Major challenges

Tourism development is fraught with negatives including inequality, social and cultural erosion, environmental degradation and pollution (Ling, 2016). A particular characteristic of contemporary tourism in this age of neoliberal globalization is that it is closely intertwined with the finance and real estate industry. There is consistent evidence of large tracts of public land being privatized and acquired by foreign or ‘external’ investors for luxury tour- ism, residential and commercial development, resulting in displacement and disempower- ment of local people.

At local and national levels there is a very significant democratic deficit with respect to participatory planning and consultation on travel and tourism. Globally there is significant documentation of planning decisions which prioritise the interests of large and medium companies at the expense of the majority of citizens and the environment. This is linked to the exclusion of citizens and communities from key decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. Corruption related to planning and infrastructure development and myopia of agreed environmental and health standards’ is still, sadly, widespread (cf. i.a. Das and Dirienzo, 2010; Hajdinjak, 2014; Transparency International; Tshiangu, 2015; Zimmermann, 2015). Overall there is a dearth of community-based, reliable, appropriate, democratically accountable planning and monitoring processes and systems related to travel and tourism. This inhibits participatory and accountable planning and monitoring.

At transnational level, as with most transnational industries the issue of corporate impunity remains a significant issue and its effects cascade down, negatively affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.