Presentation made at the Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States conference, 23-24 November 2017, Seychelles. A partnership of the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation, IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, University of Seychelles, Paris Tourism Sorbonne (IREST), and Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

1. Sustainable Tourism as a Tool for Employment
and Reducing Poverty in SIDS
Dr. Frédéric Thomas
Associate Professor
IREST/EIREST – University of
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

2. ….but why do so-called “sustainable tourism
projects” fail or succeed?
Dr. Frédéric Thomas
Associate Professor
IREST/EIREST – University of
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

3. Criticism of the “Pro-poor impact” of the tourism sector
1. Lack of efficiency of unrestrained economic growth to reduce
poverty in parallel to the depletion of environmental resources
(Woodward and Simms, 2006)
2. Lack of evidence demonstrating the tourism sector’s potential
in terms of poverty alleviation (Goodwin 2006, Harrison and
Schipani 2007, Scheyvens 2007, Plüss and Bakes 2002 cited in
Scheyvens 2009)
Tourism as a tool for poverty reduction?

4. Who are the poor?
Poverty background for tourism
workers based on the income per
head in the household/family
(Conway)
Likelihood to come
from a poor
background (PI)
Likelihood to be poor (3)
Cons. estimate <
national
consumption
poverty line
< US$ 1.25 per
person per day
(<US$ 38 per
month)
< US$ 2 per
person per day
(<US$ 60 per
month)
Poverty
headcount in
commune /
province of
origin (very
poor and poor
or < US$ 1.25)
Poverty
headcount in
commune /
province of
origin (near
poor or < US$ 2)
Monthly salary
< National
poverty line
Monthly salary
< US$ 1.25
Monthly salary
< US$ 2
Lao
(IFC)
15.74% 58.30% 79.80% 31.09% 61.60% 1.9% 22.26% 65.93%
Mali
(SNV)
79.5% 84.8% 94.9% 12.5% 75.9% 37.10% 41.40% 61.20%

5. Who are the poor?
• Seychelles Household expenditures survey (2006-2007) –
18% of Seychelles inhabitants cannot meet basic caloric
needs
• National Bureau of Statistics (2013) – 39,3% of
inhabitants of Seychelles are considered as poor
(10$/day)
• World Bank (2016) – 1,1% of inhabitants of Seychelles are
considered as poor (1,9 $/day and 2,5% (3,1 $/Day)

6. Does the responsibility of projects’ failure or success lies primarily with
development agencies or with local communities?
1. Too high requirements from national/international organizations to rapidly
transform low-skilled or unskilled workers into entrepreneurs
• The Complexity of Entrepreneurship
• The introduction of new ‘forward-thinking’ concepts
• The novelty that tourism represents
• The complexity of local power structures
2. Lack of business capacities by implementing agencies / people
So, why so-called “Sustainable tourism
projects” are not making the difference?

7. Bazoulé – Burkina Faso
www.bazoule.net/campementbazoule.html
A case study

8. • About 30km of Ouagadougou (4000 inhabitants)
• Village known for its crocodiles’ pond (3 hectares)
• About 2500 visitors per year including 50% of international tourists
Bazoulé – The Site

9. Bazoulé – The project (1)
Association du Développement Touristique
de Bazoulé (ADTB)
Comité de coopération de Belfort
Ministère de la Culture, des Arts et du
Tourisme
Address local
issues by the
implementation of
a tourism project
2006
Request for financial assistance
to ST-EP

10. Bazoulé – The project (2)
3 bungalows with 3 beds, bathrooms and showers
3 bungalows with 2 beds, bathrooms and showers
6 bungalows with 2 beds only
1 bungalow with on bed only
One restaurant
Museum
(musée des arts et
des savoirs Mossi)

11. Conclusions conjointly made in 2010 by UEMOA officials (UNCTAD)
1. Started in 1999, the project was built without any business plan (An
audit was made in 2010).
2. No tourism specialist on board
3. The proximity to Ouagadougou and the low standard of rooms
makes that the occupancy rate for the bungalows is about 4%
4. In 2009/2010, 177 overnight stays for a turn over of €1,320 / Costs
€1,450
(Initial investment for the accommodations = €38,000 / depreciation costs)
Bazoulé – Project Analysis

12. • Tourism-led poverty reduction programme - Opportunity study guidelines by
Caroline Ashley, Jonathan Mitchell and Anna Spenceley, ITC 2009
(www.intracen.org)
• Tourism Initiative Assessment Primary Data Checklist by Christine Jacquemin
and Frederic Thomas, in progress in responsible tourism, vol. 4(1), 2016
• Community-based tourism: Sharing lessons and love with the new generation,
Euro-Uni roadshow, Potjana Suansri and Peter Richards (2017)
Recommendations