Contentions and contradictions of tourism as development option: the case of Kerala, India

Although the state of Kerala in India has been regarded as a 'model of development', its achievements may be unravelling thanks to a host of internal and external problems. The government and the bureaucracy now project tourism as 'an engine of growth'-an excellent source of foreign exchange and employment-to revive the local economy. Opposition to large-scale tourism projects by environmental and labour activists is often dealt with through undemocratic means. This article points to a less than sanguine role for tourism in the local economy and the dynamics that work to exaggerate tourism's share in the economy in an emerging context of governmental failure, political crisis and interest group consolidation. Lessons are drawn to revisit the debate on tourism and development.