Tourism and Development

A case study of tourism development in the Smoky Mountain gateway communities of Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina, since 1970 was undertaken to evaluate the industry's second- and third-order economic impacts. From a first-order, aggregate perspective the impacts appear beneficial, but from the resident popu lations' perspective the effects are more questionable. While total income and job growth occur, they correspond with other nonimproving social welfare indicators. Thus, tourism, as a tool for development, has limitations and needs to be managed to serve as a more beneficial agent of change.