Reciprocal altruism

Reciprocal altruism

Reciprocal altruism can be used to describe the process of cooperation between tourists and nature in a symbiotic relationship where each of the actors in this relationship benefits. The movement of tourists from their environment creates a platform for relationships that thrive in conflict and cooperation. The erosion of relations between the host and guests in the tourism setting can be explained by Darwinian fitness theory, which bases on taking advantage of others for the benefit of other parties in the ecosystem.

Cooperation in tourism has led to the evolution of tourism cooperatives that operate to make profits for economic development. Regional tourism has embraced unions for tourism development through recognition of changing politics, globalization and the role of borders. Tourism in the Asia-Pacific region identified different forms of cooperation to tackle the problems facing the tourism industry. The cooperatives formed included information sharing, comparative studies, joint projects, interagency cooperation and better planning methods. Tourism cooperation, just like reciprocal altruism, depends on the concept of natural selection to describe what organisms do and who they are.

Although sociobiology describes why organisms are the way they are, criticism of the theory exists. They explain it as one which displays wrong values. Social scientists also critic the hypothesis and suggest that it explains what is social science through territoriality. Training and leadership is an essential element of successful cooperation. Development of training packages that instill values of cooperation also eliminate cheating in the tourism industry. Reciprocal altruism can be used to create policies in the tourism industry to encourage collaboration between different stakeholders for economic development. It offers a platform for cooperation in the business of tourism and for ethics to prevail even in a relatively challenging environment.