ABSTRACT
In their Green Growth and Travelism book, Lipman et al. (2012) stressed the importance of delivering local green jobs and building local livelihoods in any transformation of tourism destination into the emerging green economy in particular in least-developed countries (LCDs). The growth of tourism in these countries has led to increased interest in tourism as a development tool for alleviating poverty (Chok et al. 2007; Sofield et al. 2004; UNESCAP 2003). It has also placed focus on the need for more sustainable tourism planning, policies and programmes that consider tourist expectations of resource management as well as the needs of local communities, who, in LDCs are marginalised rural communities (UNEP and UNWTO 2012). The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Tourism in the Green Economy Report (2012) recognised that approaches to sustainable tourism may vary but in general sustainable tourism:
aspires to be more energy efficient and more climate sound, consume less water, minimise waste; conserve biodiversity, cultural heritage and traditional values; support intercultural understanding and tolerance; generate local income and integrate local communities with a view to improving livelihoods and reducing poverty.
(UNEP and UNWTO 2012: 2) With increased concern for poverty reduction, interest in indigenous tourism and pro-poor tourism, as a tool for poverty alleviation, has also grown. Many ecotourism and community-based ecotourism (CBE) schemes have been justified by claiming their benefits to local communities; yet there is little evidence to date that substantiates these claims (Goodwin 2007). Furthermore, when considering tourism’s contributions to poverty reduction, one must consider ‘how, and to what extent tourism can address the wider poverty agenda by contributing to health, education, welfare and community capacity building’ (Goodwin 2007: 86).