What this lesson teaches
I can judge how well ecotourism, community-based tourism and pro-poor tourism achieve sustainable development.
Syllabus K226, Topic 2.3, Key Question 3. How effective are the different approaches in achieving sustainable tourism development?
Make a guess
A poor family gets a small loan to buy a cart and sell snacks to tourists. Will it lift them out of poverty?
- Yes, because the loan is extra money for the family.
- Yes, because tourism growth tends to end poverty.
- No, because poor people cannot run businesses.
- Yes, if they find enough customers to earn and repay it.
Show the answer
Yes, if they find enough customers to earn and repay it.
A loan is not income and must be repaid. The family still needs customers, skills and fair terms before it turns into a better livelihood.
Pro-poor tourism aims to help poorer people, but training and loans only work if people can reach customers and earn enough.
Pro-poor tourism aims to improve the livelihoods of people in poverty. It can involve large tourism firms or small community projects. The test is whether poorer people actually gain income, opportunities or other benefits, not just whether tourism happens in a poor place.
Training helps people provide a service or meet a buyer's standards. Microfinance gives access to small amounts of money, usually loans, for people who cannot borrow from banks. This can pay for equipment or starting a small business.
But a loan is not income; it must be repaid. Borrowers still need customers, useful skills and fair repayment terms. Access to equipment or land, links to buyers and fair contracts also decide whether they can earn from tourism.
Put these in order
Follow a small tourism loan to a lasting livelihood. Put the steps in order.
- The loan is repaid and the business keeps earning for the household.
- A poorer resident who cannot borrow from a bank gets a small loan.
- Sales bring in income above the cost of running the business.
- The resident finds tourist customers and sells a service.
- The loan pays for equipment, such as a cart or a boat.
Show the answer
- A poorer resident who cannot borrow from a bank gets a small loan. The loan is money to invest, so it can pay for what the business needs to start.
- The loan pays for equipment, such as a cart or a boat. Equipment only earns money if people pay to use it, so the business needs customers.
- The resident finds tourist customers and sells a service. Sales bring in money that was not there before, which is the first real income.
- Sales bring in income above the cost of running the business. The loan must be paid back, so part of that income goes to repayment.
- The loan is repaid and the business keeps earning for the household.
Some of the poorest households lack time, health, skills, land or access to customers. Tourism growth can pass them by. Those who find work may still face seasonal or falling demand and insecure income.
Health, education, clean water and other social services meet needs that tourism businesses cannot. In some places, investing directly in these services may reduce poverty more widely. So judge tourism as one possible contribution among others, not a guaranteed replacement for basic services.
- Pro-poor tourism
- Tourism aimed at helping people in poverty.
- Microfinance
- Small loans for people who cannot use banks.
- Limit
- The poorest may still be left out.
Step by step
Find the barrier
What stops poorer people joining in?
Match the support
Training, loans, equipment or links to buyers.
Check who benefits
And whether social services would help more.
Real examples to use
Gorilla tourism in Rwanda
A permit to see mountain gorillas costs US$1,500. Rwanda shares 10% of national park tourism revenue with communities near the parks, funding schools, clinics and water supplies.
Worked example: Training without customers
Residents learn to make crafts, but cannot reach tour firms or online buyers. Training alone has not created a living. They also need access to customers.
Watch out for this
Any tourism growth ends poverty.
Growth may miss people without skills, money or a voice. Check who actually benefits.
Check your understanding
What most weakens the claim that microfinance alone guarantees tourism income?
- Borrowers still need customers, and must repay.
- Training can improve the borrowers' business skills.
- Small firms need money to buy equipment.
Show the answer
Borrowers still need customers, and must repay.
Yes. A loan is not income.