Eviction from paradise: Tourism and land grabs

In the first in-depth global study of tourism-related land grabs and evictions, commissioned by Tourism Watch, Professor Andreas Neef discusses 25 case studies from South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, the Southwest Pacific and the Middle East.

Developing and emerging economies in these regions have now overtaken the so-called 'developed' countries in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Andreas's study sheds light on the lesser known and much darker side of tourism as it unfolds in the Global South.

He says that "while there is no doubt that tourism has been an engine of economic growth for many so-called 'developing' countries, this has often come at the cost of widespread dispossession and displacement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

"In many countries of the Global South, tourism development is increasingly prioritised by governments, businesses, international financial institutions and donors over the legitimate land and resource rights of local people."

In the study, Andreas explores the actors, drivers, mechanisms, discourses and impacts of tourism-related land grabbing and displacement, and investigates the potential of several international legal frameworks and voluntary guidelines to prevent tourism-related land grabs and involuntary relocation.

Andreas has recently returned from presenting the findings of his study in Berlin. During this trip he spoke with a network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are working towards the transformation of tourism, presented to the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and appeared in a panel discussion at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) Convention— the world’s largest travel fair.

His presentation at the fair resonated with the CEO of one of the largest global tour operators, who said that it had motivated him to rethink some of the practices within the global tourism industry.

Andreas plans to publish his findings as part of the new Routledge series Global Land and Resource Grabbing, which he co-edits with Dr Chanrith Ngin, an honorary academic in Development Studies. He is also looking forward to presenting highlights from this study in a public lecture at the University of Auckland later this year.