Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(
for individual case studies
,
see
: Baldacchino
2006d
).
8
Such skewed influence
creates a situation where there is hardly a plurality of interest groups clamouring
to benefit, and benefit fast, from the tourism bandwagon. The oligopolies in
power are champions of tradition; they effuse caution and harbour a suspicion of
change. They are fully aware of the environmental and economic risks of mass
tourism and are immune to populist pressures that may oblige them to consider
such investments in that industry. And so, there is limited discussion (at best) on
whether to take the tourism industry forward. Most of those in power have no
stake in tourism - which is not a key industry anyway - and so are more likely to
view its intrusion with some grave, even legitimate, concerns. This is well cap-
tured in the following statement, uttered by none other than Archimandrite Josef,
the head of the Monastery on the Solovetsky Islands, Russia. It leaves no room
for discussion:
[O]vergrowth of tourism flows and preservation of divine spirit of the island are incompat-
ible. Nobody even thinks of converting Solovetsky into a trendy resort where the White Sea
shore is full of restaurants and … the sky above the Monastery's towers is crossed by para-
gliders (International symposium,
Solovetsky: Future Insights
, 2003; quoted in
Nevmerzhitskaya
2006
: 162).
There is thus an uncanny similarity to the situation in the Seychelles, which devel-
oped the foundations of its tourism strategies in a top-down fashion, and during a
period of one-party rule. Meanwhile, both the Seychelles and St Barths have trans-
formed what might at first glance appear to be a brace of awesome physical
obstacles (remoteness and archipelagicity on one hand; a short airport runway on
the other) into tools which help to filter and control access, increasing the distinc-
tiveness of - and maintaining a relatively high price for - the tourism experience.
A third variant, and extreme rendition of this 'governance for exclusivity', is that
found on
totally private islands
- again, one island condition that cannot be found
on continents. Private islands exist all round the world, and many can be bought -
with potential for commercial development or private recreational use.
9
While even
private islands operate within the purview of sovereign states, their status as the
objects of lease or purchase allows the buyer considerable discretion (which varies
from state to state) as to how to manage the island - but commonly with the intent
to
restrict access
to a select few, typically some of the owners' relatives, the rich
and the famous. They operate as gated communities where geography does much
of the gating. Ironically, it is the cash and value added created in the
economically
successful 'hot spots' of the world that is often behind the financing needed to
purchase, craft and conserve
ecological
island enclaves. This is another way of
tapping 'the hinterland beyond' (Baldacchino
2006b
). And so, the two sides of
the 'eco principle' connect in a rather perverse but symbiotic relationship.
8
Antarctica has its own, unique, multi-lateral governance regime, which transcends national
territorial sovereignty, and is primarily driven by scientific interests.
9
For a web-site dealing in private islands, visit:
http://www.privateislandsonline.com/
.
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