Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 23.3
Green viruses in the Caribbean
gardens on Nevis; cleaning the sea off Grenada; the
creation of a marine park at Montego Bay, Jamaica;
demonstrate that links between tourism and the
environment can be positive. Conservation and tourism can
not only be interdependent—the economic benefits of
tourism create a strong motive for the existence of protected
areas—but can also provide recreation provision for local
people. The latter is one of the aims of the refurbishment of
the Salt Pond near Speightstown in Barbados (Stancliffe
1997). Some new construction projects also begin to
address environmental issues. The marina development at
Port St Charles in Barbados may have transformed the
coastline, thereby altering the natural environment, but
there have also been attempts here to incorporate a range
of measures that should safeguard the area in the future.
These include the construction of an efficient sewerage and
effluent system to avoid seawater contamination and
measures to protect nesting turtles (Miller and Miller 1997).
Such efforts are being acknowledged and encouraged.
Thirteen hotels have been identified across the Caribbean,
from Antigua to Jamaica, by the International Hotels
Environment Initiative and the Caribbean Hotel Association
as having good environmental practice. This includes such
elements as staff training; monitoring energy consumption;
waste management; control of hazardous chemicals; links
with local communities; keeping buildings in local styles; and
purchasing policies (Elliott1997).
Local businesses and syndicates own many tourism
enterprises, even within the smaller Caribbean Islands.
Typical are the local ownership and management of small
budget hotels, like the Yellow Bird, which lie along the south
coast of Barbados; the dominance of local ownership (70
per cent) in Dominica; hotels on St Lucia, which range from
those offered by multinational tour operators, such as the
Green Parrot, to the independently marketed Anse la Raye;
and Morne Fendue Guesthouse on Grenada, which is
praised in widely available guidebooks (Henderson 1994).
Local ownership and management extend beyond the
accommodation sector into transport and local tour
provision on islands like Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and
Jamaica. Associated with these positive moves is the
increased employment of local people, especially in skilled
and managerial positions, on all the islands as education,
training and experience have
The degree of penetration of local food into the
tourism sector, through the increased use of both
ingredients and menus, is a further reflection of the rising
level and nature of local participation. A decline in
imported food has occurred on islands like Barbados
(Momsen 1994), where local agriculture has begun to
provide a greater proportion of produce in hotels and
restaurants. Most of the chicken and pork is reared
locally, as are increasing amounts of vegetables and
flowers for tourist establishments.
The conservation and restoration of attractions for
visitors, such as Old San Juan in Puerto Rico; Brimstone
Hill on St Kitts; the upgrading of neglected botanical
Sources:
Elliott 1997; Henderson 1994; Miller and Miller
1997; Momsen 1994; Weaver 1991.
this, which are incremental in nature, increase the
benefits of tourism in host areas. Many of the
initiatives are private-sector-driven, although they
are often carried out with the approval and/or
support of government.
Governments can also act directly, via
mandatory planning and policy measures, to
achieve greater levels of sustainability for one or
more of the interest groups involved in tourism.
Bermuda and Bhutan, for example, have both
restricted visitor numbers in order to sustain the
industry in the long term and control its nature so
as to reap maximum profits while minimising
further adverse impacts on local people. Kenya and
the USA have imposed visitor quotas to some
national parks in order to try to protect the
environment, thereby providing a more enjoyable
experience for visitors.
As an example, the tourist industry in New
Zealand clearly illustrates that, although there are
still problems, such as the size of the market,
remoteness from main markets, a poor awareness of
existing plans by local people, and noise in remote
areas, efforts to date do move towards achieving a
greater level of sustainability in an industry vital to
the economy. Built around the environment, the
range of approaches used attempts to introduce
good practice (see Table 23.4). In particular, as
elsewhere in the world, planning at national,
regional and local levels exists, or is encouraged,
alongside experiments with visitor management
techniques (Human 1997).
Is ecotourism sustainable?
Academics often assume (Mowforth 1993) that
alternative
types
of tourism, like ecotourism, have
many sustainable characteristics. It is described as
small-scale, carefully planned, locally owned and
managed, closely integrated with other sectors of
