Tourism and Rural Development Ruralareasaroundtheworldarefacingunprecedentedchallenges,andarechangingrapidly.In bothdevelopedanddevelopingcountries,theyarefacingseveralseriousproblems, notably: •depopulation,particularlyofyoungerpeopleandthemore dynamicmembersofthecommu nity,andadrifttotowns andcities; •severepressureonagriculturalincomes,giventhecontroloverfoodproductionanddistribu- tion,whichisexercisedby multi-nationalfood-processingcorporationsandretailchains. Acrosstheworldruraleconomiesandsocietiesarelookingincreasinglyfragilebecauseofawide rangeoffactorswhichvarybetweencountries.Inwestern Europe,thethreatsarecorningfrom reducedEuropeanUnion(EU)subsidiesforagriculture,whileinotherpartsoftheworldtheprob lemsarecomingfromhealthproblemssuchasacquiredimmunedeficiencysyndrome(AIDS)and naturaldisasterssuchasdroughts. Thereisalsoagrowingfeelingthattheprocessofglobalizationisgoingtoputincreasingpres sureonruralfoodproducers.Interestinglymuchoftheoppositiontoglobalizationhascomefrom ruralinterestgroups,mostnotablythepeasantmovementinFrancewithitscharismaticleader Bove,. Asaresultofallthesethreats,thereisagreatinteresttodayinsustainableruraldevelopment, among governmentsandruralcommunities. Thereiscommonconsentthatthisrequiresaholistic viewthatintegratesall elementsoftheruraleconomytowardsacommonpurpose.Tourismis,of course,oneoftheseelements,butitisonlyone. Unfortunately, inmanyplaces,tourismhasbeenseenasapanaceaforruralills,whereverweare intheworld.Thisignoresthefactthattourismissimply onepartoftheruralsystemwhichmust beinbalancewiththeother partsofthesystem,fromagriculturetoeducationandmanufacturing industrytohousing. Nevertheless,intermsofruraldevelopment,tourismdoeshavemanyadvantages,includingthe following: •itcanbedevelopedrelativelyquickly; •thecapitalcostsareoften lessthanthoseofdevelopingnew businessesinotherindustries; •tourismislesspollutingthanmostoftheother industries; •tourismcanbringbenefitstoawidecross-section ofthelocalcommunity,ifproperlydeveloped; •tourismcanhelpmaintaintheviabilityoffarms; •ruraltourismcanprovidejobsforgroupsthatmayotherwisestruggletofindemploymentin ruralareas,suchaswomenandyoungpeople. Ontheotherhand,tourismcanalsobringproblemstoruralareas suchasovercrowding,traffic,and rapid socialchangewhichisdifficulttoassimilateinwhatareoftenveryconservativecommunity … Read more