The international division of leisure: Tourism and the Third World

Abstract

Despite the obvious attractions of tourism as a foreign exchange earner for a number of developing countries, the industry is dominated by the rich countries which appropriate most of the economic benefits from the tourist trade. This domination takes economic and political forms, and tends to increase over time as tour operators diversify and grow vertically. The policies open to LDCs to increase their returns are discussed, and the difficulties they may face are mentioned.