Tourism in the Third World:
Who benefits? Who pays?

All tourist development has costs and benefits - for the tourist, of course, and for the host community. Whether these are perceived as costs, or perceived as benefits, will depend upon the direct effect on peoples' lives and on the point of view of the individual. This exercise will encourage the Unit to consider the effects of tourism on the host community and to devise a code for sensitive tourism.

Divide the Unit into seven (either groups or individuals) and allocate the seven 'interest group cards' accordingly.

Give the Unit this brief introduction to the exercise:

'An international tourist company is proposing to develop an area on the shore of Lake Victoria into a holiday resort. You are involved in the debate about this development as is described on the 'interest group cards'. Each group will be asked to prepare and present their case and there will then be time for further debate and questions.'

Notes for game leader

Allow five to ten minutes for groups to prepare their cases. During this time you can go round the groups and help them, using the information provided

The idea of this exercise is to arrive at some kind of understanding of the conflicts of interests that arise, rather than to arrive at a solution.

Interest group cards - Download 2.2k PDF file