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sophistication of international tourism in the
modern world.
Tourism is also linked to political needs of
regimes and the jurisdictions they represent. The
demonstration effect may encourage populations
to embrace new ideas, new technologies or
new political values. Because tourism is a very
important means of earning foreign exchange,
governments have used the industry as a way of
opening the door to even greater foreign investments
in their country. If the industry flourishes,
this demonstrates to the outside world a sense of
legitimacy and stability that encourages more
travel and investment.
Serious and enduring criticisms of the impact of
tourism upon political development and political
culture have been particularly harsh from developing
regions of the world. Many social scientists
see a negative demonstration effect which highlights
the contrast among the wealth, leisure and
appearance of tourists and the poverty of the
indigenous population. As international tourism
grew in the post-Second World War period, the
populations which could afford travel were concentrated
in Western Europe and North America.
Later, as the Japanese and other Asians began to
engage in outbound travel, they also sought
vacations in the warmer climates of the Third
World, particularly the South Pacific region. In
the Caribbean, for example, the contrast between
the white tourists and the non-white population
made tourism a highly visible activity. Moreover,
the tourists were affluent, they came mainly from
Europe and North America, and the institutions
that made their trips possible were mostly foreignowned.
Caribbean economists cited this situation
as evidence that tourism, along with other types of
foreign-owned industry, was a form of neocolonialism
and neo-imperialism since it returned
its profits to the metropolitan country and
since those who benefited from the industry were
mainly nationals of the generating country. This
critique of tourism in developing countries gradually
eroded as local investors, politicians and
workers began to benefit substantially from it.
The critique also encouraged political institutions,
and the political culture in general came to
integrate the demands of tourism with the needs
of the local population. The extent to which the
industry has been a catalyst for such political
development has varied among the different
political systems.
See also: globalisation; ideology; political
socialisation
Further reading
Brohman, J. �1996) `New directions in tourism for
Third World development', Annals of Tourism
Research 23�1): 48±70. �Updates on contemporary
issues of tourism development in developing
regions.)
Jackman, R.W. �1996) Power without Force, Ann
Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. �Basic
text on political development as a field.)
Palmer, C.A. �1994) `Tourism and colonialism: the
experience of the Bahamas', Annals of Tourism
Research 21�4): 792±811. �Examines how tourism
is often seen as inherited from colonialism.)
political economy
political economy 449
HARRY G. MATTHEWS, USA
Political economy describes the examination of the
relationship among political and economic policies,
institutions and structures and their influence on
development, societies and individuals. Often
described by conservatives as being `radical',
political economy distinguishes itself from economics
by its explicit recognition of the political
and ideological dimensions of analysis, policy and
theory.
Political economy examines the formal relations
within capitalism that express the real power
relations among individuals, groups, institutions
�including the state) and culture. Political economists
focus on the organisation of capitalism as an
economic and cultural phenomenon and the
manner in which it has undergone successive
transformations which include the penetration of
peripheral areas by global capital, such as Third
World peripheral regions in which tourism development
is controlled by First World capital, and
the ever-increasing commoditisation and incorporation
of culture and places within the capitalist
system through globalisation. Analysis may also