Pros or Cons: Development through Tourism

Tourism has been regarded as playing a major role in bringing about social change. It has certainly exerted a very important economic, productive, and cultural influence, but it is also evident that it has been a source of social conflict for different groups and movements.

Tourism and its influence on host communities have given rise to highly controversial beliefs: some suggest that it is an opportunity for underdeveloped countries to participate in economic growth and social development, allowing them to catch up politically and culturally with the rest of the world. Turner and Ash (1975) support the view that it contributes towards the development of the Third World, although it tends to incorporate the worst cultural aspects of the industrialized countries that act as their source markets, thus hindering their progress and development. On the other hand, Britton and Clarke (1987) point out that mass tourism may have collaborated in hindering the permanency of local cultures and in spreading processes like prostitution or delinquency.

What if you have to support, as a PR practitioner, either side, what would you prefer? And why?