Sustainable Tourism Development: Critically Challenging Some Assumptions

ABSTRACT

Tourism has long been perceived as a passport to development in Pacific Island Countries and Territories. That much is generally accepted. But how it contributes to sustainable development and what type of tourism is most appropriate to contribute to sustainable tourism development in a globalised world is much more contested. This contribution may well be significantly reshaped through existential crises such as climate disaster and pandemics. This paper draws out several of David Harrison’s challenges to accepted thinking about sustainable tourism development: how tourism contributes to poverty alleviation; how the scale of tourism impacts sustainable tourism development and the role international tourism plays in a globalised interconnected world are the three issues that are examined. Through critically analyzing these issues, a more nuanced approach, as outlined by Harrison, more accurately reflects the situation and offers grounds for better scholarship.

KEYWORDS:

• Mass tourism
• tourism development
• small scale tourism
• poverty alleviation
• Pacific Islands

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).