Tourism, Poverty, and Human Rights

Abstract

Over recent years, the philosophical dilemma of human rights has occupied a central position in the academic debate worldwide. Of course, tourism seems not to be an exception. Despite the promising economic benefits and multiplying effects of tourism, some voices have alerted on the problems and limitations of tourism management to achieve a fairer wealth distribution in local communities. Having said this, the idea of tourism as a key force towards a more democratic and prosperous society began to be placed under the critical lens of scrutiny. This chapter, in this context, discusses critically how tourism potentiates economic growth but under some conditions deteriorating (if not vulnerating) the basic rights of locals. The opposite is equally true. Local communities embrace tourism to boost their economies while paradoxically making them more dependent and vulnerable to external economic actors.