Economic Growth Point Research Articles

Study of rural tourism in Turpan, China

Rural tourism has long been considered the means of accelerating economic and social development, and has become a development tool for many rural areas. In response to agricultural structure adjustment, rural tourism in China took into shape as a new economic growth point to meet the market demand at the late 1980s. Now, a structural frame of rural tourism has shaped, with the core of Zhujiang (Pearl) River Delta, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu of China. But in Xinjiang, the western part of China, there are hardly any studies in this field in spite of its richness of tourism resources. In this paper, development of rural tourism is studied in Turpan of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. With its rich natural and cultural tourism resources, Turpan has become one of the pioneer tourism destinations in China. But same to the rural tourism development of the other areas’ of China, rural tourism programs in Turpan mainly aimed at sightseeing activities, and little attention had been paid to the protection and exploitation of national minority culture—an important factor to satisfy both tourists demand and local economic development. However, this kind of rural tourism development policy is harmful on the long run. Because, many tourists seek tourist destinations that offer pleasant experiences related to not only the natural environment but also historic heritage and cultural patterns. The study suggests that on the base of government support in the long term, to enhance tourism training, to protect and exploit national minority culture are essential elements of rural tourism development in Turpan.

Putting ‘developmental local government’ into practice: The experience of South Africa’s towns and cities

One of the key features of the late twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries is the apparent re-definition of the role and place of the 'city' within national and global economies. Globalization has been accompanied by changing perceptions of the role of the locality within an increasingly integrated global system, which reflects the dominance of economic orthodoxy, independent action and the search for innovative ways to participate within a redefined global economic context. These trends have gone hand in hand with a notable policy shift around the world, which is enhancing the status, role and functions of local authorities, and simultaneously devolving to them many of central governments' social and economic responsibilities (Hambleton et al., 2002; UNCHS, 2001). Within this context, "cities are becoming central to economic development. They are increasingly taking on the role of focal points of economic growth" (Jouve and Lefevere, 2002, p. 186). In order to mediate their newfound role and status, cities are being challenged to significantly enhance the range of strategic socio-economic interventions which they undertake, in an effort to secure investment, encourage growth and deal with issues of social exclusion and poverty. The net result is the identification of an impressively diverse portfolio of city development strategies and interventions (Clarke and Gaile, 1998; Hambleton et al., 2002). Within this context of devolution, global integration and increasing responsibility in terms of issues of socio-economic transformation, it is timely to examine South African local authorities as they respond to the challenges of their radically altered powers and responsibilities, and as they attempt to deal with a daunting range of socio-economic challenges which are a legacy of the apartheid era before 1994. The greatly enhanced status of local authorities in South Africa, which are now constitutionally mandated to promote social and economic development (RSA, 1996a), makes them key agents for transforming South Africa's society and economy in the post-apartheid era. Local government has been transformed significantly

Analysis of the Impact of Organisational Factors in Managerial Hospitality Configurations

Tourist activity constitutes one of the signs of economic and socio-cultural development in the Canaries; it is considered the fundamental and strategic point of regional economic growth and the driving force behind the growth of other sectors.This paper attempts to define and provide a more in-depth study and awareness of these questions. For this reason, the prompt identification and appropriate response to these structural changes and new demands will aid the hospitality sector in achieving suitable competitive advantages.The aim of the paper is to analyse various organisational factors affecting hotel units located in different tourism destinations in the Canary Islands and to study distinctive organisational populations, with their own contextual and structural answers.

Population Growth, Income Distribution, and Economic Development.

How the interdependence of demographic and economic phenomena can affect population growth and income distribution in development countries is examined. Analysis is confined to Brazil but an attempt is made to reach conclusions applicable to Latin America as a whole wherever possible. Latin Americas population increases annually at a rate of 2.9%. Proponents of rapid growth maintain that it is desirable to enlarge the consumer market and to fill up the unpopulated areas of each country but these arguments are fallacious. Purchasing power and not size of consumer markets need to be considered. Settlement of territory depends primarily on the incentives to migration rather than on population increases. In Brazil experience shows that the important conditions for successful colonization are outlets for products credit facilities the techniques applied and the educational level of the colonists. Experts who believe that the present population explosion is holding up economic growth point out that in Latin America where birthrates have remained very high while death rates have dropped abruptly the population is now very young and thus includes a large proportion of children and adolescents below working age. If existing trends in the birthrates and death rates continue the age structure of Latin Americas population will not change significantly during the next few decades. According to economic theory the growth rate of any given countrys product is a function of the growth of capital and of the labor force and above all of improvement in the quality of the latter. Increasing the supply of capital depends essentially on savings. As to the influence of rapid population growth on the rate of savings certain recent studies suggest that variations in the dependency rate have little effect. The process of improving the quality of labor begins at home where decisions are made about the expenditure on food health and education for each child. In so far as quantity tends to detract from quality in Latin America unskilled labor will increase relative to skilled labor and also to capital. The division of the labor force into these 2 distinct categories is 1 of the most serious longterm obstacles to development in Latin America and to a fairer redistribution of income. Only economic growth can create employment opportunities and promote social mobility. Yet change is also necessary with regard to the labor supply. It is suggested that families be supplied with full information concerning the implicatios of choosing quantity rather than quality as regards children.