Third, centralisation of public administration functions
has brought the dangers of concentration of power
in too few hands in developing countries. This public
administration structure has catered for business interests
as clients of decision-makers at the expense of indigenous
communities in many local tourist destinations.
This suggests that there is much truth in the German
proverb &stadtluft macht frei' (town airmakes man free). It
is argued &in support of the conception that local bodies
know local problems and feelings, and so what is suitable,
better than the central authorities possibly can'
(Allum, 1995, p. 413). Hence, local governments should
be re-organised to defend, protect and re#ect concerns
and interests of local people in their administrative territories.
Obviously, without "nancial resources, local governments
cannot provide services to their constituencies.
Consequently, local government should be empowered
not only politically and legally, but also "nancially. Additional
"nancial resources should be made available for
local governments to be used particularly for community
development projects. For example, a community development
tax orcommunity compensation tax can be
collected to raise "nancial resources for this purpose.
This may encourage local government to "nd ways of
empowering those who live in its area