Tourism Business and the Local Economy: Increasing Impact Through a Linkages Approach

Abstract

"There is great debate over the extent of linkages in the tourist sector. Tourism is praised as a pro-poor growth sector that offers opportunities to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), while also condemned for leakages that leave most of the tourist dollars in the hands of firms far away from the destination. Irrespective of the initial leakage-linkage balance, which varies enormously from one economy and one culture to another, this Briefing Paper looks at how tourism linkages can be strengthened for greater local impact. The focus is on linkages at the level of the firm, between a company and the local economy, rather than on inter-sectoral linkages between tourism and, for example, agriculture and manufacturing."