Tourism has long been one of the leading sectors in the world economy and its role is particularly invaluable in Nevis and the wider OECS sub-region. It makes a major contribution to GDP, provides employment to many and is an important factor in shaping our island’s image. As the world continues to evolve and new challenges arise, our tourism industry must adapt. We must allow the tentacles of the tourism industry to extend to various sectors, such as arts and culture, so as to strengthen its diversity and durability, particularly during these turbulent economic times. As the Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Hugh Riley, recently stated at a CTO Sustainable Tourism Conference, “The relationship between tourism and cultural heritage must be intimate and infinite, especially in the Caribbean which offers an authenticity and diversity that can be found in no other tourism destination.”
One of the primary benefits of developing a synergy between culture, arts and tourism is that it will help to create a more sustainable tourism product. While the sun, sand and sea component of tourism is certainly lucrative, it is also quite fragile, particularly in light of the geographical location of our OECS territories and thus, our resultant vulnerability to hurricanes. Such hurricanes often destroy our beaches and physical infrastructure. A prime example of this was the destruction done to the Four Seasons Resort, Nevis by hurricane Omar in 2008. This resulted in the resort being closed for two years. As a consequence, there was significant reduction in revenue and employees were laid off for an extended period of time. By incorporating a viable cultural and art component, we can provide another avenue for tourism market...
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...ges. To allow tourists a sneak preview of the cultural explosion that awaits them, dancers and performers, including masquerades and “mocko jumbies” should be invited to entertain the visitors. All of this would be part of a “Nevisian-style welcome”. Tourists visiting for the day should also be afforded a heritage package, inclusive of local dialect lessons so they can gain a better understanding of our local culture. This initiative would also help to generate much needed appreciation for our Creole language.
In many ways, culture and arts can serve as a vehicle through which we can unleash the creative potential of our people and propel our tourism industry forward within the context of OECS integration. Our region’s policy makers must therefore make every effort to diversify our tourism product and transform the OECS into a centre of arts and cultural excellence.
Tourism is a force to be reckoned with, especially in the case of Dry Tortugas National
(2017). The future of Caribbean tourism: competition and climate change implications. Worldwide Hospitality & Tourism Themes, 9 (1), 44-59. Retrieved October 11, 2017 from EBSCOhost Database
Nahas, Charbel. (2002). Stakeholder Analysis and Social Assessment for the Proposed Cultural Heritage and Tourism Development Project. Retrieved March 07, 2011, from: http://www.charbelnahas.org/textes/Amenagement_et_urbanisme/Cultural_Heritage_Report/H-Jbeil_174-196.pdf
Prior to 1979, the economy of the island of Saint Lucia relied heavily on agriculture with the profitable banana industry dominating the market. The success of agriculture began to decline with the establishment of large global trading blocs and new rules set out by the World Trade Organization. The business of banana began to suffer from increased competition from much larger producers and more expensive inputs. However, along-side the boom in agriculture, the island leaders recognized the potential of Saint Lucia`s natural wonders and their ability to captivate and lure visitors. In order to transform into another economic mainstay was challenging as the island developed its infrastructure in preparation. This in turn attracted international investors including hoteliers who sought out unspoilt beaches and coastal hilltops to build the properties that would form the foundation for tourists’ accommodation.
It is a commonly held view that mass tourism and the commodification of attractions are a threat to the ‘uniqueness’, ‘authenticity’, ‘natural state’ (Galla, 1994) or ‘scholarly credibility’ (Goulding, 2000) of ethnicities, heritage and culture (Wang, 1999). Many people fear that these valuable assets are sacrificed for the sake of entertainment, popularity, and profit (Goulding, 2000; Lancaster County Heritage, 2002) and hence agree that the ’original’ and ‘indigenous’ has to be protected from these ‘evils of late-capitalism’ (Taylor,
Those in favor argue that making tourism a top priority is not equivalent to increasing tourism. In this discourse it is referring to more sustainable tourism. Through careful management of tourism UNESCO and World Heritage sites aim to find ways to preserve the environment, Heritage site, while ameliorating the social status of the state and the local citizenry. As previously mentioned there are sites in danger and tourism is not without its flaws. There are numerous models that depict how tourism is effective and ways that they aren’t. The Galapagos Islands are a stark example of how a large increase in tourism can have a cascading effect. As a result of this steady increase in the number of tourism development of infrastructure has also risen2. Due to the high volume of tourist the archipelago was placed on the World Heritage danger list ....
This chapter deals with the literature on the socio-economic impacts of heritage tourism in order to give the reader a clear picture of the problem. According to Weaver and Lawton (2002), the main purposed of tourism management at a destination is to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits while trying to minimising the associated costs. Regarding the impacts of tourism, most literature will describes economic and social impacts in both positive and negative (Lickorish & Jenkins, 1997; Narayan, 2004; Page, 2007; Timothy & Boyd, 2003; Tsartas, 1992).
According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), three dimensions are necessary to guarantee the long-term sustainability of tourism. It should make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintain essential ecological processes and help conserve natural heritage and biodiversity, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance; and ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty
According to the ‘World Tourism Organization’ (UNWTO), the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, as it is estimated that by the year 2020, 7.8 billion people (roughly a quarter of the world’s population) will embark on a foreign trip (Bennett & Gebhardt 15). The Caribbean is said to be the most economically dependent on this industry, as the ‘Caribbean Tourism Organisation’ states that the industry forms the “economic backbone of most countries in the Region”(“Caribbean Tourism Industry” 1), implications for what tourism’s affect on the region have arisen and have prompted further research into matter. Since the 1970’s research regarding tourism in the Caribbean has attempted to determine the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of tourism. Much of the research has found that there are in fact many negative adverse affects, and Jackson’s article asserts that, “Governments often commit money and other resources to support the growth and development of tourism and often turn a blind eye to its negative impacts” (574). The reason why tourism looks attractive (and thus turn 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). This paper will overview such impacts by first discussing a case study conducted in Jamaican resort town, Ocho Rios, with Sheere Brooks discussing the observed social, cultural and economical consequences of Jamaica’s reliance on the tourism industry and will finally look at tourism in relation to capitalism, with Robert Fletcher suggesting in his article that the tourism industry (and more specifically...
Pattullo report gives a first-hand account as to who controls each segment of the tourism industry; the tour operations, the large hotel chains, and the airline companies. The Caribbean’s economy depends on an industry that is mostly foreign-owned and controlled and the people who live there do not have an opportunity of owning or investing in it. In Pattullo’s report, it reveals that the large travel industry corporations are the ones who have most of the control. But those corporations are not located there. Her report exposes that the true benefiters of tourism in the Caribbean are foreign-owned investors and corporations.
Tourism impacts can be generally classified into seven categories with each having both positive and negative impacts. These impacts include; economic, environmental, social and cultural, crowding and congestion, taxes, and community attitude. It is essential for a balance on array of impacts that may either positively or negatively affect the resident communities. Different groups are concerned about different tourism impacts that affect them in one way or another. Tourism’s benefits can be increased by use of specific plans and actions. These can also lead to decrease in the gravity of negative impacts. Communities will not experience every impact but instead this will depend on particular natural resources, development, or spatial patterns (Glen 1999).
The terms “cultural tourism” is widely used, but also misunderstood. In addition, the definition of cultural tourism remains vague (Aluza, O’Leary, and Morrison, 1998). Academics, practitioners, and policy-makers have been quick to identify cultural tourism as a significant and growing market, but have been hesitant or unable to describe and define the market.
Ecotourism was the product of the union of mass tourism and environmental awareness. The term first originated in 1983, allegedly coined by Hector Ceballos-Lascurain, when he was lobbying for the preservation of wetlands in northern Yucatán. Now a major source of income for the long-term conservation and care of over 33,000 protected areas worldwide, ecotourism is based on the combination of environmental preservation, local communities, and sustainable travel. The industry, unlike conventional tourism, does not focus on attracting tourists to locations, such as the Galapagos Islands and Madagascar. Instead, ecotourism ensures travel responsibility, the protection of wildlife and contribution to the well being of local communities. However, it only works when it generates economic benefits to the local people, while reducing the human impact of travel. Thus, ecotourism thrives on the active and educated participation of the travel industry and the tourists. Thanks to the involvement of everyone from the traveller himself to the tour ...
International Cultural Tourism Charter: Managing Tourism at Places of Heritage Significance, ICOMOS, viewed 3 May 2014, http://www.icomos.org/tourism/charter.html
Tourism is one of the top five industries in the UK and heritage and culture are the basis of tourism in the UK as per above explanations. However, development of heritage tourism and cultural tourism would be a beneficial step to improve the growth and the development in the tourism sector. In the tourism sector, heritage tourism is evolving and becoming a crucial component in international tourism. According to Timothy (2011), heritage tourism is expected to provide the knowledge and experience of the tangible and intangible heritage to the tourists. It brings the economic development of a community. Heritage is a pride for communities as well as there