In recent years, both international institutions and donor agencies have raised attention on the relevance of tourism as an engine of development for destination countries, as developing countries constitute a growing portion of the tourism demand. The latter is also increasingly aware of the negative impacts of mass tourism in developing countries, and the new traveller is starting to choose new forms of tourism, such as sustainable, eco-, and community-based tourism. However, these are essentially niche markets, and one cannot expect the whole sector to convert to these forms. In order for the industry to truly be an engine of human development, it is necessary to start from the whole demand, including both mass and individual tourism. Among new approaches, Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) has emerged (Deloitte & Tourche, 1999), indicating tourism that provides net benefits to the poor. While PPT is a great stride ahead in linking tourism to development, it still has strong limitations, lying mainly in its mostly economical approach to poverty, in its neglect of inequalities, and in its focus only on a certain group of stakeholders, as will be underlined in the analysis. The research will then move to a different and potentially more complete perspective on development that could guide development approaches linked to tourism: the capability approach (Sen, 1999). As conceived in Sen’s analysis, development should bring about the expansion of one’s individual capabilities, allowing them to lead the life they have reason to value. So far, tourism studies have rarely taken into consideration Sen’s studies, thus the present research constitutes an early attempt at applying the capability approach to the tourism industry. The study investigates whether and to which extent the tourism sector is likely to trigger human development and capability expansion in a tourism destination that attracts tourists of different kind, such as Petra. The fieldwork was aimed at collecting primary data through quali-quantitative interviews, conducted in the touristic area of the Petra Region (Jordan), encompassing the town of Wadi Mousa and the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP). Four different questionnaires were designed, respectively directed to the demand side (95 international tourists), the supply side (32 tourism employers), the workforce in Wadi Mousa (77 tourism workers) and in the PAP (20 tourism workers). The present impacts of tourism on human development and capabilities of those involved in the industry have been analysed, while also investigating the future potentials of the sector in the region. While some criticalities typical of tourism in developing countries are present in Petra, the sector in general appears to have improved the capabilities of the local workforce, although there is still room for improvement, especially in regard to unequal patterns of development.
Il turismo rappresenta un tema sempre più dibattuto dalle istituzioni internazionali e dai donatori, che sottolineano come il settore possa costituire una spinta allo sviluppo dei paesi di destinazione, una considerevole parte dei quali è attualmente costituita dai paesi in via di sviluppo. La domanda turistica sta inoltre sviluppando una crescente consapevolezza riguardo gli effetti negativi del turismo di massa nei paesi in via di sviluppo: il viaggiatore moderno preferisce scegliere tipologie di turismo come l’ecoturismo, il turismo sostenibile, e quello di comunità. Tuttavia, questi ultimi sono per lo più mercati di nicchia che non possono aspirare a trasformare il carattere dell’intera industria turistica. Affinché il turismo costituisca un vero input allo sviluppo umano, è necessario dunque partire dall’intera domanda, che include il turismo di massa quanto quello individuale. Tra le ultime frontiere di ricerca, il Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) (Deloitte & Tourche, 1999) si contraddistingue nel considerare il turismo come strumento che produce benefici economici netti per le fasce povere. Se da una parte il PPT costituisce un grande passo avanti nella ricerca sulla relazione tra turismo e sviluppo, esso presenta ancora degli importanti limiti, poiché, come l’analisi provvederà a sottolineare, offre un approccio essenzialmente economico alla povertà, trascura in gran parte le diseguaglianze, ed è incentrato su un gruppo limitato di stakeholder. La ricerca propone una prospettiva diversa e potenzialmente più inclusiva sul tema, che potrebbe meglio indirizzare gli studi sullo sviluppo legati al turismo: il capability approach (Sen, 1999). Nell’analisi di Sen, l’obiettivo ultimo dello sviluppo è quello di migliorare le capabilities individuali, ovvero la capacità e la possibilità di condurre la vita che si desidera vivere. Fino ad ora, gli studi sul turismo hanno in gran parte trascurato i lavori di Sen; la presente ricerca costituisce dunque un tentativo precoce di applicare il capability approach all’industria turistica. Lo studio mira ad indagare se e in che misura il settore turistico possa innescare lo sviluppo umano e l’espansione delle capabilities in una destinazione turistica che ospita una domanda variegata, come Petra. Lo studio sul campo è stato mirato a raccogliere dati primari per mezzo di interviste quali-quantitative, condotte nell’area turistica della Regione di Petra (Giordania), che comprende il villaggio di Wadi Musa ed il Petra Archaeological Park (PAP). Sono stati elaborati 4 differenti questionari, diretti rispettivamente alla domanda (95 turisti internazionali), l’offerta (32 datori di lavoro nel settore turistico), la forza lavoro a Wadi Musa (77 lavoratori) e nel PAP (20 lavoratori). Sono stati evidenziati alcuni degli impatti attuali del turismo sullo sviluppo umano e sulle capabilities di quanti sono impiegati nel settore, esplorando inoltre i potenziali futuri dell’industria nella regione. Se da una parte sono state individuate anche a Petra alcune criticità tipiche del settore turistico dei Paesi in via di sviluppo, il settore sembra in generale aver migliorato le capabilities della forza lavoro locale, sebbene siano stati individuati degli ampi spazi di miglioramento, in particolare riguardanti le disuguaglianze interne al settore.
Tourism: an engine of human development? A fieldwork in Petra, Jordan
DE SANCTIS, SOFIA
2015/2016
Abstract
In recent years, both international institutions and donor agencies have raised attention on the relevance of tourism as an engine of development for destination countries, as developing countries constitute a growing portion of the tourism demand. The latter is also increasingly aware of the negative impacts of mass tourism in developing countries, and the new traveller is starting to choose new forms of tourism, such as sustainable, eco-, and community-based tourism. However, these are essentially niche markets, and one cannot expect the whole sector to convert to these forms. In order for the industry to truly be an engine of human development, it is necessary to start from the whole demand, including both mass and individual tourism. Among new approaches, Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) has emerged (Deloitte & Tourche, 1999), indicating tourism that provides net benefits to the poor. While PPT is a great stride ahead in linking tourism to development, it still has strong limitations, lying mainly in its mostly economical approach to poverty, in its neglect of inequalities, and in its focus only on a certain group of stakeholders, as will be underlined in the analysis. The research will then move to a different and potentially more complete perspective on development that could guide development approaches linked to tourism: the capability approach (Sen, 1999). As conceived in Sen’s analysis, development should bring about the expansion of one’s individual capabilities, allowing them to lead the life they have reason to value. So far, tourism studies have rarely taken into consideration Sen’s studies, thus the present research constitutes an early attempt at applying the capability approach to the tourism industry. The study investigates whether and to which extent the tourism sector is likely to trigger human development and capability expansion in a tourism destination that attracts tourists of different kind, such as Petra. The fieldwork was aimed at collecting primary data through quali-quantitative interviews, conducted in the touristic area of the Petra Region (Jordan), encompassing the town of Wadi Mousa and the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP). Four different questionnaires were designed, respectively directed to the demand side (95 international tourists), the supply side (32 tourism employers), the workforce in Wadi Mousa (77 tourism workers) and in the PAP (20 tourism workers). The present impacts of tourism on human development and capabilities of those involved in the industry have been analysed, while also investigating the future potentials of the sector in the region. While some criticalities typical of tourism in developing countries are present in Petra, the sector in general appears to have improved the capabilities of the local workforce, although there is still room for improvement, especially in regard to unequal patterns of development.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/4430