ABSTRACT
The fact that few Third World governments have been successful in managing tourism for the overall benefit of their populations should come as no surprise in a situation where they have little control over the influences determining the size and character of the industry. This reality is not confined to tourism and applies to other sectors of world trade where many suppliers compete with each other for a share of a plentiful resource. As we noted in the introduction one warm place is very much like another when the product involved is made up of surf, sand, sun, and sex, and a wide gulf exists between what Third World governments would like to see in their domestic industry and what is realistically possible.
