Criminal Justice

To discuss and analyze the following questions, please illustrate your points by using the textbook, required, and the Economist 2012 source. Be sure to cite your sources of information. Your response should be 3 pages
1. What is pro-poor tourism? Discuss how pro-poor tourism can help the poor.

2. What is volunteer tourism? Explain how it helps destination communities.

3. Discuss Hajj Pilgrimage

4. Discuss heritage tourism in the Middle East. Remember this is the center of early human civilization and origin of three major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and a major pilgrimage destination.

5. After reviewing the materials in the PowerPoint, textbook, and required readings, discuss the Maldives’ and Bhutan’s tourism model.

Describe both country’s tourism model.
Pick one model and analyze how the model might impact tourism development in the country. For example, you could consider how the model minimizes or worsens the impacts of tourism or what the experience would be like for a tourist or a tourist provider in each country. You should not discuss specific resources here (e.g., Bhutan has mountains and Maldives has beaches) unless you need to in support of your answer. In addition to the text and lecture, you may use experiences from your own travels (not necessarily to either country) to illustrate your point.

Responses to Tourism Questions

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Responses to Tourism Questions

What is pro-poor tourism? Discuss how pro-poor tourism can help the poor.

Pro-poor tourism refers to a form of tourism that focuses on consciously benefiting the poor and reducing their poverty (Proyrungroj, 2018). While tourism is a trillion-dollar industry, it mostly ends up benefitting huge conglomerates that own the various tourism facilities such as hotels and resorts, as well as those who provide food and materials to them. Since a majority of these conglomerates are based abroad or in countries outside tourism destination countries, the bulk of the money earned does not make its way to the locals or the local economy. While tourism may provide jobs to some locals, those who do not get jobs suffer since tourism activities in an area result in the skyrocketing of food and accommodation prices. Some locals are even relocated by governments and organizations to allow for tourism development, communities’ natural heritage is decimated, protected areas are destroyed, and the potential for ecotourism is undermined.

Pro-poor tourism, unlike regular tourism, seeks to change this narrative by ensuring that the money earned from tourism trickles down to the community. Pro-poor tourism directs profits earned from tourism back into the community by leasing local land, employing local people, and using the food and resources provided by the local businesses (Proyrungroj, 2018). Pro-poor tourism includes projects such as local handicraft sales, hotels training locals for tourism jobs, provision of health services and wages for locals, hotels and resorts respecting locals and local land ownership, and consultation with local groups before tourism development.

What is volunteer tourism? Explain how it helps destination communities.

Volunteer tourism is a form of tourism that involves people traveling abroad to destinations that are considered developing or undeveloped to offer support and help to locals, who are usually people living in poverty, people without education, and living in areas with little building infrastructure and healthcare facilities. It is sometimes referred to as voluntourism or volunteer travel (Proyrungroj, 2018). Voluntourism benefits destination communities by providing an opportunity for them to understand cultural differences through the interaction with tourists. It also plays an important role in the alleviation of poverty and the sustenance of the local economy. Services developed to accommodate tourism also result in the development and growth of the areas where voluntourism occurs.

Discuss Hajj Pilgrimage

Hajj is a yearly Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is a city considered the holiest by Muslims. Hajj pilgrimage is a mandatory religious duty for all Muslims (Butt, 2010). Every Muslim has to go for the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able to undertake the journey while supporting their family during their absence. The pilgrimage, which loosely translates to “heading to a place for the sake of visiting”, is made to the Kaaba (the House of Allah) in the sacred city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. During the pilgrimage, Muslims perform religious rights over five to six days – starting on the eighth and ending on the twelfth or thirteenth day of the last month of the Islamic calendar, Dhu al-Hijjah. Hajj pilgrimage is one of the pillars of Islam and brings millions of Muslims together every year in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and forms one of the main heritage tourism events in the world.

Discuss heritage tourism in the Middle East.

Of the more than a billion global tourists who travel overseas every year, a huge percentage of them visit the Middle East. The number of tourists that visit the Middle East continues to increase every year. Many factors drive the Middle East’s success in the tourism sector. Heritage tourism is the major form of tourism in the region. The Middle East is home to one of the world’s most diverse tourism offerings (Lecture 7), with architecture and icons from ancient eras such as the pyramids of Giza and the City of Petra, to 21^st-century icons such as the Burj al Arab and the Burj Khalifa. The Gulf states, thanks to their exceptional leadership, have put themselves on the tourism map by developing cities that have become tourism destinations offering world-class tourism and infrastructure. Dubai is one of the largest tourist destinations in the region, which can be attributed to the country’s well-developed aviation industry leveraging the advantageous geography of the emirates. The hajj pilgrimage is another reason why the region receives millions of tourists every year (Butt, 2010). The region also boasts of historical architectural sites, being the origin of various religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

The Maldives’ and Bhutan’s tourism models.

Bhutan has a tourism model that only allows 25, 000 tourists every year into the country. This is because the government cautiously ventures into tourism as a way of protecting the environment and culture of the country (Trade Forum Editorial, 2011). The country can preserve its culture and environment with only a small number of tourists allowed to visit every year. The Maldives has a tourism model that is different from Bhutan’s. The Maldives embraces tourism since they largely depend on the revenue collected from the sector every year. They heavily invest in the sector, providing excellent service to affluent tourists on the islands that serve as resorts (Mohsin, 2012). The tourism model applied by the Maldives is interesting since it generates revenue for the region while conserving religious areas. The government can earn revenue using the natural resources that are available in the country.

References

Butt, R. (2010). Mecca makeover: how the hajj has become big business for Saudi Arabia. The Guardian, 14.

Mohsin, S. (2012, January 15). Problems of Tourism in the Maldives. The Daily Star.

Proyrungroj, R. (2018, November). Voluntourism as a Pro-Poor Tourism: A Case of Volunteer Tourism in Thailand. In Proceedings of International Academic Conferences (No. 8810411). International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.

Trade Forum Editorial. (2011, July 1). Bhutan: a model of sustainable development. file:///D:/Trade%20Form%20(2011)%20Bhutan%20-%20a%20model%20of%20sustainable%20development.pdf.