Sustainable Tourism (ST) as a Global Development Tool
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| Lake Atitlán is a popular Guatemalan tourist destination. |
Tourism is now generally recognized to be one of the largest industries—if not the largest—in the world. It is now one of the world’s most significant sources of employment and of Gross Domestic Product and it particularly benefits the economies of developing countries, where most of the sector’s new tourism jobs and businesses are being created. This rapid growth has encouraged many developing nations to view tourism as key to promoting economic growth.
Tourism provides opportunities for diversifying local economies and promoting formation of micro and small enterprises, many of them women-owned. These enterprises promote better lives for poor entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas where there may be few other livelihood options. Tourism introduces technology and basic infrastructure, and strengthens linkages with the outside world. Well-planned and well-implemented tourism projects can improve local governance, natural resources management, biodiversity conservation and other important development goals.
The rich and diverse biophysical environments found in many of the world’s least developed countries must remain healthy in order for successful, sustained tourism enterprises to develop and endure. The very resources that supply these countries with their competitive advantage are in many places being degraded, and tourism cannot survive and prosper unless the resources are properly protected.
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