Tourism as solution to capitalism’s contradictions

A.Capital accumulation through

tourism

B. Capitalism’s contradictions

C. Tourism’s solution

D.Conflicts and resistances

Macià Blázquez Salom, mblazquez@uib.cat

Hypothesis

• The blessings of tourism is a

smokescreen

• Tourism contributes to capital

accumulation

• Tourism solves capitalism’s

contradictions

• Conflicts and resistances prove

tourism’s contributions

Tourism: industry without chimneys, neutral and pleasure activity...

http://es.paperblog.com

But, tourism participates of the flow of capital accumulation (A), through the primary and secondary cycles, such as

resorts construction (Harvey, 1978)

Fadesa Saidia

or residential housing bubble

Cala Llamp, Macià Blázquez, 7/3/2009

Tourism contributes to the uneven geographical development

El Hoyo de Friusa,

Macià Blázquez,

23/7/2010

Ruled by the international

capitalist class

E.g. exporting “balearization”

Especially to the Global South, at

the new peripheries of

pleasure

Buades, 2006, 2009Morales & Ruíz, 2008

Evolució dels fluxos de IED de l'Estat espanyol (1970-2004)

(milions dòlars)

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

55000

600001970

1971

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1989

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1991

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2003

2004

Milio

ns d

òla

rs

Flux IED (entrada) Flux IED (sortida)

Estat espanyol

entra a la CEE

Sortides

superiors a

entrades

1985-1995:

Període de les

Privatitzacions

Spain became

EU member

Murray,

2012

Based on global rent gap and World-Capitalist System

geopolitical dominium (Wallerstein,1974)

Spanish TransNationalCorporations Recolonising

Latin America

Observatori del Deute en la

Globalització

Evolució dels moviments de passatgers als aeroports de les

Illes Balears, 1940-2007 (milers de passatgers)

0

2.000

4.000

6.000

8.000

10.000

12.000

14.000

16.000

18.000

20.000

22.000

24.000

26.000

28.000

30.000

32.000

34.000

1940

1942

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1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

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1986

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2004

2006

1er Boom Turístic (Règim

d'acumulació fordista).

2on Boom Turístic

(Transició-

Adaptació).

3er Boom Turístic

Globalització

neoliberal.

1ª Crisis Energètica (1973)

Ruptura del Sistema Bretton Woods.

Mort del Dictador F. Franco (20/11/1975)

Pactes de la Moncloa (1977)

2ª Crisis Energètica (1979)

RDWS (Règim Dòlar-Wall Street)

Revolució neoliberal: R. Reagan

(1981-1989) - M. Thatcher

(1979-1990).

Entrada a la CEE i OTAN (1986)

Caigua del Mur de Berlin (1989)

Guerra del Golf (1991) i NOEI

(Nou Ordre Econòmic

Internacional)

Crisi financera

11-S (2001)

Guerra Global i final

del petroli barat

Globalització financera

de "domini dolç": feliços

1990.

Maastricht (1992)Reconeixement internacional del règim

feixista (1951)

Pla d'Estabilització (1959)

Murray,

2012

Spanish Hotel Chains

• Neoliberal strategies (1993 onwards):

oligopoly, merge and acquisitions, license,

REIT, use of tax heavens, safe destinations

(11S), AECI…

• Balearic Islands’ HC, control 60% of the

Spanish HC rooms, 68% of the offer at the

BI, but just have their 18%

• Have 666 hotels worldwide, 31% at The

CaribbeanBlázquez, Cañada & Murray, 2011

Main Transnational Hotel Chains based in the Balearic Islands (2007)

Murray, 2012

Hotel

Chain

Spain Abroad

Nº hotels Nº rooms Nº hotels Nº rooms

Sol Meliá 163 36.248 138 76.756

Barceló 56 41.057 99 25.565

Riu 28 13.356 63 23.397

Iberostar 34 10.044 64 21.312

Fiesta 26 18.749 12 4.758

Oasis 9 3.998 25 8.348

B. Principe 8 2068 13 7.749

Blázquez, Artigues & Murray, 2011

Balearic Islands’ based hotel chains diffusion

Main Transnational Hotel Chains based in the Balearic Islands (2010)

GIST, 2010

Hotel

Chain

Spain Abroad

Nº hotels Nº rooms Nº hotels Nº rooms

Sol Meliá 168 35.346 150 42.515

Riu 50 14.405 56 19.309

Barceló 44 11.200 69 17.664

Iberostar 34 10.589 47 15.492

Fiesta 31 8.063 9 3.157

H. Globals 31 8.063 9 3.157

Hotetur 16 3.940 11 2.329

Blázquez, Cañada & Murray, 2011

Hamaca hotel,

Bocachica, Macià

Blázquez, 19/2/2009

…

B. Capitalism’s contradictions

1. Capital-labour: more profit and

capital accumulation deals to

less salaries and less demand

2. Production conditions

constrained by labour force,

infrastructures and natural

resources conditions

Tourism contributions to solve capitalism’s contradictions

1. Dealing with capital-labour:

• Relocation of production and

consumption by new peripheries

• Commodification of the space (Britton, 1991)

• Spatio-temporal fixes for capital

flow (Harvey, 1989)

C. Tourism contributions to solve capitalism’s contradictions

2. External limits (O’Connor, 1988):

• Historical block of sustainable

development (Igoe, Neves &

Brockington, 2010)

• Planning as regulatory framework

E.g. the “ecobatle”, Balearic Islands 2001-2003

Murray, 2005; Blázquez, Artigues & Murray, 2011

C. Tourism contributions to solve capitalism’s contradictions

2. External limits (O’Connor, 1988):

• Historical block of sustainable

development (Igoe, Neves &

Brockington, 2010)

• Planning as regulatory framework

• Green capitalism solutions, such as

ecotourism (Fletcher, 2012)

C. Tourism contributions to solve capitalism’s contradictions

2. External limits (O’Connor, 1988):

• Green “fixes”:

REDDS

Land graving

Biocarburants

Ecotourism…

Evolució de la superfície protegida a les I. Balears,

1988-2007.

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000

80.000

19

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00

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06

Superfície Terrestre Protegida (Ha) Superfície Marina Protegida (Ha)

Natural areas designation during the housing bubble at the Balearic Islands

Murray (coord.), 2010

Bunker-style all-inclusive holiday formula

Barceló Montelimar, Macià Blázquez, 14/2/2009

Accumulation by dispossession

Riu Matapalo, Macià Blázquez, 16/2/2009

Conflicts and resistances at North

Iberostar headquarters, Grup Balear d’Ornitologia i Defensa dela Naturalesa, 22/5/2010

Conflicts and resistances at South

Playa Delfines, Sosa & Jiménez (2010) 10/6/2007

Conclusions

• Tourism contributes to capital

accumulation

• Tourism contributes with

“solutions” to capitalism’s

contradictions

• Conflicts and resistances are

symptoms of tourism and

capitalism’s malfunction