Meeting on the trade and development implications of tourism services for developing countries: UNCTAD XII pre-event

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT Meeting on the trade and development implications of tourism services for developing countries: UNCTAD XII pre-event

19 November 2007

Session I: Global tourism trends and their impacts on developing countries

IFTO

The International Federation of Tour Operators (IFTO) explain the new trend about tourism in the world.
The most important thing is the flexibility. Consumers want to travel when and where he decides. With the internet opportunities, they’re able to go on last minute, time and flexibility are correlated.
Tourist trend’s is to go out from Euro zone, and so we see the emergence of many new destinations to live new experiences.
Nowadays, people who travel doesn’t research an hostel with five stars but on the contrary many persons wants to discovered a new country and culture, comfort became a second desire.
Today, the main key of travel is “Delivery”. People want to be served quickly in a quality environment.

FDI in tourism

Tourism sector is growing, especially in Africa.
It permits to increase direct and indirect employment.
Tourism sector is in the top of the list of financial resources of developing countries.
FDI is an engine to growth especially in “newer” destination.
Attracting Tourism FDIs is frequently one of the policy priorities.
UNCTAD could help to understand importance of FDI and TNC in tourism.
UNCTAD goal is to provide informations and analysis to help policy-makers design policies that will most help their country. The UN organization makes different project in LDCs to developed tourism thanks to FDIs.
Tourism isn’t a globalised activity, is just in accommodation, bars and restaurant, cars rentail and leasing.
FDI is concentrated in developed countries but it is growing in developing countries.
Countries need to setting policies to attract tourism FDI.
And, logically, these politics need to be integrated into the overall policy framework.


Session II: Sustainable tourism development: An avenue for economic diversification and poverty reduction

M.Sahli, professor in New Zealand:

Despite of marginality in FDI, many LDCs have an important tourism specialization.
Tourism has a central impact on LDC for the incomes, jobs and exports.
It exists to different approaches on tourism:

- Traditional: like a macroeconomic objective, with three items: GDP indicator, employment and current account balance.

The main function of this traditional approach is to provide money to the country and to contribute to the State financing (capital goods, technical goods…).

- More recent: we include diversification, social and environmental development.

The main function of the more recent approach is to specify economy in relation to the other economic sectors.

Tourism sector contribute about many opportunities:
- An external demand brings on the host country. Goods and services isn’t exportable permit to the small producers to make profits.
- An increase of employment in intensive sector
- Promote the resources of the disadvantaged people (animal life, flora, culture…)
- A substitute to the International market which his difficult to access (external resources).
- Economic diversification with firm’s creation.
- An increase of infrastructures (transport, accommodation, telecommunication…)

Infrastructures investment benefit at all level in country’s economy.

To conclude,

Unfortunately, the tourism development could create negative situation because of pollution, noise…
To fight this negative points, we need to make a sustainable tourism with social justice, economic development, environment respect.
We need political action thanks to sustainable development (eco-tourism).

Damien AFONSO