ABSTRACT
Introduction ........................................................................................... 196 The Meaning of Tourism Development for the Poor ............................ 196 Perception on the Tourism Product, Heritage, and Opportunities ........ 199 The Impact of Tourism Development on Happiness ............................ 205 The Impact of Tourism Development on Satisfaction with Life .......... 208 Tourism Opportunities and the Poverty Paradox ...................................211 The Meaning of Opportunity for the Poor ............................................ 213 The Happy-but-Dissatisfied-with-Life Poor ......................................... 216 References ............................................................................................. 217 Endnotes ................................................................................................ 219
INTRODUCTION
The poor perceive tourism development differently when thinking in terms of happiness or life satisfaction. Contrary to studies that discovered “happy poor”, our findings provide a more nuanced picture of the poor.1 We found a satisfied, but unhappy poor. Life satisfaction is about meaning in life, while happiness is about emotions, and emotions are fleeting. When the poor reflect on life and on tourism development, they perceive tourism as positive. The channel through which this positive perception is articulated is opportunities. But, interestingly, when they consider happiness, those same opportunities prompt a negative perception. Tourism development, channeled through opportunities, does not seem to overcome the everyday struggles of the poor.
