III.

THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF TOURISM

This chapter considers some of the social aspects of tourism in order to measure and understand the social impact. The main macro-level indicator is employment created by the tourism economy for subregions and selected nations in Asia and the Pacific. The discussions cover the gender aspects of employment patterns in the tourism industry. There are various definitions of social development, and most of them converge around the concepts of improving the well-being of a countrys citizens, promoting higher standards of living, increasing employment and creating conditions of economic and social progress. Employment is one of the most readily available indicators to begin measuring the social impact of tourism, since job creation generally helps create the opportunities for better standards of living and related conditions of socio-economic progress. Tourism contributes significantly, both directly and indirectly, to the creation of employment. In 2006, the tourism economy (direct plus indirect contribution) provided jobs for about 140 million people in the selected subregions and countries of the Asian and Pacific region, representing an average of 8.9 per cent of total employment. As shown in table 8, tourism employment in North-East Asia was estimated at 87.7 million jobs, which was 10.1 per cent of the total employment in the subregion. This result can be attributed mainly to China, where 77.6 million people, approximately 1 in every 10 employed persons worked in the tourism economy. In Oceania, the workforce in the tourism economy accounted for 14.5 per cent of total employment in the subregion, which was 1 in every 6.9 jobs. The importance of tourism becomes more significant when the workforce ratios in selected Pacific island

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economies is analysed. For instance, 1 in every 3.2 persons in Fiji was employed in the tourism economy, while in Vanuatu the ratio was 1 in every 2.4 jobs in 2006. By comparison, 1 in every 1.7 persons in Maldives was employed in the tourism economy. Comparisons among countries in other subregions show that the share of tourism economy employment as part of total employment in 2006 varied from 5.4 per cent in India to more than 10 per cent in Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Table 8. Economy contribution (direct and indirect) of travel and tourism to employment in selected Asian and Pacific subregions and countries Million of jobs North-East Asia, of which: China Republic of Korea South-East Asia, of which: Cambodia Indonesia Lao PDR Papua New Guinea Philippines Singapore Thailand Viet Nam South Asia, of which: India Iran (Islamic Rep. of) Maldives Nepal Sri Lanka Oceania, of which: Fiji Tonga Vanuatu Source: 87.58 77.60 1.73 21.74 1.07 7.33 .20 .19 3.34 1.91 3.82 3.36 30.89 24.35 1.71 .69 .73 .66 1.91 .11 .01 .03 As percentage share of total employment within subregion and country 10.1 10.2 7.4 8.6 15.4 7.2 7.3 7.5 10.8 8.3 10.7 8.7 5.2 5.4 8.7 57.6 6.4 7.9 14.5 31.0 15.2 42.4 Ratio of tourism employment to total employment 1 : 9.9 1 : 9.8 1 : 13.4 1 : 11.7 1 : 6.5 1 : 13.8 1 : 13.7 1 : 13.3 1 : 9.2 1 : 12.0 1 : 9.4 1 : 11.5 1 : 19.4 1 : 18.4 1 : 11.4 1 : 1.7 1 : 15.5 1 : 12.7 1 : 6.9 1 : 3.2 1 : 6.6 1 : 2.4

WWTC, WTTC 2006 Tourism Satellite Accounts: Regional Reports. www.wttc.org/frameset2.htm

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Additional information about employment using data from the WTTCs tourism satellite accounting framework is presented in annex table 3. Patterns of employment growth in the tourism industry and tourism economy for a number of Asian and Pacific countries indicate significant fluctuations within many countries over time as well as strong declines in employment for some countries in particular years. In many cases, such as Australia in 2005; Azerbaijan in 1995; Cambodia in 2000, 2004 and 2005; China in 2000 and 2004; Hong Kong, China in 2000 and 2004; Lao PDR in 1995 and 2000; Malaysia in 2000 and 2004; Maldives in 2004 and 2006; Myanmar in 1995 and 2004; Nepal in 1995; Pakistan in 2005; Solomon Islands in 2004; Thailand in 2000 and 2004; Turkey in 2000; and Vanuatu in 2000 and 2006, strong employment growth occurred simultaneously in both the tourism industry and tourism economy. However, high employment growth in some years was followed by slower growth or even strong declines in a number of countries. In view of such fluctuations and wide variations within countries and among countries, there is a compelling need to study and analyze further whether steep declines mean jobs are lost or whether there is temporary unemployment followed by rehiring. Detailed study would have to account for unique situations and factors affecting particular countries or subregions, although analysis of a longer time series could account for large increases or declines over the short term, thus giving a more complete overall picture. A look at annex table 3 seems to suggest that even as the tourism industry and tourism economy grow, the link to direct and/or indirect employment needs to be more clearly established and understood. This could contribute to improved planning and policy making for job creation and human resource management as part of tourism development. Patterns of employment growth

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and decline in the tourism industry and tourism economy have direct implications on the social benefits and opportunities expected from tourism development. When growth of the tourism industry is sustained, it is more likely to be a significant provider of employment in countries of the Asian and Pacific region. It is then possible to improve the social situation of people, often through Government policies and programmes. In addition, revenue generated from tourism has enabled Governments to allocate financial resources for improving education and health conditions. For example, as indicated in box 3, in Maldives where tourism activity is the economic mainstay, almost 100 per cent of the population was literate by 2004. The infant mortality rate declined from 121 per 1,000 in 1977 to 35 per 1,000 in 2004. Over the same period, the average life expectancy at birth increased from 47 years to 67 years. 20 The quantitative and qualitative dimensions of issues related to gender balance in employment in the tourism industry require more analysis on both, especially if tourism is expected to give women more and better employment opportunities and improve their well-being. There is a general lack of available quantitative data that disaggregates tourism employment, wage levels, types of jobs, etc. by gender. In 2003, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported some general impressions, information from other sources and a few results from a limited survey of hotels in the Asia and Pacific region. 21 At the level of general impression, employment of women in the hospitality sector, the term used by ILO, was higher than in many other industries, in part reflecting the high percentage of low skilled jobs in hotels and restaurants such as waitresses, chambermaids and so on. As a broad generalization, the ratio between
UNDP, Human Development Report (New York: UNDP, various years). ILO, Employment and Human Resources in the Tourist Industry in Asia and the Pacific, Sectoral Working Paper No. 204 (Geneva: ILO, 2003).
21 20

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male and female employees in the Asian and Pacific region was fairly equally split. Among respondents to the ILO survey, there was no indication that recruitment of women was more difficult than recruitment of men. In Thailand, it was reported that the majority of people working in the tourism industry were 21 to 30 years old, and there was a relatively even split between men and women. 22 However, it was mentioned that in China there were legal regulations protecting female workers. 23 The ILO reported that the hospitality sector in Singapore attracted a relatively high proportion of female workers. In 2000, there was an almost even ratio of females to males working in the hotels and restaurants sector (that is, a gender ratio of 48.5:51.5). This is compared with a 39:61 gender ratio for the Singaporean workforce as a whole. It was noted that there was a higher proportion of younger (15-19 year olds) and older (50 years and over) workers, particularly women, in the hotels and restaurants sector compared with all sectors generally. Average earnings in hotels and restaurants were the lowest of any category in Singapores formal sector. 24 According to the ILO study, the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) stated that most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Pacific island countries are run as family operations. In that context, tourism offers opportunities to both male and female entrepreneurs, especially in the case of ecotourism, when businesses are established within their natural and cultural framework. In some cases, SPTO noted that wives are operating and children are working in small family operations. In most cases, rental cars, travel offices and booking agencies are dominated by female entrepreneurs. 25

22 23

Ibid., p. 26. Ibid., p. 11. 24 Ibid., p. 22. 25 Ibid., pp. 23-24. -36-

More up-to-date, systematic statistics and general descriptions of gender patterns in national tourism industries throughout Asia and the Pacific can help strengthen the analysis about the social impact of tourism from a gender perspective. This can help to improve the image of career opportunities for women and men in the tourism industry. In addition, it can help employers as well as government policy makers to have a more complete understanding about the gender dimensions of tourism industry employment. Based on such understanding and analysis, it would then be possible to decide whether protective, corrective or inclusionary policies and regulations might be needed.

IV. ASSESSING THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF TOURISM

This chapter addresses the ways in which the socio-economic impact of tourism can be assessed at the macro-level and the micro-level. Various techniques, such as TSA, social accounting matrix, project level approaches, and value chain analysis, are reviewed. The discussion also covers the assessment of linkages, leakages and multiplier effects. The overall aim of the discussion is to emphasize the importance of the knowledge base to clearly show the socio-economic importance of tourism. A. General approaches and methods
A full assessment of the socio-economic impacts of tourism requires that the linkages between tourism and socio-economic development need to be clearly identified. Having established the linkages, policymakers are then in a better position to consider specific interventions that can raise standards of living and reduce poverty. Techniques to assess such impacts fall into two broad categories: top-down, aggregate or macrolevel approaches; and bottom-up, project or microlevel approaches.

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