engleski

The Role of Tourism in Long-term Economic and Social Development: Opprotunities and Threats for Developing Countries

On account of numerous benefits that arise from tourism development, many countries have recognized tourism as a catalyst for long-term economic development and social revitalization. From the standpoint of developing countries, tourism is seen as an important source of income, employment opportunities, foreign exchange earnings, tax revenues, and other economic benefits. At the same time, tourism is well-known for its social benefits related to the improvement of the quality of life of the host communities, international recognition and valorisation of the local cultural heritage, improvement of education opportunities, poverty alleviation, and other issues. The interest in socio-economic impacts of tourism has grown substantially over the last two decades as the economic growth became an imperative for most developing countries, while social impacts of tourism development have reached the point at which the scientific intervention is urgently needed to preserve social and cultural values in vulnerable tourist receiving areas. This paper discusses the role of tourism in changing economic and social environments in developing countries, and outlines some major opportunities for tourism development as well as possible threats of uncontrolled expansion of tourism-related activities that must be taken into account while setting up a new strategy of economic and social recovery. The issues discussed in this paper are relevant to developing countries that increasingly rely on tourism as a panacea for achieving a wide array of economic and social goals. As a developing country, but also as a country with a long tradition in tourism development, Croatia is used as a case study to illustrate the level of country's dependency on tourism. The paper concludes by suggesting that scientific impact assessment, continuous market research and strategic planning of tourism development are necessary in order to take advantage of the opportunities, minimize negative impacts, and finally, to ensure long-term economic and social development.

Croatia ; developing countries ; long-term development ; tourism

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