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Latin America: Imaginary, Reality and Tourism Read chapter Read first chapter

2015 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

2. Latin American Economy and Tourism

Author : Glauber Eduardo de Oliveira Santos

Published in: Tourism in Latin America

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

This chapter analyses tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) from a broad economic perspective. Despite of its immense potential, tourism in LAC has presented disappointing results. The region has some of the best natural and cultural attractions, but still receives only 7.7 % of world international tourist arrivals. A myriad of aspects can be listed as causes of this deficit, most of them being related to more general economic and political problems. Most LAC countries are developing economies characterized by poor public policies, deep social inequality, low educational levels, faulty investments and a long history of poverty, characteristics that provide hard conditions for tourism development. Nevertheless, general economic and political conditions seem to be improving over the last years. The region is going to face some relevant opportunities in the near future and development perspectives are relatively good. This chapter’s introduction analyzes LAC’s economic history and general economic conditions. An overview of tourism supply in LAC is presented next. Tourist attractions, infrastructure, services and governance are briefly described. International and domestic tourism figures are analyzed subsequently. Arrivals, receipts and contribution to GDP are examined by country and region. Finally, some present challenges and future perspectives for tourism in LAC are debated.

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previous chapter Latin America: Imaginary, Reality and Tourism
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Appendix
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Footnotes
1
Latin America itself groups the set of American countries which had Spanish, Portuguese or French colonization. The Caribbean corresponds to those countries and territories in the Caribbean Sea, including islands and continental areas. In this study, the operational definition of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) includes the following countries and territories: American Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay and Venezuela.
 
2
Information available only for 129 countries.
 
3
Information about the HDI was obtained from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, 2013).
 
4
General information about the economy of each country was obtained from the World Bank database (World Bank, 2012). The main statistics quoted along the text are available for each country at Appendices 1 and 2.
 
5
The reality of Cuba is so unique that it will receive little attention in the following analysis. The complexity of the Cuban case has been examined by various specific studies. Some of the recommended studies about this case are Henthorne and Miller (2003), Padilla and McElroy (2007), Miller, Henthorne, and George (2008), Sharpley and Knight (2009) and Taylor and McGlynn (2009).
 
6
According to the Choice Awards promoted by TripAdvisor (2013), six out of the top ten best beach destinations of the world are in LAC.
 
7
Data from the “Red List of Threatened Species 2010” published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and available on WEF (2013).
 
8
A very interesting analysis of the relationship between public safety and tourism in Colombia is available on Ospina (2006).
 
9
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Yearbook (UNWTO, 2010).
 
10
Information about international tourist flows was obtained from the UNWTO (2013).
 
11
Information about the origin of international tourist was obtained from the UNWTO (UNWTO, 2010).
 
12
Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is strongly based on the exports of oil derivatives. Cuba’s economy is highly singular because of its socialist regime and due to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the USA. Puerto Rico’s economy is defined by its political condition of USA associated free state.
 
13
Information about international tourism receipts were obtained from the World Bank database (World Bank, 2012).
 
14
Information about the domestic or international nature of guests in accommodation services were obtained from the UNWTO Yearbook (UNWTO, 2010).
 
15
Information about the economic contribution of tourism was obtained from the WTTC (2013).
 
16
Information about GDP growth rates were obtained from the International Monetary Fund database (IMF, 2013).
 
17
The economic success of Dominican Republic from 2007 to 2012 is due to several factors, including an expansionist monetary policy, fiscal incentives to production, IMF interventions and to the production oriented towards the foreign market.
 
18
Such as monopolies and other sorts of imperfect competition, externalities, public goods and information asymmetry.
 
19
Discrimination against foreign companies included some cases in the tourism sector, such as the expropriation of Hilton hotels in Venezuela.
 
20
China is already the third largest market for international trips, while Russia is top seven (UNWTO, 2012).
 
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Metadata
Title
Latin American Economy and Tourism
Author
Glauber Eduardo de Oliveira Santos
Copyright Year
2015
Book
Tourism in Latin America

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05734-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-05735-4

Copyright Year: 2015

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05735-4_2