Literature Review Undergraduate 997 words

Can Tourism Reduce Poverty? A Literature Review

~5 min read 4 sections Business · Hospitality Industry

Abstract

This paper presents a literature review examining the relationship between tourism and poverty reduction in developing countries. Drawing on three peer-reviewed studies covering Kenya, Lao PDR, Bhutan, and Vietnam, the paper explores how variables such as power relations, governance strength, foreign investment dependency, and community infrastructure shape tourism's economic impact. The findings suggest that while international bodies like the United Nations promote tourism as a tool for economic development, the evidence is mixed. Sustainable, locally managed tourism is more likely to benefit host communities, whereas heavy reliance on foreign capital risks perpetuating neocolonial dependency rather than genuine poverty alleviation.

Key Takeaways

Introduction: Tourism, hospitality, and poverty reduction framed
Literature Review: Three studies on tourism and development reviewed
Key Themes and Variables: Power, governance, and investment variables identified
Conclusion: Conditional answer on tourism reducing poverty

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What makes this paper effective

Synthesizes three empirically grounded studies into a coherent comparative literature review, demonstrating the ability to identify convergent themes across different geographic and methodological contexts.
Balances optimistic and critical perspectives on tourism's developmental role, giving equal weight to pro-tourism arguments and contrarian findings about a lack of evidence.
Grounds abstract concepts like neocolonialism and power relations in concrete case examples from Kenya and Southeast Asia, making theoretical claims accessible and specific.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper models effective literature review synthesis: rather than summarizing each source in isolation, it extracts recurring variables — governance, foreign dependency, private-sector involvement — and uses them to build a cumulative argument. The conclusion then applies these variables to answer the guiding research question directly.

Structure breakdown

The paper opens with a framing introduction that connects tourism to the hospitality industry and establishes the research purpose. The literature review section addresses three studies in sequence, each adding a distinct variable or geographic context. A concluding section integrates the findings into a conditional answer: tourism can reduce poverty, but only under specific, locally controlled conditions. The bibliography follows APA formatting conventions.

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Essay 997 words

Introduction

The question of whether tourism can reduce poverty is relevant to the hospitality industry because tourist destinations depend upon the hospitality sector in order to survive and draw business. Governments of developing nations can promote tourism as a strategy for poverty reduction — for example, in regions like Kenya or Southeast Asia. Warm hospitality is a commonsense way to attract visitors to places they have never been but may wish to visit. The key to this study is to examine how hospitality, tourism, and poverty are related so as to arrive at a better assessment of their interaction.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature assessment of the relationship between tourism, hospitality, and poverty reduction in various countries around the world, drawing out themes and concepts that can help students and researchers better understand these dynamics. The findings of this study will be relevant to developing countries, their governments, and hospitality managers and sectors within these regions.

Literature Review

The study by Spenceley and Meyer (2012) focuses on the relationship between tourism and poverty reduction in "less economically developed countries" by reviewing community-based tourism projects and "power relations between global players and local communities" (p. 297). The study suggests that various factors and variables involved in this highly complex relationship require further research, and the researchers point to a variety of areas that should be studied more deeply, such as "the importance of private-sector business practices that contribute to poverty reduction" and "how inequitable power relations and weak governance can undermine efforts" (p. 297). The study is valuable overall for its contribution to the literature, and especially for highlighting areas that need further attention so that researchers' understanding of the way tourism and poverty reduction interrelate can be broadened and deepened.

Manyara and Jones (2007) examine the need for tourism as a support for economic development in their study of Kenyan-based community enterprises. However, what this study finds is that local tourism efforts are unsustainable without outside money and "white investment," which the researchers find "inadequately addresses community priorities" (p. 628). Thus, this study shows that while tourism is expected to support development in Third World countries — consistent with UN assertions — the reality is that "foreign resource control and heavy reliance on donor funding" leads to neocolonialism and causes developing nations to become dependent upon the developed world. The study calls for a more "sustainable development" program in Kenya so as to avoid the conditions that lead to neocolonialism, as this condition tends to benefit the colonizing countries rather than the host nation.

This study is also helpful because it highlights the need to consider several factors when discussing the relationship between tourism and economic development. In particular, it assesses the importance of utilizing domestic partnerships in providing an adequate hospitality management structure, as opposed to relying on international partnerships. With the latter arrangement, the host country is more likely to experience exploitation and dependency rather than developing its own capacity to provide a welcoming and enjoyable experience for tourists.

The study by Hummel, Gujadhur, and Ritsma (2013) adopts a contrarian perspective by highlighting the "dearth of evidence of tourism's contribution to poverty reduction" in Asia (p. 369). The researchers show that while tourism has been promoted as a factor in economic development, more evidence of its positive impact is needed. The study examines cases in Lao PDR, Bhutan, and Vietnam to show how the non-profit organization SNV has attempted to assist in development through tourism. The focus of SNV's project is to enlist the aid of the private sector, from which perspective it registers positive outcomes. The study offers practical solutions to boosting tourism's benefits for developing communities, making it a helpful analysis of the subject. These solutions can be positively impactful for local communities and genuinely effective in helping to reduce poverty, so long as they are implemented practically with the aim of benefiting the host country rather than outside investors.

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Key Themes and Variables80 words

Across all three studies, several recurring themes emerge. Power relations between global stakeholders and local communities consistently shape whether…

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Conclusion

The existing literature on the subject of tourism and economic development suggests that there are numerous factors that need to be considered when discussing this complex subject. The various factors concern issues such as power relations, weak government, outside investment, neocolonialism, a lack of evidence suggesting correlation between tourism and development, and practical issues that could impact the relationship more directly. In short, there are numerous variables that must be accounted for when attempting to fully understand whether tourism can reduce poverty.

For instance, if the tourist infrastructure is the result of outside developers, it is possible that the host community may not benefit from tourism at all. However, if an internal structure is put in place that is maintained locally and without dependence on outsiders — other than the tourists themselves — then it is more likely that tourism can help to reduce poverty. This conditional answer underscores the importance of policy design, governance capacity, and community empowerment in determining the developmental outcomes of tourism.

Bibliography

Hummel, J., Gujadhur, T., & Ritsma, N. (2013). Evolution of tourism approaches for poverty reduction impact in SNV Asia: Cases from Lao PDR, Bhutan, and Vietnam. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 18(4), 369–384.

Manyara, G., & Jones, E. (2007). Community-based tourism enterprises development in Kenya: An exploration of their potential as avenues of poverty reduction. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(6), 628–644.

Spenceley, A., & Meyer, D. (2012). Tourism and poverty reduction: Theory and practice in less economically developed countries. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(3), 297–317.

Key Concepts in This Paper

Poverty Reduction Community Tourism Neocolonialism Foreign Investment Sustainable Development Power Relations Weak Governance Hospitality Management Economic Development Host Communities