and they are not necessarily
negative but will require management to mitigate
development problems and enhance benefits.
Environmental impacts of development, including
tourism, are a continuing concern. As UNEP (1990)
noted ‘If efficiently planned and managed, tourism
could become an ally and a supportive economic
and political force for conservation.’ The Commission
on Sustainable development (CSD) as the lead agency
responsible for implementation of Agenda 21 goals
for tourism comments that ‘creating an adequate
policy context to make the tourism industry sustain-
able’ is a major challenge. It recognizes that this
cannot only be a government initiative but requires
cooperation with and support from the industry
through organizations such as Global Partnership for
Sustainable Tourism and the Green Passport cam-
paign. In any country a quality environment is ben-
eficial to residents and visitors alike; in some cases
such as the Seychelles they can charge very high
prices to tourists because of the pristine nature of
the islands, a value added to tourism revenues and a
competitive advantage secured through careful man-
agement of tourism. A wider issue affecting all
countries is the prospect and occurrence of global
warming.
The concept and nature of climate change is mired
in controversy. It may be defined as the change in the
climate of a country, region or throughout the world.
The effects of these changes and whether they consti-
tute a long-term trend is the subject of a continuing
debate, but it is clear that any long-term changes
will have implications for where and how tourism
develops. Recent experience of extreme weather,
drought, melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels
and increasing rates of desertification are indicators
of weather changes. Some of the governments of
low-lying Pacific islands are already in discussion
with larger regional countries such as Australia and
New Zealand to allow immigration if the islands
become uninhabitable and have to be evacuated.
Global concern has now shifted from the many
specialist United Nations agencies gathering infor-
mation on the phenomena to discussion of what sol-
utions might mitigate the problem.
The causes of global warming are said to arise
from two connected activities; the generating of
‘greenhouse’ gases and human activities. Some
other natural causes are deforestation, ocean pol-
lution, volcanic eruptions and methane gases from
animals. Human activities such as burning fossil
fuels, transport use and demand for energy all create
CO2 emissions or the so-called ‘carbon footprints’
(UN Climate Change Conference, 2013, Warsaw,
Poland). The availability and development of air
transport has had a major influence in facilitating
the growth of tourism and particularly long-haul
 Tourism policy and planning for developing countries
tourism. Air transport generates a massive carbon
footprint and discussions have been ongoing as to
how this can be reduced. All the available evidence
suggests that tourists will not forgo holiday travel
but, practically, for long-haul travel there is no alterna-
tive to air transport. So the solution may be in develop-
ing lower carbon fuels, lighter and more fuel-efficient
aircraft combined with fiscal measures to levy charges
on older and the most polluting aircraft; many
countries have already introduced such charges. In
road vehicles the introduction of hybrid vehicles, elec-
tric cars and relating licensing charges to the levels of
emissions is already in place. Although global
warming is a macro threat to the planet, remedial
actions will be essentially local and within the remit
of individual governments to introduce policies less
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reliant on fossil fuels for energy and switch to wind,
wave and solar sources (World Economic Forum,
2014). Unfortunately, many developing countries do
not have the resources or experience to invest in this
research and technology and will rely on investors to
adopt the most modern techniques to minimize green-
house gas emissions and to reduce operating costs.
These aspects of tourism have implications for the for-
mulation of tourism policies and plans.
Tourism policy and planning
Policies and plans for the tourism sector should reflect
the opportunities, conditions and constraints of the
planning zone at country or sub-country level. Even
if tourism is the dominant sector in an economy it
should reflect national development aspirations and
priorities. It is not and should not be regarded as a
stand-alone sector because it is affected by many
other sector policies. As an example air transport
might play a key role in tourism development, but
government through a civil aviation authority will
determine national objectives and subsequently nego-
tiate international aspects through bilateral air agree-
ments. In this circumstance, the tourism sector is a
policy-taker and not a policy-maker although it may
be able to have input to this process. Similarly, gov-
ernment policies relating to fiscal matters, visa and
diplomatic relations, and foreign investment are all
likely to influence the development and operation of
the tourism sector. Such factors reflecting inter-
sector dependencies make tourism a difficult and
often complex operating area.
There are two basic reasons for making policies
and plans: first, is to evaluate the scarcity of resources
151
available to support development initiatives; second,
to allocate these scarce resources efficiently. In
tourism, there is a further consideration and that is
international tourism development brings with it an
often massive influx of foreign short-stay visitors,
creating cross-cultural impacts and severe strain on
environmental and other capacity. If unchecked this
strain can often result in what Doxey (1976) described
as an ‘irredex effect’ and which is the antithesis of
sustainable tourism. A detailed discussion of these
factors is outside the scope of this paper, but it is rel-
evant to consider some other issues which are impor-
tant to policy formulation and planning for tourism.
First, is the question of who should formulate
policy and plans for tourism? In developing countries,
this has usually been the role of government with
limited involvement of the private sector. However,
over the past two decades governments have come
under increasing pressure from the major international
development agencies not only to involve the private
sector in these activities but to give it the lead role.
Again, the substance of the argument supporting
this change is simple; governments do not have
good records of either efficiently investing in the
private sector or in managing these investments. A
comparison of government and private sector man-
agement of airlines and hotels in developing countries
demonstrate this point. Private sector companies are
also closer to and more involved in the markets than
governments can ever be. Failure for a private
company usually results in liquidation whereas for
government-owned assets it is usually a further
recourse to subsidies to sustain operations. For these
reasons governments are being urged to create an
‘enabling environment’ through fiscal and other
measures to encourage private sector investment and
operation. The change in emphasis does not exclude
government from the development process but gives
it a different role. Most international development
agencies now insist on this sharing arrangement.
Second, the type, scale and location of tourism
developments are crucial decisions in creating a sus-
tainable sector. Careful evaluation of projects is
required to optimize economic returns and to mini-
mize negative socio-cultural and environmental
impacts. This is a very difficult area of analysis and
one which can be influenced by political consider-
ations. Most foreign investors will have already
decided on the type of investment such as casino,
resort, hotel and the scale and location of the invest-
ment. In Macau, for example, the huge size of the
 152 C.L. Jenkins
casino/resorts sectors is dictated by competitive
factors including high prices for land and economies
of scale. Governments can negotiate for changes,
but often have little countervailing power other than
to refuse the proposal and sometimes in the knowl-
edge that the investment is footloose and can be
deployed in another country. In the Caribbean,
where most island countries offer ‘sun, sea and
sand’ products, the possibility of location substitution
is a constant threat. The type, scale and location of the
facility are issues which usually are of concern to host
communities. Much interest has been shown by aca-
demics in community participation in tourism devel-
opment particularly relating to policy and plans
(Murphy, 1985; Tosun, 2000). For reasons of democ-
racy, most observers would support this involvement,
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and many development plans funded by the inter-
national agencies will include a requirement to
consult local communities on the proposals.
However, it is usually difficult to define the local com-
munity and to identify suitable representatives, thus
giving rise to a consultative process which may at
best be a form of tokenism and with limited influence
on how development takes place. An early but still
relevant discussion of this issue was provided by Arn-
stein (1969).
Third, any development will depend on the avail-
ability of the necessary infrastructure. This is a techni-
cal consideration which underpins and sometimes
frustrates development initiatives. It is usually a
major financial cost to a project and often private
investors look to government to provide this. Govern-
ments are increasingly trying to involve the private
sector in airport construction, toll roads, utility
supplies and in human resource development
through the provision of private schools or specialist
training facilities. In so doing, it not only spreads
costs but creates a better Public-Private Partnership.
Fourth, who should benefit from tourism develop-
ment? Much has been written about ‘equitable distri-
bution’ of benefits but this is an ideal, based on
altruism rather than reality. No country in the world
distributes benefits equitably! However, benefits can
be more fairly distributed through taxation and other
fiscal measures, by regulation of employment prac-
tices favouring local people, providing training oppor-
tunities and generally monitoring the expected
outcomes from the project against what is happening,
for example, a target to employ young people, local
residents or more women can be established and
checked. Employment practices including seasonal
lay-offs, general conditions of work and number of
foreign workers are other issues.
Fifth, are there or should there be any limits to the
growth of tourism? The notion of carrying capacity
has long been a feature of the tourism literature. It is
an attempt to optimize tourist visits within the
capacity of a community or perhaps a national park,
to absorb a given number of visitors without deterior-
ating the location and the visit experience. It is a dif-
ficult judgement to make; much of it is subjective as it
involves an estimation of the carrying capacity of the
community, physical area, infrastructure and environ-
ment. It might be that a developing country is not
faced by a falling visitor demand from external
markets but rather the limitations of absorptive
capacity in the country. In the Cook Islands, for
example, it is the inability to expand airport capacity
which is a continuing limiting factor to increasing
tourist arrivals. In Goa, India, local farmers have
demonstrated against tourists and tourism because
their farms are facing water shortages because of
increasing demand from the tourism sector.
Sixth, as the impacts of tourism accrue over time,
it is essential to have some system in place to monitor
and evaluate them. Although the economic impacts of
tourism have been described as being immediate,
other effects will be discerned over a longer period
of time. An essential output of a tourism policy is
the identification and implementation of a monitoring
process providing a feedback to facilitate corrective
measures where necessary. This process should
involve the community and provide a link between
it and those in authority who are responsible for the
tourism sector.
This brief discussion of the nature of tourism
development and some of the factors affecting the for-
mulation of tourism policies and plans allows us to
consider what might be critical issues influencing
the growth of tourism in the developing world.
Some of these issues are global and are categorized
as being external influences on the developing
countries whereas others are internal factors.
Critical issues
In seeking to identify the critical issues which are
likely to influence tourism in developing countries,
it is accepted that not all tourism observers would
agree with the selection. However, the issues ident-
ified and discussed are of global significance and are
categorized into external and internal forces and
 Tourism policy and planning for developing countries
further divided into positive and negative. A second
part of the analysis focuses on these countries and
considers how these external issues together with
internal factors will interact to inform tourism policy
formulation and planning.
External issues: positive
(1) International tourism as a growth industry.
As noted above, over the last 65 years,
tourism has been a sustained growth industry
as measured by International Tourism Arrivals.
Not every country has enjoyed this sustained
growth but on a global basis the figures are
indisputable. Underpinning this trend, there
are a number of supporting factors providing
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:03 06 July 2015
subjective but persuasive evidence of the
importance of tourism to people. The severity
of the global economic crisis beginning
around 2008 caused a decline in demand for
international travel which has now recovered.
Interestingly, even in times of crisis many
people seemed to be protecting their holiday
expenditure by substituting cheaper desti-
nations instead of more expensive ones or
switching from international destinations to
domestic. This suggests that many people
now see holidays as an integral part of their
lifestyle choices. A further positive trend is
that current economic indicators show that
many countries, particularly in the developed
world which remain the main generator of
international tourists, are recovering from
their financial and economic problems.
(2) The strengthening economic and financial
trends have instigated a growth in inter-
national air transport provision: increase in
passenger numbers; new aircraft orders;
more efficient aircraft construction and lower
operating costs; and the emergence of new
global carriers such as Emirates, Etihad and
Qatar constantly increasing route networks
and improving service quality. At regional
levels, low-cost carriers such as Easyjet,
Ryanair and Air Asia have pioneered new
markets and opened flights to new travellers
through cheap fares. These markets are
expanding and some airlines are challenging
established carriers on certain routes.
(3) Multilateral efforts by organizations such as
UNWTO and WTTC are being made to
153
reduce barriers to international travel. One
problem area is related to the need for a visa
to enter certain countries. Compatible with
national security concerns, many countries
are now offering travellers either an online
visa or a visa on arrival process. In Europe,
the Schengen visa allows travel to a large
number of countries within the European
Union. As part of its cooperation measures
beginning in 2015, the country members of
ASEAN are proposing a single visa, making
access to the region and inter-country travel
easier and to generate significant benefits
expected to accrue from increasing travel
numbers: ‘New report by UNWTO and
WTTC shows that improving the visa
process in ASEAN countries could generate
an extra 6–10 million visitors by 2016’
(UNWTO, 2014).
(4) Many developing countries are already bene-
fiting from the expansion in international
tourism demand. Countries such as India and
China are, for many reasons, becoming
regional drivers of tourism. In the Caribbean,
Pacific and Southern Africa, there are growing
numbers of intra-regional tourists and a
growing middle class is providing a reservoir
of affluent travellers. Many of these growth
scenarios are contextualized within the need
to develop responsible and sustainable
tourism. It is an important issue because it
focuses on optimizing rather than maximizing
tourism development. The ‘triple bottom line’
concept might be interpreted as a measure of
optimization, but it is difficult to achieve and
requires effective policies and plans. These
global aims should be reflected in country
level actions.
External issues: negative
(1) Although international tourism demand is
increasing, so is competition. Much of the
competitiveness comes from new destinations
entering the market. The World Economic
Forum publishes a Competiveness Index
which examines how countries perform
against a series of indicators; although not
specifically for tourism, it also publishes
tourism and travel indicators which allow
planners or any interested person to access
 154 C.L. Jenkins
data online. This type of information together
with the expansion of social media is provid-
ing potential tourists with a source of varied
information such as video, picture grams and
‘trip advisor’ to better inform their choice of
destination. Although this provision is posi-
tive for the traveller, it does put pressure on
countries to have a presence on the Internet
and social media and also to monitor it
carefully.
(2) Development of Information and Communi-
cation Technologies (ICT) has greatly
impacted the development and mode of oper-
ation of the travel trade. It has relevance as an
information source (which has replaced many
guide books for travel information) and as a
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booking device which is transforming how
tourism business is done. A technological
development which has made so many
changes in the tourism business and is avail-
able to so many people is only a negative
issue if a country or company does not use
its full potential. In addition, despite some
governments’ interference, it has a transpar-
ency and immediacy to broadcast information
globally, some of which harm tourism, such as
recent events in Egypt, Uganda and Bangkok.
Governments also use the Internet to issue
travel advisory notices which may influence
choice of destination by warning of potential
dangers in certain destinations.
(3) Political stability and personal safety are very
important for tourists and all travellers. Global
coverage of events can lead to disruption to
travel flows and a short-term decrease in
tourism arrivals, as currently experienced by
Egypt. There are many causes of political
instability and its impact may be difficult to
evaluate but it does have consequences for
the image of a tourism destination. Similarly,
issues of personal safety such as concern for
women travellers in Delhi or tourists in Rio
can be devastating, particularly where major
events such as the World Cup are scheduled
to be held in Brazil. A regional example
affecting tourism is found in coverage of the
Arab Spring uprisings in some Middle East
countries.
Although not an exhaustive list of issues, they should
be taken into consideration when formulating tourism
policy and plans in developing countries as they
provide a context for this process. In addition, each
country will have internal issues which need to be
identified.
Internal issues
Internal issues affecting tourism development can be
generalized, but the intensity and importance of
each will be specific to a country. The main general
issues are as follows:
(1) To establish a process to facilitate the policy
formulation, planning and monitoring of the
tourism sector. This should be integral to the
creation of an enabling environment for the
sector.
(2) Careful scrutiny of the availability and allo-
cation of scarce development resources.
Such resources will include finance, land,
water, natural environment, capacity of
utility services and infra-structure. On an
opportunity-cost basis, tourism demand must
be compared with other sectors of the
economy, including residents’ needs.
(3) Development of a Public-Private Partnership
as part of the enabling environment. Wherever
feasible, the private sector should lead invest-
ment, and through its proximity to and invol-
vement in the market to develop a quality
destination with high standards offering per-
sonal safety to visitors. To sustain this position
will require continuous investment in training
and human resource development.
(4) To use the latest ICT techniques to develop
and monitor the market and facilitate the cre-
ation of an appropriate destination image.
(5) To reflect international policies and standards
to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases
and to legislate to control development prac-
tices to achieve a sustainable tourism sector.
(6) Wherever possible, efforts should be made to
limit the leakage of benefits from the tourism
sector and to introduce policies for their more
equitable distribution.
(7) To develop a crisis management plan to
prepare for any major events likely to impair
the interests and performance of the tourism
sector.
(8) To undertake necessary institutional restruc-
turing to support the development of tourism.
 Tourism policy and planning for developing countries
These issues will not be easy to address. They do
require a long-term vision and political will for the
sustainable development of the tourism sector, and
to mitigate the suggestion that in most developing
countries tourism is created by foreigners, enjoyed
by foreigners and mostly benefits foreigners.
Conclusion
This paper has of necessity had to limit discussion of
the many important issues raised. Current forecasts
show a continuing growth in international tourism
demand which will provide many opportunities and
challenges to developing countries (Jenkins, 2006).
They cannot isolate themselves from global trends
and a careful analysis of these factors is essential to
Downloaded by [New York University] at 19:03 06 July 2015
contextualize internal issues. To achieve a sustainable
tourism sector will require a responsible approach to
development balancing the many positive and nega-
tive impacts with the aim of benefiting the economy
and society. This will also require a shift in the
balance between government and private sector invol-
vement in policy formulation and planning.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Carson L. Jenkins is Emeritus Professor of Tourism at the
Business School, University of Strathclyde. He is an econ-
omist by training who has specialized in the study of
tourism in developing countries. He has undertaken teach-
ing, research and consultancy assignments in over 80 of
these countries for most of the international development
agencies. His specific interests focus on tourism policy for-
mulation, planning, legislation, institutional restructuring
and human resource development.
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