ABSTRACT
For many of the poorer countries in the world tourism has become a major input to their development process. Although development is a concept which has many meanings, for most countries it is seen as being essentially a measure of economic progress. As such, most development indicators centre on changes in the gross domestic product (GDP), gross national income (GNP) or per capita incomes. It is recognized that these concepts are difficult to quantify, particularly in the developing world as statistical data is scarce and usually unreliable. Gross domestic product is a measurement of what is produced within the economy of a country. The concept of GDP per capita is simply the division of the GDP figure by the estimated population. The World Bank (1995), for example, classifies the relative stages of development of countries according to a range of per capita GDPs. The World Bank uses various bands of GNP per capita to classify countries (Table 12.1). However, it should be noted that as statistical data are usually unreliable in the developing countries, and often at best only an estimate of population figures is available, then the resulting GDP per capita is open to a degree of scepticism. Despite these problems it is still used as the major means of making relative assessments of levels of development between countries. Classification of countries by GNP per capita https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Country classification
GNP per capita ($)
Low income
695 or less
Lower–middle income
696–2785
Upper–middle income
2786–8625
High income
8626 or more
Source: World Bank, World Tables, p. 763, 1995, Washington, D.C.