Overview
Develops new strategies to avoid past errors and proposes remedial actions to currently unsustainable tourism development pathways
Investigates the effect of unsustainable rapid development and its detrimental environmental, socio-cultural and security impacts
Examines the net social benefit of tourism development, to encapsulate economic, social and environmental benefits and costs, and asks whether benefits outweigh costs overall
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Keywords
About this book
Tourism is one of the world's largest as well as fastest growing industries and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are expected to be increasingly important engines of such growth, and tourism promotion is often considered an integral element of their economic strategies. The sector is generally publicized as a vital source of employment, revenue, foreign exchange benefits, public infrastructure, diversification and inducement in reviving national pride. Nevertheless tourism as a catalyst for economic development can be a controversial device. While certain short term economic benefits clearly arise from an expanding tourism industry in the Gulf economies, its unsustainable rapid development has had detrimental environmental, socio-cultural and security impacts, particularly because this industry is dependent on and a major user of natural resources and habitually collides with the values, skills, and aspirations of GCC nationals. This book develops new strategies to avoid past errors and proposes remedial actions to those currently unsustainable development pathways. In consideration of the fact that all types of tourism will eventually have a negative impact on the fragile environments of the GCC, we will take a closer look at the net social benefit of tourism development, to encapsulate economic, social and environmental benefits and costs, and ask whether benefits outweigh costs overall. Such an approach will include nonmonetary values and will allow the necessary trade-offs across economic, social and environmental domains. Concurrently, research indicates that in their aggressive pursuit of tourism development, Gulf governments either failed to address or deliberately ignored the critical question of local employment, ergo it is also crucial to assess the status quo, discuss why tourism has or has not been able to succeed with the set policy goals and especially elaborate the political rationale behind these deficiencies.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Tourism Development in the GCC States
Book Subtitle: Reconciling Economic Growth, Conservation and Sustainable Development
Editors: Andy Spiess, Faisal Al-Mubarak, Alan S. Weber
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-7452-4Due: 11 August 2025
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4614-7453-1Due: 11 August 2025
Edition Number: 1
Topics: International Economics, Emerging Markets/Globalization, International Relations