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I I I. 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 inselected Asian and Pacific subregions and countries

Million ofjobs

As percentage share oftotal employment withinsubregion and country

Ratio of tourismemployment to total

employmentNorth-East Asia, ofwhich:

87.58 10.11 : 9.9

China 77.60 10.2 1 : 9.8Republic of Korea 1.73 7.4 1 : 13.4

South-East Asia, ofwhich:

21.74 8.61 : 11.7

Cambodia 1.07 15.4 1 : 6.5Indonesia 7.33 7.2 1 : 13.8Lao PDR .20 7.3 1 : 13.7Papua New Guinea .19 7.5 1 : 13.3Philippines 3.34 10.8 1 : 9.2Singapore 1.91 8.3 1 : 12.0

Thailand 3.82 10.7 1 : 9.4Viet Nam 3.36 8.7 1 : 11.5

South Asia, of which: 30.89 5.2 1 : 19.4India 24.35 5.4 1 : 18.4Iran (Islamic Rep. of) 1.71 8.7 1 : 11.4Maldives .69 57.6 1 : 1.7

Nepal .73 6.4 1 : 15.5Sri Lanka .66 7.9 1 : 12.7

Oceania, of which: 1.91 14.5 1 : 6.9Fiji .11 31.0 1 : 3.2

Tonga .01 15.2 1 : 6.6Vanuatu .03 42.4 1 : 2.4

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

http://www.wttc.org/frameset2.htmhttp://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

20

UNDP, Human Development Report(New York: UNDP, various years).21 ILO, Employment and Human Resources in the Tourist Industry in Asia and the Pacific, SectoralWorking Paper No. 204 (Geneva: ILO, 2003).

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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 Ibid., p. 26.23

Ibid., p. 11.24 Ibid., p. 22.25 Ibid., pp. 23-24.

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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 IMPACTSOF 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.