Summary of findings on pro-poor tourism strategies
An
overview of PPT strategies: what, who, how?
A wide
range of actions are needed to increase benefits to the poor from tourism.
These go well beyond simply promoting community tourism - although work
at the grass-roots level to develop enterprises and local capacity is
one key component. Efforts are also needed on marketing, employment opportunities,
linkages with the established private sector, policy and regulation, and
participation in decision-making. This involves working across levels
and stakeholders.
The focus and scale of PPT interventions vary enormously: from one private enterprise seeking to expand economic opportunities for poor neighbours, to a national programme enhancing participation by the poor at all levels. Strategies can be broadly grouped into three types: expanding economic benefits for the poor; addressing non-economic impacts; and developing pro-poor policies/processes/partnerships.
Impacts on the poorEmerging though limited indications of the impacts of the current PPT initiatives suggest that for the poor, where it happens, PPT interventions are invaluable. A few are lifted out of income-poverty while many more earn critical gap-fillers. More still are affected by the non-financial livelihood benefits that emerge as very significant though highly varied, such as improved access to information and infrastructure, pride and cultural reinforcement. While some initiatives are yet to deliver on the ground, there are a few that affect hundreds directly and thousands indirectly.
Key
factors
Several critical factors constrain or facilitate
progress in PPT, and need to be addressed. These are:
1.
Access of the poor to the market: physical location, economic elites,
social constraints on poor producers
2. Commercial viability: product quality and price, marketing, strength
of the broader destination
3. Policy framework: land tenure, regulatory context, planning process,
government attitude and capacity
4. Implementation challenges in the local context: filling the skills
gap, managing costs and expectations, maximising collaboration across
stakeholders.
Lessons
on good practice emerge
PPT is relatively untried and untested, and there
is no blueprint. Nevertheless the case studies reveal a number of common
lessons:
1. PPT needs a diversity of actions, from micro to macro level, including product development, marketing, planning, policy, and investment. It goes well beyond community tourism.
2. A driving force for PPT is useful, but other stakeholders, with broader mandates, are critical. PPT can be incorporated into tourism development strategies of government or business (with or without explicit pro-poor language). Broader policy frameworks and initiatives outside tourism, such as on land tenure, small enterprise and representative government, are also key.
3. Location matters: PPT works best where the wider destination is developing well.
4. The poverty impact may be greater in remote areas, though tourism itself may be on a limited scale.
5. PPT strategies often involve the development of new products, particularly based on local culture. But these should be integrated with mainstream products if they are to find markets.
6. Ensuring commercial viability is a priority. This requires close attention to demand, product quality, marketing, investment in business skills, and inclusion of the private sector.
7. Economic measures should expand both regular jobs and casual earning opportunities, while tackling both demand (e.g. markets) and supply (e.g. products of the poor).
8. Non-financial benefits (e.g. increased participation, access to assets) can reduce vulnerability; more could be done to address these.
9. PPT is a long-term investment. Expectations must be managed and short-term benefits developed in the interim.
10.
External funding may be required and justified to cover the substantial
transaction costs of establishing partnerships, developing skills, and
revising policies (not generally for direct subsidies to enterprises).
Implications for stakeholders
Government, the private sector, non-governmental
organisations, community organisations and the poor themselves all have
critical and very different roles to play in PPT. The private sector can
be directly involved in pro-poor partnerships. At a minimum, private operators
should participate in product and market development to ensure commercial
realism. There is much that only governments can do, so a leading role
for government in PPT is a great advantage. At a minimum, there needs
to be a policy environment that facilitates PPT. The poor themselves are
critical to PPT, but they often also need to be organised at the community
level in order to engage effectively in tourism. It is often invaluable
to have a fourth party to catalyse and support PPT efforts of others -
this is often, though not always, a role for a non-governmental organisation.
Donors, through their role in supporting tourism plans, and the 'sustainable
tourism' agenda, can also promote PPT.
Relevance
to poverty reduction
Poverty reduction through PPT can be significant
at a local or district level. PPT strategies do appear able to 'tilt'
the industry, at the margin, to expand opportunities for the poor and
have potentially wide application across the industry. However, they have
made little dent in national aggregates so far, because initiatives are
small-scale, site-specific, or at early stages of implementation. National
impacts would require a shift across the sector, and will vary with location
and the relative size of tourism. Nevertheless, if opportunities for the
poor could be opened up in all the places where tourism is significant
in the South, it would affect millions of the poor.
Cost-effectiveness
The cost-effectiveness of PPT is difficult to judge:
current initiatives have had to learn by doing and have cost a great deal
to implement. However, if future local incomes, non-financial benefits,
and pro-poor poor policy changes were valued, a cost-benefit approach
would probably show a positive return. Sharing experience should reduce
costs of spreading PPT approaches.
Promoting
PPT
Extending lessons from early experience across the
industry would be a challenge - with considerable potential return- involving
different constituencies:
- Those involved in tourism - policy makers, planners, businesses, consultants - should incorporate pro-poor concerns at all levels.
- Those involved in the wider field of poverty reduction or rural development should explore and exploit the comparative potential of tourism where they are working.
- PPT can make good business sense, especially if it gives consumers more choice. Corporate engagement should be based on commercial opportunity not just ethical appeal.
- The `sustainable tourism' agenda should be harnessed for poverty reduction. This requires a shift in focus from environment to poverty and from Northern to Southern destinations. As guidance or standards on social issues are often weak with sustainable tourism initiatives, practical lessons from PPT should be incorporated.
Communication
