Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
visitations - may continue to grow unchecked, and impact progressively more
severely on finite and fragile natural assets.
5
The trajectory from ecologic towards economic development is often a victim of
the sheer momentum of democratic politics. Once local residents start buying into
the tourism industry, they develop an interest in increasing tourism numbers, hoping
to tap into the accruing wealth by landing an additional job or contract, or else offer-
ing that one additional bed, meal, tour, or souvenir: a dynamic well explained in the
'development phase' by Butler (
1980
) in his Tourism Area Life Cycle model, or by
the 'Tragedy of the Commons' as outlined by Hardin (
1968
). But more tourists does
not necessarily translate into higher local value added, especially when a locale's
exclusive charm is eroded and the local environment becomes irreparably degraded
with the impact of tourist invasions - diminishing returns are a real threat, especially
on the smallest islands. Politicians in democracies may be loathe, or find it difficult,
to adopt unpopular measures that may, or are seen to, thwart the 'trickle down'
benefits - such as rents and employment - that may accrue from this industry.
Still, in spite of these real political challenges, there are a few examples which
suggest a fairly successful brake on the normal expansion of tourism and its creeping
penetration on a smaller island's infrastructure, economy and society. To illustrate, three
'warm water' island cases are presented below
6
: they manifest, to different degrees, how
they have been able to buck the trend to a mass tourism market, with its setbacks.
The Seychelles
is one such example. This has been one of the most stable, fastest
growing economies in Africa over the medium term, having made a successful
transition to democracy in the last decade. The arrival of 130,000 tourists generated
some €118 million (US$112 million) in 2000, corresponding to 20% of GDP and
60% of foreign exchange earnings (Shah
2002
). A similar number of visitors was
reported for 2005, but generating a more substantive €222 million (US$246 mil-
lion) (Gössling et al.
2008
). McElroy (
2006
) assigns it a penetration index of 0.107.
Tourism is thus a key pillar of the economy for this 112-island archipelago with a
population of around 90,000. The Seychelles has adopted a strong-arm approach to
the industry. It has limited the size of hotels (beyond tourism 'villages') to a maxi-
mum of 200 rooms; it maintains a selective marketing approach where pricing acts
as a filter for the type of tourism that the country desires. It has exploited its archi-
pelagic nature, leading to its tourist destinations most distant from the capital and
the country's sole international airport - like Bird Island and Cousin Island - to
have higher occupancy rates, even though they are costlier and both more difficult
and expensive to get to. Prices per bed night per person reached €40 in 2001, even
in the simplest guesthouses (e.g. Rosalie
2002
); more recently, €60 is cited as the
minimum for a double room (Gössling
2009
). There are currently plans to attract
a maximum of 250,000 tourists a year.
7
5
Although, in sharp contrast to each other, Greenland's population is basically stable; while that
of Madagascar is growing at over 3% per annum, and will thus double in around 22 years.
6
Material in the forthcoming section has been gleaned mainly from Baldacchino (
2006c
).
7
Stefan Gössling, private e-mail communication, July 2008.
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