Tourists, migrants and refugees: population movements in third world development by Milica Z. Bookman (Lynne Rienner Publishers: Boulder, London, 2006, pp. 217)

✍ Scribed by Jane Carnaffan

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 34 KB
• Volume: 20
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0954-1748
• DOI: 10.1002/jid.1438

✦ Synopsis

Milica Bookman's 'Tourists, Migrants and Refugees: Population Movements in Third World Development' opens with a description of the pull factors that attract tourists to the Caprivi Strip in Southern Africa: the 'exotic wildlife' and 'idyllic sunsets' so iconic in the tourist imagery of the developing world. However, behind these delightful scenes lie economic and political upheavals and dramatic social change. They are equally sites of population movements due the development of tourism. Migration to the Caprivi Strip is described as multi-directional: tourists are attracted to the region; workers migrate internally and also from neighbouring countries seeking employment in tourism; foreign investors build and manage tourist facilities; local, indigenous populations are displaced to make way for these facilities. The interplay of tourism, economic growth and migration illustrated in this example finds echoes throughout the developing world. It is these themes, examined from a political economy perspective, across a diverse range of developing countries that form the foundation of this book.

Bookman's central thesis, and where this study departs from more conventional thinking, is that tourism both triggers migration and displacement, and is generated by them. She argues that this self-reinforcing circular flow of population movements is both the cause and effect of economic growth. Although this study has policy implications for developing countries seeking to develop through tourism, it argues against tourism as a panacea for Third World development. It does this through emphasising the human price to be paid for tourism-led development, particularly that of social dislocation.

The book's arguments are centred on the economic analysis of developing countries and their varying involvement in tourism. This is presented in highly detailed tables, which rank developing countries according to the percentage of GDP that international tourism (and therefore 'hard', foreign currency) contributes to their economies. Countries in Group A are termed 'tourist dependent' due to the large proportion of GDP derived from tourism, Group B countries are termed 'tourist friendly' and Group C countries are classified as 'tourist restrained'. These key categories and statistics are revisited from different angles throughout the book.

Having presented the book's thesis and statistical basis for analysis in the introduction, chapter 2 takes a macro perspective on the interplay of tourism, economic growth and migration. It does this by presenting an overview of the literature, theories and models central to this study. These outline the push-pull factors influencing economic growth, tourism and migration, focusing on 'tourist-friendly' LDC countries. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 examine migration on a micro level. Chapters 3 and 4 examine voluntary movements of people on either side of the demand and supply of the tourism divide, with chapter 3 looking at tourists and chapter 4 at migrant workers. Chapter 5 turns to the involuntary displacement of people due to tourism development.

Looking at these central chapters in more detail, chapter 3 gives an overview of changes in tourist demands. It notes the most recent trends in tourism: travel from the West to developing countries and the immense diversification of tourist markets and activities. It also looks forwards to emerging trends, such as the Chinese becoming international tourists. Factors that influence demand are also examined, namely price and taste. Chapter 4 gives a balanced presentation of the debates and issues surrounding the migration of people that provide the labour for the tourism industry. These are as follows: the question of whether employment generated by tourism provides linkages (or has a 'trickle down' effect) throughout the economy; issues raised by the 'carrying capacity' and impact of visitors and the implications this has for employment in tourism; uneven (and unfair) wages in the tourism industry and labour migration (including its gendered aspects). These complex issues are presented clearly in terms of costs and benefits, both economic and social.

Chapter 5 examines the involuntary movement of people. The focus here is on two conflicting policies pursued by LDC governments promoting tourism. One is to preserve 'ethnic' or 'indigenous' peoples and their cultures because they are recognised as a strong pull factor for tourists. This is especially true in 'ethnic' or 'indigenous' tourism, where tourists visit the homes of 'local' or 'indigenous' peoples to observe their traditions and everyday life. The other is that authorities move (often forcibly) these very people from their lands to make way for tourist facilities, principally national parks and resorts. This, paradoxically, results in the destruction of the very people that originally attracted tourists to the region.