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The easiest way to get information about a country’s wealth is to find out how much the country makes each year – and divide it amongst the country’s population (per capita) to give an Average income per person. But this can give an inaccurate impression. A country may seem to have quite a high ‘average’ income per person – but in reality there may be just a few super-rich people in the country, and the vast majority are quite poor. In the past this figure has been called GDP per capita (Gross Domestic Product), but a more recent term is GNI – Gross National Income.
More recently the United Nations (UN) has used a COMPOSITE MEASURE (a number calculated from 3 different sets of numbers). The Human Development Index (HDI) can indicate the quality of health services in a country (by looking at ‘Life Expectancy’) and the quality of Education (by looking at ‘Literacy rates’) as well as average income through the GNI. Combining these figures gives a more accurate picture of what life is like for most people in that country.
Key Terms :
Per capita (per person)
GNI Gross national income
HDI Human Development Index
Composite Measure
UN United Nations
Example / Case-Study :
Australia HDI 0.93
Spain HDI 0.86
Costa Rica HDI 0.72
Belize HDI 0.69
Possible Questions :
Why are some measures of development better than others?
What are the pros and cons of 2 measure of a country’s wealthy that you have studied?
Weblinks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List
_of_countries_by_Human_Dev elopment_Index

Belize
– a small country in Central America is using tourism as a way to develop. It has a range of factors which give it lots of advantages as a popular international tourist destination of the future
Close to the equator – so high temperatures all year. Ideal as a
‘Winter Sun’ destination for tourists from cold N. USA and
Europe in November - March
Easy to fly to from the USA and only 7 hours from
Europe (closer tropical resort than Thailand or India)
- the main places where wealthy tourists come from
Key Terms :
Eco-tourism
Winter sun destination
Accessible
Wide variety of habitats
Low-cost destination
Is selling itself as an Eco-
Tourism country with fabulous unspoilt scenery
& wildlife habitats
Is seen as a peaceful country with good safety, little crime and welcoming to tourists
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Example / Case-Study :
Belize – Central America
LEDC – so prices once you are there are quite cheap for local food, drink and tourist activities
Contrasting tourist attractions – coral reefs in the tropical waters, long sandy beaches and rainforest inland. Lots to do and see.
On the Caribbean Cruise ship route – so lots of customers as ships stop off for a day or two
Has an international airport – so visitors can fly in easily
Possible Questions :
What makes certain places more suitable to tourist development than other places?
What are the physical, economic, social and transport factors that make some places successful tourist destinations?
Weblinks http://www.travelbelize.org/ http://www.travelbelize.org/abo ut-belize/general/aboutbelize.html

Belize – a small country in Central America – is developing itself as a major Eco-tourism resort. It is developing the resort of ‘Belize
Caribbean Riviera’ as a centre for study and enjoyment of marine and coastal wildlife, and the inland Rainforest environment. It expects tourists from the USA, Europe and cruise ships which tour the Caribbean.
Jobs in the Belize Caribbean Riviera resort from tourism
Construction work : designing and building hotels & tourist attractions
Managing : Hotel management, hotel reception, hotel catering
Activity : tour guide in local area, teaching scuba diving, driving hire boats
Maintenance : ground staff for town parks, monitoring aquarium wildlife
Jobs in the local region around the resort from tourism
Transport : air traffic control & airport baggage handlers at Belize airport
Security : immigration officers at airport and ports, traffic police
Farming : fishermen and farmers producing food for tourist hotels
Jobs in the whole country which can develop from tourism
Transport : building roads, driving taxis, flying tourists in
Construction : building power stations, water supply and sewage treatment
Planning : advertising Belize to foreign tourists, planning future developments
By focusing on tourism growth,
Belize can move many of its people from low-pay Primary jobs as farmers (Nepal), to higher-pay
Secondary jobs (making furniture for hotels; making souvenirs) – as in
Brazil, or higher skill Tertiary jobs
(service jobs in hotels, bars, tourist activities etc) as in the USA
Key Terms :
Employment opportunities
Primary occupations
Secondary occupations
Tertiary occupations
Development Tourism
Example / Case-Study :
Belize – Central America
Possible Questions :
How can development tourism benefit a country?
How does investment in tourism help raise people’s standard of living?
Weblinks http://www.travelbelize.org/
27 http://www.travelbelize.org/abo ut-belize/general/aboutbelize.html

Economic problems
Social problems
Environmental problems
Many jobs are ‘seasonal’ – they just last for the holiday season.
You may be out of work during the hurricane season July - Nov
Many jobs are low-skill and low pay with few chances of promotion such as bar staff
Many teenagers drop out of school early to earn money selling legal (& illegal) items to tourists
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Key Terms :
Seasonal jobs
Coastal migration
STDs sexually transmitted diseases
Low-wage spiral
There is a flow of young people from the interior of Belize to the coast seeking work. This breaks up traditional families.
There is the spread of disease brought in by visitors – particularly STDs from those involved in paying for prostitutes
So many people are looking for work in tourism that it drives down the wages to low levels
Many jobs are low-skill and low pay with few chances of promotion such as bar staff
Beach-front is bought up by hotels and locals are banned from using the shoreline of their own country
Cruise ships often discharge sewage & waste illegally off the coast at night – polluting the water for fishermen & scub divers
Example / Case-Study :
Belize
– Central America
Possible Questions :
What are the problems of tourism in an LEDC you have studied?
What are the negative impacts tourists bring – and which are the most serious?
What can cause tourists to decide not to go to a resort that was once popular?
Is Belize Tourism set for the Longterm, or Boom and Bust ?
There is a range is issues which could put tourists off returning to Belize – or putting off friends and family from booking. Bad news spreads quickly on the internet, and one person’s bad experience can lead to dozens of people cancelling :
• Serious Hurricane Damage closing airport and wrecking hotels causes people not to return or cancel. (Physical)
• Reports of crime, rape, murder – which may not be more than in other resorts but may give Belize a bad reputation. Quickly spread on internet chat rooms (Social)
• Economic recession in Europe and the USA – so tourists cut down where they go and how often – cancelling long haul trips to places like Belize (Economic)
• Safety fears over STDS, accidents from speedboats etc. or coach accidents – which hit the headlines. (Social)
Weblinks http://takenwomen.wordpress.c
om/2010/08/09/canadiansboycott-belize-tourism-murdercapital-of-the-world/ http://www.belizeforum.com/bel ize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showf lat&Number=99242

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Key Terms :
Leakage of tourist revenue
Tour company
Tax revenue
Example / Case-Study :
Belize
– Central America
Possible Questions :
Why does being a popular tourist resort not guarantee the country becomes wealthy?
How do global travel companies manage the way holidays are arranged?
Are global travel companies a
‘friend’ to less affluent countries wanting to develop tourism?
Leakage of tourist revenue means that much of the money that is spent on holidays doesn’t end up in the country that the tourist is going to – but stays in the country where the visit was booked
– especially if the airlines and hotels are owned by companies in the MEDC.
Ways of keeping tourist revenue in
Belize include ………..
• setting up a national airline so that visitors fly there on Belize planes and this company gets the profits
• insisting that a percentage of hotels are owned by
Belize companies – and not just foreign tour firms
• ensuring home-grown food and drinks are sold in hotels and bars as well as imported brand names
• insisting that tour reps and guides are local Belize employees – and not from the tour company’s country
Weblinks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lea kage_effect

Belize is trying to close the Development Gap by focusing on tourism. In particular it wants to develop as an
Eco-tourism resort with smaller numbers of wealthy tourists rather than Mass Tourism. It aims for Sustainable tourism which will bring it benefits long into the future. The question is – has it worked?
Benefits Linked consequence
There are increasing numbers of better paid Tertiary jobs in tourism such as hotel receptionist, and tour guide leader
This gives people a better standard of living and allows them to pay for medical care for children and school fees so they get educated
BUT….The jobs are ‘seasonal’ and people have to make sure pay lasts during the hurricane seasons when fewer tourists come to Belize
The Belize government can tax the tourism industry – hotels, planes landing and tourists and invest the money
Roads get improved, local people can use the modern airport, water and electricity supplies are improved
BUT….Because of the huge ‘leakage’ of revenue – Belize only gets about 18% of the money spent on holidays there. It could improve a lot more if it reduced ‘leakage’
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Eco- tourists want to see wildlife – both in the sea and inland in the rainforest and employ local guides to show them
This protects the natural environment and local people help ensure habitats are protected. Animal numbers (turtles) are now increasing
BUT….so many people want to go to see the coral reefs, they are being destroyed by propellers, anchors and sand being disturbed making the water less clear
Possible Questions
There are more cruise ships visiting the ports in Belize which brings extra tourists on a regular basis
They buy a lot of souvenirs made by local craftsmen and want to see traditional customs. This keeps traditions and the culture alive
BUT….The cruise ship tourists bring diseases – like STDs which are spread through the population from prostitution
Compare the effects of tourism in an MEDC with those in an LEDC
Lots of young people are migrating to the coast to find work in the tourism industry as they see this as the future of the country
With so many young people looking for work, employers can pay less in wages and keep holidays fairly ‘low cost’ and help keep Belize attractive to tourists
BUT….The migration of young people breaks up families and their low pay means some turn to crime & drugs to earn money.
This gets Belize a bad reputation
For a tourist destination you have studied evaluate the extent to which it is successfully managing its tourism.
There are many economic, social and environmental benefits to Belize coming from its growth as an eco-tourist centre. Being close to the USA it can attract many wealthy tourists. But there are also many negative aspects of tourism. If Belize could reduce the ‘leakage of revenue’ and keep more of the profits from tourism – it could improve the social areas of life for its citizens faster. It’s likely that the environment won’t be damaged – as in
Benidorm – because focusing on eco-tourism means everyone is trying to protect the habitats. But there are many factors which could still cause tourists to stop coming to Belize in the future which are outside the control of the Belize people – more hurricanes, recession in the USA, or bad internet rumours about crime or accidents
What is meant by
‘sustainable tourism’ and how do countries try to achieve it?