Introduction: Myths and Realities of Tourism for Development

One of the myths surrounding tourism theory and practice is that initiatives, projects, and investments in this activity systematically result in strong and sustainable development effects for the countries and regions involved. This myth is no doubt fostered by interested stakeholders, such as the businesses promoting it, governments whose facilitation is essential for the tourism projects at stake, and their respective experts and public relations agents. Often, the myth is echoed by national and international organizations concerned with tourism policy and good practice, even on occasion by bilateral and multilateral agencies of cooperation for development. This could be less of an issue, were it not for the fact that tourism has become one of the most important activities in the world, both for its sheer size—with direct, indirect, and induced contributions approaching 10% of global gross domestic product (p. 3)—and its growing transversal presence in all threads of the economic and social-institutional fabric. No matter how it is viewed, tourism can no longer be ignored when facing the key contemporary strategic issues of sustainability, governance, and development.