Development of Tourism Resort Areas in Arid Regions

Abstract

On a sequence of population densities, the location of tourism industries seems to represent a bi-nodal pattern: on the one hand, tourism facilities tend to concentrate in the large urban centres and on the other hand they exhibit a tendency towards isolated and sparsely populated areas in the countryside or on small islands. However, while small islands tend to become crowded due to the influx of mass tourism (Benchley, 1982), the isolated environment of arid lands, still remains largely untapped. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential of desert environments for the development of tourism and to provide central elements of a stage model describing the developmental process. The assessment is presented in the first section, while the model is outlined in the second one. The paper concludes with the examination of the congruence of the model to a case study in the Israeli Negev desert. 1. Assessment of Hot Desert Environments for Tourism Development Before assessing the desert environment for tourism development several questions should be answered. The first question is whether various nations or governments aspire to develop their remote, harsh and sparsely populated areas. This issue has been treated recently by Lonsdale (1983), who asserted that sparselands are often the subject of much attention and very much a part of national development philosophy. According to Lonsdale, attention to sparselands is motivated by one or several of the following rationales: (1) presence of natural resources, (2) land hunger/population pressure, (3) obligation to develop all areas of the nation, (4) geopolitical and military considerations and (5) tourism and recreational opportunities. Thus, it will be assumed that countries which hold control over arid lands are in fact interested in developing their desert areas. Another preliminary question concerns the appropriate developmental strategy for desert environments. This issue has been contemplated by Amiran (1977), who reached the conclusion that the desert offers limited choices in regard to paths of economic development. Economic activities recommended by Amiran for the harsh, though environmentally sensitive, arid areas are: resort industry, certain types of manufacturing industries and intensive trickle irrigated agriculture. Among these options, what are the special requirements of and the impediments to the development of tourism and resort areas? Desert environments seem to pose several inherent preconditions for development in general and tourism development in particular. These preconditions may be summarized under four headings: (1) unique physical conditions, (2) limited accessi-271 Yehuda Gradus (ed.), Desert Development 271-284