Economic Repercussions of Tourism in the Caribbean
The tourism industry is one of the largest contributors to the world
GDP. It employs millions worldwide and provides a livelihood for nations and individuals alike. Focussing on a more specific economy - the economy of the Caribbean - a similar picture emerges. Much of the population has found employment in industries directly related to tourism and many more have done so in industries indirectly related to tourism. Albeit, there lurks a reality that defies this rosy illusion.
The adverse effects of tourism on the economy are many and significant. In the long run, few clear advantages are visible. For countries of the Caribbean, that support their total national revenue
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Since the islands rely so heavily upon the flow of capital from the tourist sector, they can easily be devastated financially if even the slightest natural phenomena occur. Volcanoes and hurricanes - two common and well known natural disasters - are quite frequent in the Caribbean, owing to the physical geography of the regions. Such events can easily deter potential tourists and sent the economy into a downward spiraling recession, amplifying the challenge of recovery.
The increased demand for goods that ensues subsequent to the establishment of tourism as the primary contributor to national income leads to an unprecedented demand for products and services. And as according to the dictates of the laws of supply and demand, as inflation beings to skyrocket, the purchasing power parity of individuals plummets. This imbalance between an extremely high aggregate demand and a relatively inelastic aggregate supply (in part due to the short time frame) places locals in a difficult position.
High costs of living necessitate drastic changes in traditional lifestyles and often lead to poverty; these events in turn result in even greater social and economic chaos.
Unlike the development of high-tech industries by public and private sector contributions, heavy investment in tourism yields few other advantages, especially in digital communications networks. To
illustrate
Ernest Hemingway was no tourist, but his attraction to Cuba was much like that of the rest of America. The beautiful beaches and tropical climate helped him write novels, but he also loved the daiquiris at the Floridita, the fishing, and the adventurous bootleggers from Florida. Cuba has its beautiful beaches and fish-filled waters, but part of the attraction as well has historically been the plentiful rum and the "anything goes" atmosphere. The casinos and nightclubs frequented by tourists bring with them an unsavory element in the form of organized crime and prostitution. Tourism has its benefits, but in Cuba it is a clear reminder of the island's dependence on wealthy foreign nations for its survival, and the
The Bahamian economy relies primarily on tourism and off-shore banking with the former being the primary source of economic contribution.3 The tourism industry is the most prominent economic resource because the nation is comprised of over 700 islands, both large and small. It makes for excellent destination spots because of its ideal location at the tip of Florida, leading out into the Atlantic. It has the strongest economy of all the Caribbean countries while ranking 160 in the world for GDP. There was economic stagnation between 2007 and 2011 but since there has been a steady growth rate of between .5 and 1 percent annually. Growth is expected to continue as more resorts are established and off-shore banking investments increases. According to the Central Bank of the Bahamas, “Offshore banking is a term used to describe banking activity in currencies other than the currency of the country in which the bank accounts are held.”
Choosing vacations destinations can become a stressful process. However, if the goal is to find locations outside of the United States and wan to travel to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America I have a few suggestions for you. Negril, Jamaica and Cancun Mexico are among the best vacations spots I have ever visited. The beaches, the accommodations, and the food is amazing in both countries.
Tourism is a dynamic and competitive industry that requires the ability to adapt constantly to customers' changing needs and desires, as the customer’s satisfaction, safety and enjoyment are particularly the focus of tourism businesses. In her book Rosalie Schwartz defines tourists as “sedentary people who leave home for pleasure and intend to return.” But “leisure creates work, it requires the work from others to ensure tourists find the pleasure they’re looking for.” Schwartz thesis in the book is that tourism in Cuba completely changed the social and economic aspect of the island; the author focuses in three tourist peaks in Cuba starting in 1920s, 1950s, and finally the 1980s.
Generally, much of the Miami metropolitan economy is developed through tourist business with the economy dominated by strong trade and service sector and relatively weak manufacturing sector. In comparison to other regions these economy features still differentiate the local economy even though the tourism sector is not monolith as it was in the past. Through the time the economic structure has undergone substantial changes and changed area from regional service center and domestic tourism to trade, financial, and professional service based economy which has a strong international focus (Blumenthal, Wolman & Hill, 2009).
The Republic of Cabo Verde, also known as Cape Verde, is the Small Island Developing States in which characterized by isolation, prone to natural disasters, repetition of drought, and small business size. According to African Development Bank (2016), weak global economy and domestic vulnerability cause Cape Verde’s economic recovery remains frail. Cape Verde's economy is limited by the difficulties of limited area of island, the lack of mineral resources, and rainfall deficiency; these difficulties vanish the idea of agricultural and natural resources production. As a result, the business tourism, tourism-related foreign investment, and remittance are major contribution to the country’s economy. As tourism has increased since 2013, domestic
The Dominican Republic is the right example in the Caribbean for a relative late tourism development. In comparison with other island destinations, the Dominican Republic was politically affected and became unstable (Freitag, 1994: 538).
Are you thinking of going on a vacation? Perhaps you want to ensure that this coming holiday will give you a totally unique experience. But you are running out of ideas and don't really know where to head.
The Caribbean island is one of the top places as a tourist distention and Agualoo being one of the top amongst the other Caribbean island. With the growing tourist sector happening in Agualoo and the tourist being a huge part of out population, introducing a new sandals all-inclusive resort will create one of the best tourist industry the Caribbean islands have ever seen. This new resort will only increase the benefits it brings to the islands like it’s increase in income, employment, and an increase in the balance of payment benefiting the citizens of Agualoo. The employment will be beneficial because right now Agualoo only 40%of the population is employed but with the new resort employment will increased to
The major industry for the Bahamas is tourism. It adds for more than half of the economy, as I said earlier, and this could be a
This paper explores a great number of academic research journals and databases on the impact that the tourism industry has on the countries in the Caribbean. Tourism impacts the Caribbean in three different sections. Tourism has a social impact that allows for increases in revenue, jobs, and service for the people living there. Tourism’s cultural impact allows the history and heritage of the Caribbean to be acknowledged and practiced not only here but around the world as tourists come and go. Tourism’s environmental impact effects the natural and geographical diversity that can only be found in these countries. Although tourism brings about many advantages in all three categories, there are still negatives attributes that appear from tourism that must be handled properly to maintain a successful industry. This paper examines 12 different research journals that suggest all of the positives and negatives of tourism in the Caribbean and how they can effect not only the tourism industry but the area in which they are practiced.
Another aspect of impact of tourism on a country’s economy is that it facilitates the expansion of the market of goods and services. Foreigners come to a country willing to spend money on different goods and services, thus increasing the amounts of sales. This is a great chance for producers and service providers to receive larger profits. This concerns not only hoteliers, tour operators, and souvenir shops owners. Public transportation, retail stores of different kind, restaurants, and cafes benefit from international tourism. Obviously, if these industries are in demand, businesses will be expanding. On the one hand, it means that more money is paid to the budget. On the other hand, profits generated by the owners are spent inside the country, affecting almost all the fields of the
Pattullo’s report explains how most of the control of the economy and commerce in the Caribbean is in the large corporations that operate there but are located in other foreign countries. Comparing to Farrell’s account, she explains this by showing how the tourism industry is run and operated there. Farrell justifies reference to colonialism in the Caribbean. He describes colonization as a lack of control over that country’s own movement or development (political, economic, or cultural). Even though tourism is the dominant industry in the Caribbean, it’s not operated where it enables the people there to have control over their economic movement or development. It is the larger airlines and hotel chains that dominate the tourism.
As the earth heats due to global warming caused by pollution, the temperatures are rising and creating a shift in the water environment, slowly damaging the earth. As this continues, more birds are getting stuck in six-pack plastic rings, turtles are getting straws stuck up their nose, and more penguins are getting oil stuck in their feathers. The looks of the atrocious scenes shown above have created a worsening economy for the tourism industry, “polluted rivers are marrying the reputation of our nation's capital, when the rivers are dirty it influences tourists in a negative way.” (Corporate Pollution n.pag.). When the United States has trashy beaches, with a dead whale on shore, and a large pipe dumping sewage into the water greeting tourists, it does not exactly create a wonderful experience, and the United States will surely not expect to see that tourist again. This creates a divot in the tourism industry with an estimated loss of close to one billion dollars through the fall of water-based activities (The Effects: Economy n.pag.). The weakening tourism is not the only factor dragging down the economy in the context of water pollution. Property values, commercial fishing, recreational businesses and other sectors that depend on clean water are also being affected. The prices of houses can drop by twenty-five percent if filthy water is surrounding the property (The Effects: Economy n.pag.). Nutrient pollution annually causes the commercial fishing industry tens of
There are a lot of people want to see the unseen and discover the unknown so, some of people use various means such as reading books and others watching document movies but the best mean is travelling for tourism because it give them the chance to increase their knowledge and experience by a visual knowledge. The meaning and the concept of Tourism is vary and different according to the language and the region so, it can be defined in different ways. Also, the present day tourism is not the same as travels of the early periods of human history. Tourism as a modem term is the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal place of work and residence. Such a pleasure-seeking tourist is a traveler moving from place to place or visiting the same place time and again. There are a lot of benefits of tourism for the tourists and for the countries which they visit. First for the tourists, the tourism has educative value such as, trade, commerce, history, languages, culture, geography, and costumes. Second for the countries, the tourism has economic impact such as it increase the international income. Also, it has socio- cultural impact, and environmental impact. For all these reason tourism is very important for the people and societies. The purposes which make people travel from place to another is various and different. Some of the important classifications of tourism are religious tourism, ecotourism, and medical tourism.