6 Reasons Why We Should Rethink Tourism in the Caribbean
LinkedIn Local Caribbean
Showcasing Caribbean people beyond Sun, Sea and Oil.
Tourism has always been one of the most important industries in the Caribbean. We always boast of sun, sea, sand, culture, music and food, but Bali offers the same thing. What's the Caribbean's Unique Value Proposition? What do we have that will encourage someone to book their flight and spend their money in our region? Recent events have revealed that the way we do tourism can be problematic in the Caribbean. Here are six reasons why we should rethink tourism in the region:?
?
Do not let the cruise ship season fool you, the business of tourism is already going through disruptive times and will continue to do so. Tourism as a primary engine for growth and development has failed Caribbean societies, both on a local level and regionally. COVID-19 has revealed that the economic benefits of tourism are concentrated among a few members of society, while its negative impacts are borne by marginalized groups who have little control over their own environment or destiny.?
?
The tourism industry is already going through disruptive times, and its future looks bleak. It has lost its place as a primary engine for growth and development in most Caribbean nations, and its contribution to GDP has declined in recent years. In 2020, there were just over 11 million visitors to the region, down 65.5% from the record 32.0 million visitors in 2019, according to data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) member countries.?
Sadly, tourism is not enough to lift many of these countries - that rely on tourism as their sole source of revenue - out of their economic woes.?
?
Tourism is not a sustainable economic driver. The tourism industry has been one of the main engines of growth and development in many Caribbean countries, but it’s not without its problems such as the deepening inequality illustrated by the widened gap between those living near popular beaches and those living far away from them.?
Tourism does not address climate change or COVID-19. It cannot be considered an effective solution for addressing climate change or COVID-19 because it encourages spending money on leisure travel instead of investing in systems that will help protect communities from extreme weather events like hurricanes and droughts — which are expected to increase with climate change — or preparing for infectious diseases like COVID-19 (which can be spread through contaminated water).?
?
This is a problem for a few reasons. The first is that the tourism industry has created only a small number of jobs, which aren't enough to sustain the local economy. In fact, many of these jobs are low-paying and do not offer benefits like health insurance or retirement funds. This means that most people in the region would be better off if there were no tourism at all—at least economically speaking.?
The second issue is that tourism doesn't have any significant benefit for society as a whole: it's not sustainable; it doesn't include everyone in its economic benefits (see below); and it often results in environmental degradation (see below).?
?
领英推荐
The tourism model is exploitative and environmentally damaging. Tourism is a form of neo-colonialism that relies on the exploitation of natural resources to benefit foreign companies and governments while contributing to environmental degradation in the Caribbean.?
Tourism is an extractive industry; it extracts from a place that makes it attractive for tourists: beaches, sunsets, beautiful people, and waterfalls. It then extracts profits from those things by selling them back to visitors for their enjoyment.
It's not just that the tourism model has been destructive (though it has been). It's also that we're past due for a change in how we think about our relationship with nature!?
?
It’s easy to see why a focus on tourism has been so attractive. Tourism brings money into the economy, which can be used to pay salaries and cover health care costs. It offers hope of creating jobs for locals who might otherwise struggle to find employment in their home countries.??
And while there are many environmental problems involved with large-scale tourism development—including erosion, pollution, water scarcity and other forms of environmental degradation—tourism can also be seen as a way to protect natural resources by bringing revenue into fragile ecosystems that would otherwise be abandoned or left underutilized due to lack of investment capital or practical use (i.e., resorts).
But when you look at the current reality of Caribbean tourism, it becomes clear that this isn't working out quite as planned. And honourable mention to the Metaverse which ultimately proves as a threat to the tourism industry globally as virtual travel will be a new reality, therefore travellers may no longer need to leave their homes to actually experience Caribbean - and other - cultures.?
The bottom line: We need to rethink our approach to tourism if we are going to have an effective economic recovery.?
When asked if you were the head of CARICOM, what would be the first thing on your to-do list to foster economic growth within the region, on the Live from the Caribbean Podcast, Andrew McBarnett shared his thoughts on why the Caribbean region should reconsider its approach to tourism.?Listen to his answer here.
Click here to listen to the full episode entitled Ice cream Tradition from Trinidad that Never Melted.
There’s no doubt that tourism has been a major source of revenue for the Caribbean for decades, but it’s also clear that we need to rethink how we approach this business. If we want to have an effective economic recovery and build sustainable communities, there are some things we should consider doing differently in the future.??
If you were the head of CARICOM, what would be the first thing on your to-do list to foster economic growth within the region??Share your answer in the comments.