Beautiful white sand beaches, comfortable weather, and constant sunshine are but a few reasons which make the Caribbean islands a pristine travel destination. Improvements in technology and travel have made reaching the Caribbean relatively easy and cheap. Barbados to Jamaica, all these island nations have seen an influx of tourists seeking a relaxing vacation. Both negative and positive repercussions have been identified. Research scholars on both sides of the issue have debated whether or not this drastic, and relatively quick rising industry of tourism, is indeed a benefit or a detriment to the host country. With an average of over twelve million visitors a year, the Caribbean is a hot spot for tourism. With the increase in tourists themselves, the number of tourism-based businesses have also had to increase to match their needs. It is an ongoing cycle. This increase is exactly why these issues have been brought to the front of discussions on globalization. Although some researchers have pointed out the visible downsides that affect the island nations of the Caribbean, tourism, according to the governments of those nations, provides greater benefits through boosting their economies and improving their environments.
Many Caribbean nations have based their economies exclusively around tourism. Researchers who object to tourism falsely classify the Caribbean’s dependency as an issue caused by the world’s tourism industry, when that is just not accurate. Relying heavily on this point, some researches overlook that the Caribbean’s dependency is generated by itself. Far too often is the global tourist industry falsely accused of creating the dependency that the Caribbean nations have on tourism. Beginning with the advancement of tec...
... middle of paper ...
... the Dominican Republic." Latin American Perspectives 35(2008): 21-36.
eTurboNews. "Battered by Recession, Caribbean tourism is looking for the way out of the Crisis." eTurboNews. 12 Jul 2009. Global Travel Industry News. 27 Jul 2009 .
Lockhart, D.G., 1997. “Islands and Tourism: An overview.” Island tourism: Trends and Prospects, Pinter, London, 3–20.
Mieczkowski, Zbigniew. “Environmental Issues of Tourism and Recreation.” Lanham, MA: University Press of America, Inc, 1995.
Scheyvens, Regina, Janet Momsen. "Tourism in Small Island States: From Vulnerability to Strengths." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16 (2008): 491-510.
Schmidt, Kira. "Criminal Cruise Ships: Soiling the Seven Seas." Earth Island Journal Vol. 15 Issue 3 (2000) 7. 28 Jul 2009.
Taylor, Frank Fonda. “To Hell with Paradise.” Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press, 1993.
Fluorescent turquoise waters, a vibrant city culture, as well as an unending supply of mimosas and sunburns within a resort, benefits the common wealthy couple looking for a swell time. When people imagine the Caribbean, they probably visualize the soft sands of the Spice Island Beach Resort. Many people see the Caribbean as relaxing paradise. What people don’t understand, are the years of history hidden behind the mask of many resorts. In the book entitled “Empire’s Crossroads: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day”, Author Carrie Gibson differentiates how people view the Caribbean nowadays, by altering their visualization with four-hundred pages of rich history and culture, that argues the ideology about the Caribbean
During a recent visit to Jamaica, I observed a number of resorts that themed their golf courses and pools after the old sugar plantations of the island. As the sun-burnt American and British children splashed among the recreation of the 'old mill', local Jamaicans in floral uniforms served drinks to the adults lounging by the pool. The association between the plantation and the modern resort did not appear to disturb the tourists relaxing in the sun. And why should it? This is a different time. The Jamaicans, of whom 91% are descendents of plantation slaves, live and work freely on the Island. As I walked along the beaches which were quickly eroding due to the coastal development by such resorts, I watched the Jamaican employees sweep the seaweed into small piles and carry them off the beach in order to maintain the postcard view of the ocean that the tourists traveled there to see. It occurred to me that something more was at work there. The way in which indigenous cultures, peoples and their land have been commercialized and commodified for the enjoyment of pleasure seeking tourists must have roots somewhere. I began to wonder in what way the acceptance of past exploration and conquest by Europeans of land and people created a justification for today's exploitation of indigenous cultures and environments through tourism and other such devices as transnational corporations and trade.
Sharpley, R., and Telfer, D. J., 2002. Tourism and Development Concepts and Issues. Bristol: Channel View Publications.
Brida, J. G., & Zapata, S. (2010). Economic impacts of cruise tourism: The case of Costa Rica. Anatolia: An international journal of tourism & hospitality research, 21(2), 322-338.
Throughout the expanse of the whole entire planet, a select few places are able to compete with the sheer natural beauty of the tropical islands that litter the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. From Puerto Rico to Jamaica, this exotic paradise south of the United States, that has been bloodied by battle, has since become a vacation hotspot open to tourists from across the globe. Meanwhile, many American Corporations have been actively depleting many of the natural resources found in these areas which has created a vast dependence in these monopolies’ productivity. The presence these of foreign entities in the Caribbean has resulted in a staggering amount of poverty from the native people’s inability to capitalize on the abundance of resources that surrounds them, which lead to many brilliant authors such as, David Foster Wallace, Joan Didion, and Nathan Jessen, to suggest that the United States has too much influence in the area. Nonetheless, many people fail to realize that the Caribbean Islands have been under the indirect influence of the United States for quite some time. The empire that the United States established in the Nineteenth Century in these surrounding island territories will continue to exist for the duration of their existence.
Unfortunately for the tourism industry of the Caribbean, most of it is controlled by companies located in other countries. With most of the profits going to foreign-owned investments, it leaves the country without control over its very own economy. It is unfair to the Caribbean economy because it leaves the country in the same state it was in during its formal colonization. Even though colonization in the Caribbean is formally over, I believe, in essence it still exists there.
The Muffled Cries of the Caribbean Do we really know the identity of the Caribbean and its inhabitants? The Caribbean like many other nations has a powerful history that has influenced much of what the Caribbean culture and society is today. However, the Caribbean is seen by the world as a tourist nation that is simply for admiring its geographical beauty. The subalternity of the Caribbean, as a tourist location and its position of servility to its former colonizers raises the question of its identity as a tourist locale, neocolonialist territory, or a postcolonial nation. Many Caribbean and Caribbean-America authors have taken the leap to regain and teach the world of their cultural identity.
UNEP, ‘Leakage’ 2013. Negative Economic Impacts of Tourism: Leakage. [online] Available at: http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SectoralActivities/Tourism/FactsandFiguresaboutTourism/ImpactsofTourism/EconomicImpactsofTourism/NegativeEconomicImpactsofTourism/tabid/78784/Default.aspx [Accessed: 10 Nov 2013].
The Hospitality and Tourism sector is characterized as the fastest growing sector in Jamaica. Many tourists from all over the world travel each year because of the country’s beaches, culture, climate and landscape. Despite the contribution of other sectors the Hospitality and Tourism is still the giant industry that contributes largely to Jamaica market share. In this paper, we will call the Hotel that I am employed ‘Hotel A’ for privacy reasons. Hotel A was formed in 1981and has developed to be one of the largest all-inclusive resorts in the country, tackling all factors that impact on its overall success. Some of these factors are political, economic, social, technological environmental and legal factors called the PESTEL framework. “A
Barbados previously dabbled in the mass-tourism industry, but currently primarily offers a more up-market and luxury product. The success of tourism was traditionally measured in percentage annual increase of arrivals, however this type of measurement ignores important variables such as length of stay or visitor expenditure and seasonal variations. This fa...
Nowadays in the rea of globalization, according to the World Tourism Organization, “seven hundred million people travelled abroad in 2003”, and the number is estimated to increase to 1.6 billion by 2020. (International Labour Organization, 2005). Tourism is spreading in unusual places. A lot of people want to be in the midst of adventure. It is a vital source of revenues for the GDP of many countries. I partially agree that tourism hugely benefits the local community. This essay will discuss some of the economic, social and environment effect of tourism on the host community.
For New Zealand tourism has a lot to offer but at the same time, care has to be taken not to mistreat it. The social and cultural impacts of tourism on New Zealand so far have been on the whole beneficial but as tourism continues to grow this could change. Non-economic benefits of tourism are maximized when visitors and hosts share mutual interests and when trade is relatively small. However these factors limit potential tourist markets and income. One solution to this problem could be promotion of New Zealand as a high quality destination at a higher price, i.e. less tourists spending more money.
The reason why tourism looks attractive (and thus turns a blind eye) to these Caribbean countries is because of “its potential to foster GDP growth, to create employment, to increase foreign exchange earnings, and attract capital investment” (Daye, Chambers, and Roberts 2).... ... middle of paper ... ... Fletcher does make it a point to show that tourism is not “necessarily the handmaiden of capitalism expansion, merely that the industry as a whole plays an instrumental role in this respect” (447).
The uncontrolled tourism increase is threatening many natural areas around the world.with the uncontrollable levels of tourism this can put great deal of pressure on an area, andthis could end up leading to negative environmental impacts on the air and the water quality, thevegetation,the soil.the wild life and the possible job opportunities.