Introduction

Stuart Jeffries examines the ethics of trouble-spot tourism. Many developing countries are heavily dependent on tourism. According to figures from the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, the industry accounts for 66% of trade and up to 40% of GDP in developing economies, while 10 countries, of which six are European, accounts for almost 70% of all international tourists. The question of what forms of tourism are ethical is a particularly pressing issue now when rich westerners are being positively exhorted to holiday in risky, disaster-struck or even conflict-driven destinations in order to buoy up ruined economies.

Original article “Wish you were here?” by Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian (Thursday, March 31, 2005).

Essay by Mellisa Gunawan
Master in Tourism Destination Management student 2008/2009

Tourism has become one of the world’s largest industries and is more and more becoming a political issue. However, tourism is not just an economic transaction. The fact that we travel to another culture and come into direct contact with the people raises a number of ethical issues. The industry has gone some way to addressing some environmental concerns but is not keen to address the social, cultural and economic issues, particularly in relation to developing countries in order to protect its commercial interest. For many years people have travelled to developing countries, colonialism was one of the most important reasons in the last 200-300 years for people to travel, never was the economical, social and cultural situation an issue, people were just benefitting from that. The reason for travelling has changed more into leisure and relaxation instead of exploring new business opportunities and trade. Recently people have become more aware of the actual situation in certain countries and ethical issues are openly discussed and in certain cases this has become a moral issue.

Are there any countries that the ethically responsible tourist should not visit? According to Justin Francis, managing director of the online travel agent responisbletravel.com, Burma is the one destination in the world you should not travel to. Burma has experienced over 39 years of brutal military dictatorship, tourism into Burma provides  extra support for that harsh regime. The link between tourism and the military Junta is clear: tourism supplies a major source of income for that regime which spends over 2 times as much on military than healthcare and education combined. The junta violates human rights in the process of expanding tourism by forcing people to alter their homes, vacate their homes entirely and provide construction labour without pay. The crisis in Burma requires that both the world and the inhabitants of Burma be exposed to the countries difficult situation. The best way to tell people about the countries situation is through journalism. However, this is difficult due to the fact that journalist are banned to travel freely in the country. As long as the regime is in place, Burma will not be able to diversify and develop its own commercial tourism industry.

For the ethically responsible tourist, it is also not just a question of where to go, but what to do, where to stay and how to spend one’s money when one gets there. The philosopher Julian Baggini mentions an example of his holiday in Kenya when the tour bus arrived at a Masai village. All the tourist visited the village but the philosopher stayed in the bus. Though, what did his action do for the Masai? His instinct told him not to participate in this excursion because he felt this was demeaning to them. However, in contradiction with your instinct, participating in this kind of activity can have positive consequences for the village. The village was run by the Masai for the benefit of the Masai, so any money he would spent there would have gone to the local Masai people.

Justin Francis states that the responsible tourist will want to make sure that they have a fantastic holiday but also that they are going to spend their money in such a way that at least a little of it is going to help poor people. The aim is to avoid the kind of travel that increases economic division between the developed and developing world. For instance, one could stay in locally owned accommodation instead of government-run hotels, one could hire a local guide in order to engage more closely with the place you are visiting.

The Tearfund website shows a section related to ethical tourism and wants people to become more aware of their travelling and the effects on the local economy and social well being of the people. Fact is that tourists are the driving force of the industry and can influence its behaviour. If enough tourists want the industry to behave in an ethical way, then the industry will have to respond.