Iconic palm trees and blue waters of the Caribbean are susceptible to damage from over-tourism.
As the saying goes, "Tourism, like fire, can cook your food or burn down your house." Despite its economic benefits, the tourism industry in the Caribbean also produces negative social and environmental outcomes. If the detrimental effects of tourism go unmanaged, then the tourism industries of Caribbean islands risk self-destruction. Sustainable tourism development seeks ways to balance the pros and cons of tourism activities to minimize the negative consequences while maximizing the positive impacts.
Economics
The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) estimates the 2006 tourism and travel industry was worth $6.5 trillion worldwide. Tourism has become the world's largest industry, surpassing both international oil and arms sales. Considered the "economic engine" of the Caribbean, tourism creates jobs and attracts investment to the islands. Many Caribbean nations compete for tourism revenue by fervently marketing themselves as destinations for island paradise holidays, weddings and cruise ship vacations.
Development
Development of tourist accommodations in coastal areas often alters the shoreline and causes environmental problems such as pollution of waterways. Rapid development typically requires the importation of a foreign workforce, which increases the population of the island in a short span of time. Hotels and resorts further increase the island's population when booked with tourists. Water shortages have become one of the most obvious realizations of population strain in the Caribbean.
Sustainable solutions to rapid development include implementing building codes to limit the pace development, enforcing environmental safeguards, using green building techniques, and applying energy conservation measures. Training a local workforce further helps mitigate population strain.
Cruise Ships
Cruise ships in the Caribbean produce an estimated 70,000 tons of waste each year.
Cruise ship vacations account for a large portion of the Caribbean's tourism industry, drawing in revenue and creating jobs. However, cruise ships leave behind an obvious environmental mark. According to TIES, cruise ships in the Caribbean produce an estimated 70,000 tons of waste each year. Furthermore, cruise ship day visitors spend less money in the local communities than visitors who overnight on the island. In the Dominican Republic, tourists who stayed on the island spent 18 times more money in the community than cruise ship visitors did, according to TIES.
Some Caribbean islands, such as Anguilla, have shunned cruise ship traffic, thereby minimizing the impact of thousands of cruise ship visitors.
Social Considerations
Tourism development causes friction between local inhabitants and foreign investors. Development has driven up land prices and displaced the poorer local communities throughout the Caribbean. When foreigners manage tourist developments, a vast portion of the profits diverts from the local communities to investor profits. The local inhabitants must often take the lowest paying jobs while foreign investors reap the economic benefits.
Sustainable tourism practices favor management of the tourism industry by locals. Understanding the importance of their natural resources, local communities prove more mindful of the environment than traditional foreign investors do. Local inhabitants make and sell artisanal items such as jewelry and other souvenirs, act as tour guides and offer guesthouse accommodations and food for tourists. Each activity draws revenue directly into the economies of the local communities, helping to improve living standards in the Caribbean.
Sustainability
Education and investment play key roles in the development of sustainable tourism practices in the Caribbean. Sustainable tourism development activities seek to educate local communities on running their own small businesses and teach them about conserving their natural resources. The locals in turn welcome tourists into their communities and teach the visitors about traditional culture and customs. Tourists also learn how and why to respect the natural resources of the area. The development of a sustainable tourism industry requires reinvestment of tourism profits into environment conservation and educational activities.
Tags: local communities, tourism industry, cruise ship, cruise ship visitors, foreign investors, natural resources