Tourism as a tool for economic development in poor countries : the case of Comoro Islands

Abstract

Tourism is clearly of great significance to developing countries. But is it important in those countries with the highest proportion of poor people? The small island economies which are most dependent on tourism tend to be middle income and contain few of the worlds' poor. Achieving poverty reduction requires actions on a variety of complementary fronts and scales, but a prerequisite of significant progress is pro-poor growth - growth which benefits the poor. As an industry that is clearly important in many poor countries, can tourism can be one of the elements of economic growth and how? This research aims to answering such questions using a case study methodology. The research investigates how tourism can help in developing the economic situation of the Comoro Islands. It holds a situation analysis of the current situation of the islands and proposes tourism development strategies and their impacts on economic development of the islands.