Tourism: White and Black

Abstract

The tourism industry has been acknowledged for its role in promoting the development of tourist destinations. However, the broad range of the tourists’ decisions and the sometimes ill-conceived implementation of those decisions has affected not only the economy but the society as well. This paper will argue that tourism in developed countries is a social activity with economic consequences but in developing countries it is the reverse – an economic activity with social consequences. Do developing countries, in a sincere effort to promote a profitable tourism industry, actually harm the people they are trying to help and damage the society they are trying to improve?