Pro-poor Tourism: a critique

Tourism's role as a development tool has increased over the past three decades. Its contribution to poverty alleviation was first noted in the 1970s, but this focus was increasingly blurred in theoretical debates over ‘development’ in the 1980s and 1990s. It resurfaced at the end of the 1990s with the emergence of ‘pro-poor tourism’ (ppt), defined as tourism which brings net benefits to the poor. In this paper the emergence of ppt is described, its main features outlined, and several conceptual and substantive criticisms are discussed. It is concluded that, while ppt is based on a worthwhile injunction to help the poor, it is distinctive neither theoretically nor in its methods, and has become too closely associated with community-based tourism. Rather than remain on the academic and development margins, it should be reintegrated into and reinform mainstream studies of tourism and development, and focus more on researching the actual and potential role of mass tourism in alleviating poverty and bringing ‘development’.