Côte dIvoire: Geography of Tourism and Local Development

Tourism is a socio-economic phenomenon that evolved between the 19th and 20th centuries to establish itself in practically every corner of the world. Today, tourism, which represents 10% of world GDP, 1 job in 11, 7% of world exports, 30% of service sector exports...comes in third position in the world behind the fuel and chemical sectors and ahead of the food industry and automobile. Tourism has thus become one of the main players in international trade and represents one of the main sources of income not only for industrialized countries but also for developing countries. Tourism geography is a branch of human and economic geography which studies the distribution of tourist activities and the way in which these activities play a role in the organization of spaces. This work shows us how the geography of tourism impacts local development.