¿Santo Remedio? The Political Economy of Mass Tourism and Development

Tourism is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, particularly in developing countries. It is often one of few options for attracting foreign direct investment and has therefore been regarded as a santo remedio (“miracle cure”) for overcoming underdevelopment. This dissertation examines the variation in development outcomes among Caribbean countries that pursue mass tourism. It argues that the differing relationships between state capacity and private sector strength in these countries account for this variation. As a qualitative comparison of four cases – Cuba, the Mexican Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and Haiti – it employs process tracing with evidence gathered from elite interviews. In each case, the study explores the national-level policy frameworks for promotion and management of the tourism sector and examines the local development impacts in a leading tourism pole. Each of these four states “chose” mass tourism as the sector on which to base a broader economic development strategy, and to varying degrees they supported the sector with industry-specific institutions and policies designed to spur investment, improve tourism infrastructure, increase visitor arrivals, and leverage the sector’s growth for improved local infrastructure and basic services. This dissertation draws variables from the developmental state literature to analyze the creation and management of a mass tourism sector, recognizing the central role of state-led strategy, supported by public institutions and a technically skilled bureaucracy, and private sector engagement. I argue that to the extent that elements of a developmental state are successfully applied, tourism’s outcomes are more likely to be pro-poor, meaning that the benefits for local communities outweigh the costs. In those destinations, the tourism industry promotes engines of growth for broader, multi-sectoral development, such that local communities benefit from backward and/or forward linkages, and employment opportunities. Tourism sectors that are pro-poor also successfully mitigate tourism’s adverse social and environmental impacts. Conversely, states that fail to build strong sector-specific institutions and effectively regulate the sector do not successfully integrate tourism sector growth into a broader strategy and therefore see weaker development outcomes. The dissertation concludes by identifying areas for future research, and offering recommendations to policymakers.