Tourism as a tool for economic development in poor countries

Most scientific literature have begun to argue that while tourism growth can influence the economic and sociocultural development of society, the impacts of tourism do not always lead to increased economic development, especially in less developed countries. However, in spite of these limitations, some international organizations defend that tourism has become an economic activity that many poor countries are considering or implementing as part of their efforts to alleviate poverty. In this context, the aim of this research has been to determine whether the economic growth experienced in the poor countries over the last decade influences an increase in their level of economic development. The results prove that, in poor countries, tourism growth does not influence the level of economic development, which supports the claims of some of the most recent scientific literature, and contradicts the position of many international organizations that make an indiscriminate use of tourism as a tool to enhance economic development in the poorest countries.