Sustainable tourism Halong bay Vietnam

There is an emerging consciousness of the potential impact of world trade rules, such

as GATS on particular contexts such as sustainable tourism Halong bay Vietnam. Thus for example it has been argued by Bendell and Font (2004) that

The elements of sustainable tourism standards most likely to be contentious are those that can be perceived to reduce market access (Article XVI) and not provide national treatment to foreign providers (Article XVII). Carrying capacity limits, demands for local employment and purchase of locally produced goods, and the compatibility of services with local culture — key

to sustainability standards — are the most likely to be questioned by liber- alization advocates and lobbyists.

The trade liberalisation approach to travel and tourism is not without difficulties. It does not seek to deal with complex and difficult issues. For example, the economic efficiency argument does not cope well with ‘cultural’ arguments. If the ‘neo-liberal’ agenda is the sole dictate of development, then it may be imbalanced. Discontent with the evolution of world trade is already deep. Indeed there is an emerging phenomenon described paradox- ically as ‘anti-globalisation tourism’. Discontent with world trade is widespread. Neo-lib- eralism and globalisation have generated a growing literature. Arguments abound in academic and popular contexts about threats to democracy from corporate activity. This may be linked to market systems and cultural context. Corporate behaviour is linked to institutions and sometimes the argument is based on the clash between people and corpo- rate power. This democracy–corporate link is in turn linked to global institutions. For some reason, tourism has often escaped the full wrath of the anti-global movement. This is unlikely to remain the case for long. Lawyers have to be careful that the principles they

76 James Tunney

craft are not divorced from realpolitik. Travellers and tourists have always been vulnera-

ble. It would be remiss not to see that they may become greater targets in global games. At the same time travellers and tourists inflict social and cultural damage, and the construct

of the vulnerable traveller has to be re-aligned somewhat to cater for the vulnerable host. Unlimited access, impelled by free trade principles may backfire.

An holistic approach describes an approach which looks at the ‘whole’ of a system and not the parts in isolation. It suggests that the system is greater than the sum of its parts. It

is a useful philosophical antidote to unduly mechanistic or reductionist approaches. Judicial policy choice, whether in the framework of interpretation of international conven- tions, principles, regional regulation, national legislation or in the evolution of the com- mon law would benefit from more comprehensive constructs and conceptions.

Conclusion: A Magic Lantern

This paper has argued that law and legal regulation are a crucial part of the construction

of the paradigm of tourism and tourism studies. Within legal discourse, there are certain clear constructs or contexts of protection of the traveller and tourist Halong bay Vietnam. However, there is a lack of clear conceptual commitment to protect the host community. Law is undergoing transformation, as part of the process of globalisation in which it is reflexively involved. Evolution of world trade regulation represents a significant force in the evolution of tourism. At the same time discontent with the nature of world trade and tourism is mani- fest. Thus it is argued that a cosmopolitan concept of the travel and tourism continuum and the spectrum of relationships therein could lead to a more comprehensive construct. Such a comprehensive construct should accommodate the idea of the vulnerable host. Like a magic lantern, the academic can project the concept onto the legal stage, so that these important stakeholders become established in the repertory and do not appear merely as occasional stand-ins. As the world trade agenda is not going to disappear, it may be wiser to engage and alter through a positive informing agenda, than sit on the sidelines in the comfortable academic gloom.