CorpWatch : Tourism & Real Estate

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Tourism & Real Estate

Tourism fuels some of the biggest development worldwide. Cruise ship operators are under fire for dumping waste in the oceans and exhaust into the skies; ski resorts an golf courses scar the land and pollute waterways. Tourism is a multibillion-dollar industry that frequently puts luxury ahead of the environment, respect for indigenous cultures, and sensitivity to land use issues.

Real estate, some of it fueled by tourism, but also by the expansion of business, runs up against many of the other issues we cover - water use, land use, and the use of political influence to muscle into desirable locations, often with tax-breaks as a bonus. With real-estate the latest boom (or perhaps more appropriately "bubble") industry, issues associated with development - such as suburban sprawl - have become more immediate.

Cyrela, Rio Olympic Construction Contractor, Accused Of Mistreating Workers
by Richard Smallteacher, Special to CorpWatch
August 5th, 2016
Media attending the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are being housed in apartments constructed by workers "in conditions analogous to slavery" by Cyrela, the largest real estate company in Brazil. The local community has also complained that the construction has ruined the water supply and destroyed forested areas.

Panama Papers Leak Reveals Safari Companies In Africa Use Tax Havens
by Richard Smallteacher, Special to CorpWatch
July 25th, 2016
A number of safari companies in Africa used Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, to evade taxes on income from foreign clients, according to data from the ‘Panama Papers’ a leaked cache of 11.5 million documents revealed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Cambodian Villagers Land Bulldozed for UDG Casino Complex
by Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch Blog
March 14th, 2014
Villagers in Koh Kong, Cambodia, say that their lands have been bulldozed by employees of the Union Development Group, a Chinese company, which is building a massive casino on a 45,000-hectare-land concession inside Botum Sakor National Park.

Thomson Safaris Sued Over Maasai Land Near Serengeti
by Richard Smallteacher, CorpWatch Blog
March 3rd, 2014
Thomson Safaris, a Massachusetts company that runs the luxury Enashiva tourist camp near the Serengeti wildlife park in Tanzania, has been sued over 10,000 acres of land that the company allegedly acquired illegally from Maasai tribes.

Serengeti Under Threat from UAE Big Game Hunting Company
by Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch Blog
August 20th, 2012
Serengeti national park is under threat from Ortello Business Corporation in a deal that could displace 48,000 indigenous Maasai and open it up for hunting of lions and leopards. An urgent action by Avaaz, an international campaigning group, has gathered close to a million signatures to protest the scheme.

Greenwashing the Olympics
by Daniel Nelson, CorpWatch Blog
July 4th, 2012
Rio Tinto has been named as early front-runner for the Greenwash Gold award for the worst Olympic sponsor, with BP in second place and Dow Chemical third. The three corporations have paid millions to stick their names all over Olympic promotional material and activities.

Sweatships at Sea: Carnival Cruises Pay Below International Standards
by Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch Blog
May 1st, 2012
Carnival Cruise staff on UK ships are paid $1.20 an hour or $400 a month in basic wages, according to the Guardian newspaper. These workers lose their tips, ie roughly 15 percent of wages, unless they get at least a 92 percent favorable rating from customers.

Dark Side of the Tourist Boom: Cruise Ship Controversies Cross Borders
by Kent Paterson, Special to CorpWatch
July 9th, 2008
The Mexican Pacific resort of Zihuatanejo recently cancelled a major new cruise ship terminal, giving a victory to environmental activists and other opponents. However, Mexico remains the world’s Number One cruise ship destination; and with little regulation, allegations of onboard crime, and increasing militarization as regards security while ships are in port, the rapidly expanding industry is facing new challenges.

Bulgarian Ski Complex Threatens Rila National Park
by Katherine Chandler, Special to CorpWatch
January 4th, 2008
A new ski complex is being constructed in the environmentally sensitive Seven Lakes region of the snow-capped Rila mountains of south-western Bulgaria. Yet authorities have not been able to produce any planning permits nor have the investors produced any documentation of who is funding the construction.