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For many, the Caribbean is synonymous with tourism. Warm beaches and warm smiles have gained remarkable importance since the 1960s in the post-independence and post-agricultural era of the region. But what is tourism? Tourism is just one form of activity undertaken during a period of leisure. Leisure is defined as “free time” or “time at one’s disposal” and therefore can be taken to embrace any activity apart from work and obligatory duties. Leisure can entail active engagement in play or recreation or even more passive pastimes such as watching television or even sleeping. Sports activities, games, hobbies, pastimes, and tourism are all forms of recreation and discretionary uses of our leisure time. Tourism, as one element of leisure, involves the movement of a person or persons away from their normal place of residence: a process that usually incurs some expenditure, although this is not necessarily the case. Someone cycling or hiking in the countryside on a camping weekend in which they carry their own food may make no economic contribution to the area in which they travel, but, nonetheless, be counted as a tourist. Many other examples could be cited in which expenditure by the tourist is minimal. We can say, then, that tourism is one aspect of leisure that usually, but not invariably, incurs some expenditure of income and that, further, money spent has been earned within the area of normal residency, rather than at the destination.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) describes tourism as activities of a person travelling to a place outside his or her usual environment for less than a specified period of time and whose main purpose of travel is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited (UNWTO ). For the purpose of this text, international tourism will be the focus (travel to a foreign country), though domestic tourism (activities of a resident visitor within the country of residence) is of growing import as countries such as Jamaica channel marketing funds into promoting “staycations” among locals. Traditional holiday and vacation travel has also been buttressed by increased attention to business tourism. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO), for instance, notes that business travellers account for 15% of global overnight visitors and there are signs that other forms of tourism including medical, sport, gastronomic, religious, and other burgeoning models are picking up speed in the region.

Features of tourism vary between and among destinations; however, main elements of the tourism product include accommodation, transportation, attractions and tours, dining, and entertainment and support services. The supply chain comprises the suppliers of all the goods and services that go into the delivery of tourism products to consumers. It includes all suppliers of goods and services whether or not they are directly contracted by tour operators or by their agents (including ground handlers) or suppliers (including accommodation providers). Tourism supply chains involve many components—not just accommodation, transport, and excursions, but also bars and restaurants, handicrafts, food production, waste disposal, and the infrastructure that supports tourism in destinations. Traditional accommodations include hotels, villas, apartments, guest houses. These intimate small-scale properties provide visitors with greater opportunities to “create their own vacation”. In more recent times with the advent of Airbnb,Footnote 1 private homes afford accommodation to millions of visitors worldwide.

Tourism cannot survive without the ability to travel. The entire industry is hinged on the free movement of persons from one place to another. It is largely due to the improvement of transportation that tourism has expanded. The advent of flight has shrunk the world, and the motor vehicle has made travel to anywhere possible. Linkage by air, sea, and land modes is essential for tour operations as well as the availability of support services such as fuel stations, auto repair, motels, and rest facilities for land travel. Importantly, the transportation system of a tourist destination has a distinct impact on the tourism experience which must be carefully managed.

Leisure tourists travel specifically for the purpose of relaxation and enjoying attractions. Considered tourist attractions, these spaces are places of interest where tourists visit, typically for inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Common attractions include beaches, coral reefs, hiking and camping in national parks, mountains, deserts, and forests. Cultural tourist attractions are also popular and include music festivals, historical places, monuments, ancient temples, zoos, aquaria, museums and art galleries, botanical gardens, the built environment, theme parks and carnivals, living history museums, ethnic enclave communities, and cultural events. Gastronomy festivals and culinary and restaurant tours are also growing in importance for travellers who travel to experience the food and the culture of destinations.

Tourism, like all other supply chains, operates through business-to-business relationships, and supply chain management can be applied to deliver sustainability performance improvements alongside financial performance, by working to improve the business operations of each supplier in the supply chain. The main differences between tourism supply chains and those of other sectors are that tourists travel to the product, and the product that they buy has a particularly high service component. Tourism demand on the other hand is a broad term that covers the factors governing the level of demand, the spatial characteristics of demand, different types of demand, and the motives for making such demands. Cooper defines demand as “a schedule of the amount of any product or service that people are willing and able to buy at each specific price in a set of possible prices during some specified period of time”. Tourists create tourism demands. Buhalis (2004) identifies three main types of demand, namely, actual, suppressed, and latent demand. Actual demand, also referred to as effective demand, comes from tourists who are involved in the actual process of tourism. The second type of demand is the so-called suppressed demand created by two categories of people who are generally unable to travel due to circumstances beyond their control. The first group would include those sections of the population who would like to be involved in the tourism process but for some reason or another cannot. Since they may participate at a later date, their situation is referred to as representing potential demand. Deferred demand describes the second subcategory of suppressed demand in that travel is postponed due to problems in the supply environment. Potential and deferred demands are difficult to measure and it is for that reason that they are rarely taken into account. The third type is latent demand. It relates to the spatial and temporal expression of demand at a specific site, for example, demand for either tourist accommodation or a tourist service at a specific destination.

Globally, tourism remains among the leading income earners. In 2015, international tourist movement and arrivals totalled 1.869 million with earnings of US$1260 billion. Moreover, international tourism accounts for close to 30% of the world’s export of services (Cleare 2016). Among the countries that lead in tourism spending are Germany, the United States, and China (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1 Top spenders in international tourism
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However, according to Craigwell (2007: 2), the tourist industry in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) has grown significantly over a 16 year period. In 2004, total tourist arrivals to SIDS (both air and sea) was estimated at just over 27 million persons compared to approximately 11 million persons in 1988. Increased tourist arrivals to SIDS have led to a boom in earnings from the industry (Table 1.2).

Table 1.2 Tourist arrivals to SIDS —earnings from industry (2013)
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It is an open secret that contemporary trends in the global economic system dictate that SIDS must strengthen their market positions to guarantee survival, buoyancy, and international competitiveness. In a world where SIDS must compete on a conveniently unlevelled playing ground against larger and more resilient superpowers, and where traditional manufacturing and agricultural sectors are largely relics of a past age, the services industries, particularly tourism, are proving to be the main avenues towards sustaining long-term economic and social growth and stability.

The production of sugar and a host of other economic activities undertaken by free and enslaved people formed the economic backbone of the English-speaking Caribbean from the seventeenth century onwards. In the Caribbean during and after slavery, inns, taverns, and guest houses catered to varying needs of transient soldiers, other foreigners, and members of the local middle and elite class on their intra-island travels. They were operated mainly by coloured and black women, were important to local economies, and are considered as beginnings of the region’s service sector (see Kerr 2011). Tourism was therefore pursued by Caribbean states as early as the 1800s, through the utilization of the region’s natural year-long summers and largely unmolested bodies of water, flora, fauna, hills, and numerous other natural wonders with which the region is blessed (see Taylor 2003). As Bean and Spencer (2015) highlight, so important was tourism by the 1900s that it was even aggressively pushed during the World Wars (1914–1918 and 1939–1945), contrary to the belief that these periods saw a hiatus in travelling souls. However, it was from the 1950s onwards that there were more robust and consistent efforts to cement the industry as a major pillar of Caribbean economies. This period saw the advent of tourist regulatory agencies, formalization of the mandates of tourist boards and increased spending on airports and sea ports, improvements in transportation, and investment in state-of-the-art hotels for the modern guest. The downfall of preferential trading in traditional products and severing of ties with “mother countries” in the post-colonial age has also forced Caribbean SIDS to rely on tourism as the primary mechanism through which economic buoyancy, social development, and employment for the masses can be assured.

Today, the world’s SIDS are among the most tourist dependent in the world. With a total of 16 independent countries, the Caribbean boasts a majority of the world’s SIDS groupings (compared to the Pacific Region with 13 and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, and South China Sea [AIMS] with 8) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sids/list. Most of these 16 countries have recognized that tourism holds the key to the engine of growth, representing a significant source of foreign exchange earnings and employment both directly in tourism and indirectly in the sectors which support the industry such as agriculture, craft development, entertainment, and transportation sectors to name a few. In terms of the percentage of total employment that is related directly or indirectly to the industry, the Caribbean boasts many countries with high direct and indirect dependence on the tourist dollar. Antigua is among the most dependent nations in the world with over 90% of all employment related to the tourism industry World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Barbados receives more than two-thirds of its foreign exchange earnings from tourism. In the Bahamas, tourism and tourism-related industries account for over 70% of national income and provide employment for at least 60% of the population (Clayton 2009). The total contribution to Caribbean GDP (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain, and induced income impacts) from tourism was US$56.4 billion in 2016 (14.9% of GDP), while direct contribution to GDP in 2016 was US$17.9 billion (4.7% of GDP) (World Travel & Tourism Council 2017: 3). The region has also been experiencing steady growth of stopover visitors and has welcomed 16.6 million visitors for the first six months of 2017, 800,000 more than for the similar period in 2016, constituting a growth rate of 5.22%. Importantly, tourism in the region grew at an unprecedented rate of 4.2% in 2016, outpacing the global average of 3.9%. Despite challenges, trends such as these have given industry leaders much hope that the tourism product will remain buoyant income generators for Caribbean SIDS . As Jamaican Tourism Minister Hon Edmund Bartlett has expressed,

“We remain firmly committed and convinced that our tourism industry is on the right track and that we will achieve our growth target of ‘five in five’ or five per cent annual growth rate in five years,” he said. The Minister noted that the tourism sector in the region has traditionally been very resilient and remains one of the most valuable contributors to job creation, poverty alleviation, investments, export revenues, gross domestic product (GDP) and to the economic livelihoods of millions of citizens.

Indeed, since the 1980s, the tourism industry has grown exponentially in the majority of SIDS . According to Craigwell, between the period 1986 and 2004, stopover tourist arrivals in SIDS rose by 10% per annum and visitor expenditure by approximately 11%, with concomitant increases in both direct and indirect contributions to total real output.Footnote 2 Indeed, Caribbean countries are most concerned with tracking and increasing the number of stopover visitors. While not underestimating the impact that millions of cruise visitors have on local economies through spending at ports, markets, and attractions, stopover visitors who spend at least one night have a much greater impact on revenue gained by the location visited.

The benefits of tourism to the region cannot be overstated. Tourism is labour intensive and so far the journey towards automation has been slow in the Caribbean. Globally it is among the greatest creators of jobs with vertical and horizontal linkages with numerous industries in local economies. Indeed, the total contribution to employment (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain, and induced income impacts) was 2,319,500 jobs in 2016 (representing 13.4% of total employment) (WTTC 2017: 4).

Tourism does not only exist as a stand-alone industry. Indeed, the beauty of tourism is that it often maintains, sustains, and even propels other critical sectors such as agriculture, land, and labour. Tourism not only creates jobs in the tertiary sector, it also encourages growth in the primary and secondary sectors of industry. This is known as the multiplier effect and speaks to how many times money spent by a tourist circulates through a country’s economy. Money spent in a hotel helps to create jobs directly in the hotel, but it also creates jobs indirectly elsewhere in the economy. The hotel, for example, has to buy food from local farmers, who will spend some of this money to sustain their business but who will also use the proceeds to sustain families and communities. The demand for local products increases as tourists often buy souvenirs, which increases secondary employment in the craft and creative industries. The multiplier effect continues until the money eventually leaks from the economy through imports and expatriate labour often found in the Caribbean travel and tourism sector. Tourists therefore contribute to sales, profits, jobs, tax revenues, and income. The most direct effects occur within the primary tourism sectors—lodging, restaurants, transportation, amusements, and retail trade. It is for this reason that many Caribbean countries are seeking to develop tourism and maximizing its impact through the strengthening of linkages with other sectors of the economy. This usually requires investment in building productive capacity of agricultural, manufacturing, and service sectors so that they may more efficiently meet the sophisticated demand of the tourism sector. In Jamaica, for instance, the government of Jamaica has embarked on a major initiative to strengthen linkages. This initiative—organized under the “Linkage Hub” project—includes facilitation of consultations and meetings with representatives of the tourism industry, including hoteliers and suppliers from the farming, agribusiness, and manufacturing sectors, and the development of strategies to improve market information and distribution systems. International hotel chains located in the island are also encouraged to use local products. Many large and small enterprises in the accommodation sector are involved in arrangements in which local farmers and community providers supply inputs for food and beverage, entertainment, furnishings, and general hotel operations. The primary objective of the Tourism Linkages Network is to increase the consumption of goods and services that can be competitively sourced locally. According to the Ministry of Tourism the Network also aims to:

  • support, facilitate, and monitor the development of efficient marketing and distribution systems for local products and services required by tourism entities

  • increase market awareness and intelligence of the targeted sectors through research and analysis

  • facilitate and monitor the development of more effective and efficient information and communication systems to support relationship building and trade between local suppliers of goods and services, and tourism entities

  • harness and harmonize existing mechanisms and initiatives being undertaken by business associations, ministries, and agencies in an effort to improve the business environment for buyers and suppliers

  • contribute and provide support to the development of viable economic and fiscal policies across industries and sectors to strengthen and facilitate linkages

  • create opportunities for deeper facilitation of linkages between the entertainment and tourism sectors

  • facilitate opportunities for better networking, information sharing, and communication across sectors

Similarly, Barbados has embarked on an Agro-Tourism Linkages Programme to integrate micro and small enterprises into the supply chains of key anchor companies (hotels and restaurants) in the tourism industry. Notwithstanding these positive trends however, the tourism potential of Caribbean SIDS is yet to be fully realized. Small Island Developing States in particular vary greatly in their economic and social performance and their level of international visitor arrivals, but many demonstrate a high level of dependence on tourism in terms of exports and contribution to GDP . Tourism has undoubtedly also been identified as a threat to the region’s sociocultural, ecological, and public health and stability. These include socioeconomic polarization, uneven development, ecological degradation, sidelining of local concerns, domination of regional political economies, management and profit repatriation, and structural underdevelopment. Such negative externalities of tourism have the potential to eclipse the potential for equitable social and regional benefits. In terms of human resources, it is no secret that women play an important role in the industry, and are even leading hoteliers. While women account for a substantial number of graduates from local and regional tertiary hospitality programmes, there is the conspicuous absence of women in general management positions, for reasons to do with endemic patterns of exclusion and personal choices on the part of many women in the field (Spencer and Bean 2013).

Further, this unprecedented growth has resulted in a surplus of accommodations and its subsequent consequences, with inflationary pressures causing dramatic rises in the cost of living, labour and other resource shortages, and slow movement towards sustainable integration of tourism with other sectors. SIDS present three key characteristics that must be borne in mind when considering features of tourism: small size, with implications for pressure on resources and limited economic diversity; remoteness and isolation, leading to challenges for trading but also to a unique biodiversity and cultural richness; and a maritime environment, leading to strong tourism assets but vulnerability to shifts in the natural environment.

While there are many key distinctive challenges for Caribbean SIDS , main considerations include climate change, which is a great threat to many islands and requires a response from the tourism sector; air connectivity, requiring a strong link between tourism and air transport policies; and market positioning, including tourism products’ diversification and establishment of niche markets that would contribute to competitiveness and decrease vulnerability. Issues of resilience in the face of “Acts of God” and sometimes more detrimental acts of man continue to hamper competitive positioning in the Caribbean tourism market. As Zappino (2005) and Laframboise et al. (2014) explained, tourism in the Caribbean experienced points of decline, notably initiated as early as 2005 but increasing in intensity in 2008 during the global economic crisis. Their research indicates that price and income were major determinants of tourism flows, along with supply (of airlines and accommodation), and other factors such as hurricanes and terrorism. Indeed, the recent devastation of Dominica, Barbuda, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten by hurricanes (all of which have a heavy dependence on being open for tourism business) put the region’s ability to withstand major forces of nature squarely into focus. Hurricane Maria cost Dominica US$931 million in damages and US$382 million in losses (Government of Commonwealth of Dominica 2017). The Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology estimated Irma cost Antigua and Barbuda US$215 million, Puerto Rico US$800 million, and St. Maarten US$2.5 billion.

In addition to the deleterious effects of climate change and natural disasters, Daye et al. (2008) also speak to issues in the industry surrounding brand identity. They note, for instance, that stereotypical and traditional branding of the region as paradise have limited opportunities for increasing competitiveness and expanding product diversity while in many countries, anti-homosexual sentiments, derived largely from the colonial experience, trickled down to and inhibited gay tourism. The region is ripe for the exploitation of health, culinary, and sport tourism, most of which seem to be lagging in the shadow of the all-inclusive model and “sun, sea, sex, and sand”, which still dominate the Caribbean tourism landscape. The challenge for many SIDS , and particularly those in the Caribbean, is how to maximize the reach of these earnings throughout the economy and in sectors without direct links to tourism.

Chambers in Daye et al. (2008) reminds us as well that Caribbean locations face challenges with regard to bridging the gap between locals and tourists, as it was revealed that many “tourism spaces” are still inaccessible to locals, particularly in the informal sector, with males being more affected by those prohibitions. Hierarchies and exclusions are part of the historical fabric of tourism which emerged in the Caribbean as a continuation of service and servitude which characterized the plantation history of the region. Strachan (2002) who scrutinized the notion of “paradise” that continued to be applied to the Caribbean despite its plantation history and remnants which undermine that ideal has, for instance, noted how marketing promulgated that “paradise discourse”, determined in large part by imperialism’s visioning of the Caribbean as a profit-making space. Strachan, too, asserted that paradise discourse shifted to suit the speakers and their intentions—he claimed that colonialist voices tended to refer to the Caribbean in paradise terms as encouragement for their seeking of wealth or enjoyment, making tourism an essential part of the plantation economy.

Just as social exclusion followed tourism, there was a long-standing relationship between sexual exploitation, tourism, and the spread of diseases as vulnerabilities and tourism dependence added to Caribbean SIDS’ susceptibility to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In an age of globalization which facilitates critical foreign investment, repatriation of profits to investor nations with high representation from the Global North also remains a concern for many SIDS . Bridging the gap between regional concerns and individual gains is also paramount for the Caribbean block, which boasts a commitment to regionalism through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), but which in reality functions as states all competing for the tourist dollar.

Indeed, work such as this continues the relatively recent but prolific tradition of academic work on Caribbean tourism. Early work such as by Ruth C. Young in the 1997 article “The structural context of the Caribbean tourist industry: A comparative study” focused on the prospects of Caribbean tourism given its links and history in the chequered past of servility and enslavement. She hypothesized that tourism development was closely related to historical experiences, such that countries in more rigid plantation societies developed with parallel forms, whereas democratically oriented countries produced flexible or adaptable forms. She looked at 29 islands excluding Cuba, and the Turks and Caicos Islands which lacked tourist industries. For her research, she identified three dimensions of tourism: comprehensive, luxury, and plantation. Young found that comprehensive tourism made for better business and significant employment. She also pointed out that the economic and political contexts had close ties to tourism—through GDP and funds gained from export agriculture, to political autonomy (which seemingly enhanced economic growth) and political repression (which had significant links to plantation agriculture). In the end, Young concluded that tourism manifested in ways that mimicked the already existing structures and cultures, so that fundamental societal changes had to occur to bring change in the industry.

Robust edited collections have done much to advance the academic field of Caribbean tourism, bringing together diverse perspectives and topics under major themes. Chandana Jayawardena’s (2005) collection “Caribbean tourism: Visions, missions and challenges”, for instance, focused on four aspects of the industry: visions, missions, challenges, and development. Jayawardena brought together research and industry experts in Caribbean tourism who discussed education, sustainability, competitiveness, culture, transportation, terrorism, natural disasters, information and communication technologies (ICTs ), and research. In the first section, “Visions”, writers provided insights on the future of a thriving and sustainable Caribbean tourism industry. The University of the West Indies was identified as a crucial player in tourism management and education, and a regional school of tourism and hospitality management was recommended. A policy framework cognizant of the multiple and interconnected components of the tourism industry—environment, business, and development—was also suggested as a way to achieve and secure sustainable development. As a result of tourism’s severe environmental and social impacts, researchers determined that it was necessary to devise a plan for sustainable tourism development. This required a consensus on the meaning of sustainable tourism, as well as regional instruments or policy frameworks and improved management governing tourism and environmental operations. Since cruise tourism represents a significant portion of the tourism industry, its true benefits and statistical data were questioned to reveal nuances in the perceived positive impacts of the sector. All of these areas necessitated intellectual capital and knowledge management to encourage collaboration and cooperation among tourism stakeholders. “Missions” tackled the creation of a new framework to assess the tourism performance of Caribbean countries, revealing Jamaica to be the top performer of nine countries. The section also explored the significance of culture to tourism, and showed that tourism could be used as a means of reviving traditions. The need for reliable and efficient air transportation was also discussed, as well as recommendations for cooperation among regional airlines. Among the challenges identified were terrorism as a result of the decline in tourist arrivals, cessation of flights, and repatriation in Jamaica and the Bahamas following the September 11 attacks. Natural disasters were also identified as challenges to Caribbean tourism, along with the absence of a sound development strategy and effective implementation of ICTs . The final section revealed the importance of community tourism, management of tourist attractions, and marketing to the sustainable development process.

New Perspectives in Caribbean Tourism, edited by Marcella Daye, Donna Chambers, and Sherma Roberts (2008), consists of 13 chapters discussing different aspects of tourism in the Caribbean. The two-part collection is divided into “image, culture, and identity” and “governance”. The text establishes itself as a response to the paucity of research on Caribbean tourism written by Caribbean nationals, and places tourism within the social, cultural, and historical context of the region. The first part interrogated how the stereotypical and traditional branding of the region as paradise have limited opportunities for increasing competitiveness and expanding product diversity, though countries like Jamaica have come to be dependent on cultural aesthetics, particularly through Rastafari, Bob Marley, and reggae music. In the same country, anti-homosexual sentiments, derived largely from the colonial experience, trickled down to and inhibited gay tourism. In part two, Chambers discussed how dominant and imperialist views were ignorant of the particularities of developing countries, and informed the directions that Caribbean countries were advised to take to achieve sustainable tourism development. Sustainable development was recognized as important, and as achievable through vital regional partnerships. However, there remained a challenge to integrating communities as it was revealed that some “tourism spaces” had become inaccessible to locals, particularly in the informal sector, with males being more affected by those prohibitions. Just as social exclusion followed tourism, there was a long-standing relationship between sexual exploitation, tourism, and the spread of diseases. This was discussed using a case study of Grenada, whose vulnerabilities and tourism dependence added to their susceptibility to HIV/AIDS. The book ended with the recognition that tourism education in the region, inclusive of and informed by stakeholders, had to respond to a plethora of sociocultural and environmental issues associated with tourism, rather than simply a focus on increasing profit margins.

Boxill and Ramjeesingh’s (2014) tourism reader is a compilation of articles about varied tourism-related themes in the Caribbean. Its nine sections range from the political to sustainable aspects of tourism, with a focus on specific tourism products and offerings. Writers determined that despite the economic benefits to be derived from cultural tourism, it remained marginalized from general tourism discourse and research. Part of this may have been related to the inability of researchers to arrive at a consensus regarding whether or not tourism was a tool for economic growth. Still, focus was placed on the potential for event tourism in Jamaica, as a means of attracting tourists during the off-season. Notably, the discussions on all-inclusive hotels concentrated on the operations aspect of all-inclusive hotels with specific references to their strengths (physical and financial protection/control, efficiency, quantity, and predictability); their weaknesses—less of a focus on quality, inability to properly meet the desires of all guests, and little exposure to culture—and recommendations for improvement. There were also discussions on tourism demand in the Caribbean as it was revealed that options beyond the traditional source markets needed to be discovered. The collection also explored the importance of accurately forecasting tourism demand as a way to continue to meet needs, and achieve economic increase. Naturally, the performance of the tourism sector in the Caribbean was spotlighted using a variety of approaches. This performance was closely related to climate change, as writers in their quantification of climate adjustments argued that favourable conditions encouraged tourist travel while adverse conditions discouraged it. In any case, monitoring and predictions around climate change were seen as crucial to planning for tourism. Interestingly, the editors revealed in their article on cruise tourism that money spent by tourists was insignificant, and research revealed that demographic factors predicted tourist choice between land and cruise tourism, thereby enabling marketers to better target their material. Air travel to the Caribbean was debated; while writers acknowledged the necessity of regional air transport, they were unable to agree as to whether a single airline was the solution. The last section looked at sustainable tourism—forecasting, planning, diversifying tourism products to include ecotourism and risk management.

Roberts et al. (2015) first located the emergence of Caribbean tourism in the 1960s, after the introduction of neoliberal strategies believed to be able to achieve growth in the region. They then looked at the sectors that supplied tourism, determining government’s role in providing infrastructure, political stability and security, legislation for tourism standards, and intergovernmental cooperation and agreements related to travel. Visitor attractions were discussed as central to the success of a country’s tourism, constituting the primary reason for many tourists’ choice to visit. Therefore, the successful development, marketing, and management of tourist attractions played a significant role in overall visitor experience. Further, the quality, affordability, and availability of accommodation had a marked impact on countries’ competitiveness, as this sector was established as the biggest part of the industry. Closely related to accommodation in share of and centrality to the industry was the area of travel, particularly in the context of increased tourist demand which required an assessment of its future in the Caribbean. Ancillary and food and beverage services were also found to have an important role to play in the overall success of a country’s tourism industry. In section three, the writers developed their claims about the economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts of tourism, ending the section with a discussion on sustainable tourism. Tourism was found to have both positive and negative economic and sociocultural effects, while its environmental impacts were largely negative. Section four showed how the Caribbean could use niche tourism to improve competitiveness—marketing to specific markets such as sport, health and wellness, heritage, adventure, nature-based, and agriculture. In the penultimate section, Roberts, Best, and Cameron examined critical issues in tourism, highlighting the integral status of entrepreneurship through different-sized businesses that buoyed tourism in the Caribbean, and provided a roadmap for readers to devise their own enterprise within the industry. Other critical issues such as customer service, marketing, risk and disaster management, and the benefits that stood to be derived from ICTs by the hospitality industry were examined and shown to affect the quality, competitiveness, and longevity of the industry. In the final section, readers were provided insights into the future of tourism, in the context of external (and internal) economic, environmental, and technological factors. The writers determined that the degree to which these factors had a negative or positive impact rested on the ability of Caribbean countries to respond appropriately.

Tourism competitiveness has also captured the scholarly imagination of leading researchers, including Auliana Poon (1995), Jean S. Holder (1996), Helen McBain (2007), Donna Chambers, and Bryan McIntosh (2008). Craigwell and Worrell (2008), for instance, looked at the competitiveness of larger Caribbean countries by measuring how much of the main international tourism markets of the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada they represented. They focused on price competitiveness and explored the context of Caribbean tourism markets as well as the factors which accounted for the performance of these markets. It is one of the more expansive investigations into Caribbean tourism as it examined 15 countries which included both island and mainland territories. By and large, the majority of tourists to the Caribbean originate from the United States, with Canada and the United Kingdom lagging behind. In terms of the factors that affected competitiveness, Craigwell and Worrell identified competitor price, air transport costs, and domestic prices. Overall, they discovered that price competitiveness was not the ultimate factor in determining the Caribbean’s share of the global tourism market, and that it may have been less significant than non-price factors.

The importance of micro studies has also been made evident through work by Cameron and Gatewood (2008) and Ford and Dorodnykh (2016). The Cameron and Gatewood study of the Turks and Caicos Islands in order to uncover feasible and sustainable alternatives for the Caribbean tourism industry other than the traditional and popular sun, sea, and sand tourism, sheds useful insights on the future of Caribbean tourism spaces. They first explained the reasons that mass tourism has come to characterize the region in an effort to explain why heritage or ecotourism has not gained equal status or support. Recognizing the significant role of colonialism, Cameron and Gatewood pointed out how colonialism and slavery resulted in the devaluation of African cultures and peoples, and the celebration of white-centric beliefs and practices. Thus, a challenge was posed to heritage tourism as Afro-Caribbean residents continued to favour white ideals. The “bitter pill” that violence-laden colonial history represented also prevented persons from wanting to recreate the moments, or rebuild the structures that characterized that era. The writers spoke of the creation of tourism plans that incorporated environmental protection and cultural retention. They identified lack of documentation of records and of cultural practices as problems for the Turks and Caicos Islands’ heritage tourism product. However, organizations and government departments were working to revive and recover some of these lost traditions and information.

More recent work by Ford and Dorodnykh (2016) has provided insights on the connection between food production and tourism in Caribbean SIDS , St. Kitts and Nevis , and St. Lucia . They first explained the links between agriculture and tourism by highlighting the significant contribution of tourism to Caribbean countries’ GDP (more than half in cases such as Antigua and Barbuda and the Bahamas), and how this growing demand for Caribbean tourism creates a potential market for locally produced food. The writers claimed that Caribbean countries could lower national debt and increase foreign exchange by expanding agricultural production and targeting hotels and other businesses in the tourism industry. Increased food production could also provide social benefits by allowing well-needed government revenue to be invested in social programmes; encourage rural development through job creation; and ensure food security and nutrition. The case studies of St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia revealed high food import bills, paid for mainly by foreign exchange, some of which was gained from the tourism industry. Ford and Dorodnykh identified ways in which both countries could increase their agricultural contribution to tourism, as well as the challenges faced in doing so, which included access to land and inconsistent quality of produce. The writers provided recommendations for policy support, as well as the way forward in improving the ability of both countries to better meet the demands of the tourism sector.

The importance of the cruise industry has been tackled by authors such as Paul F. Wilkinson (2007), Fritz Pinnock (2014), Nathalie Petit-Charles and Bruno Marques (2012), and Jeb Sprague-Silgado (2017). In particular, Robert E. Wood (2000) proposed that cruise tourism could be used in order to underscore and understand the nature of globalization and its processes. In “Caribbean cruise tourism: Globalisation at sea”, Wood asserted that the concept of “globalization at sea” was indicative of contemporary globalization. Wood discussed how globalization showed itself at sea: cruise ships often used flags of convenience in order to avoid domestic laws, taxes or regulations, including labour laws and internationalization of ownership of ships and infrastructure. Multiple nationalities were also represented in ship employees, who were recruited and stratified by occupation, which is typically denoted by ethnicity. Employees originating from developing countries in the Caribbean or in some Asian countries tended to occupy the low-level crew positions, while Norwegian or Italian nationals were at the top as officers. Despite the stratification, the multiple represented nationalities presented useful information on migration decisions, access to information, and state involvement in promoting labour for export. Wood also highlighted the role that “deterritorialization” played in creating a disconnect between space and place such that ships could be equipped to create or mimic real culture or destinations. Wood pointed out that ships also brought elements together in fantasy themes such as on Disney cruise lines, creating visual representations of the entire world. The crew themselves were marketed as exposure to multiculturalism, as their diversity reflected a sort of global unity or coming together. Wood concluded that globalization was an ongoing process, reflected greatly in the Caribbean cruise industry that had little control over enforcement and employment but which still presented usable opportunities for researching a global workforce.

Focus on these and other critical issues in contemporary Caribbean tourism are expanded in this work. This book seeks to explore the distinct nuisances and obstacles that are encountered by the tourism and travel industry within Caribbean small island developing countries. Given the geographical location, economic dependency, and economic climate within these states there are certain situations that are only experienced by this group of states. By exploring the realities that are encountered within the industry, this book explores and proposes the best practices and measures that can be used to overcome the struggle or at least alleviate the hardship faced by the industry within Caribbean SIDS . Oftentimes this is done through the voice of experts in the field in the Caribbean who are currently involved in shaping the direction and futures of Caribbean tourism. In addition, the book seeks to answer what the realties are for SIDS within the tourism industry given that the voice, issues, and accomplishments of these nations are often overshadowed or downplayed by their developed counterparts. By giving voice to the struggles and strengths of this group of islands the work unearths the future of the industry and the way these countries will propel themselves forward within a constantly evolving global industry. This will be analysed in the face of climate change and transforming geophysical landscape, which is the pivotal attraction and selling point for the tourism industry within Caribbean SIDS . Additionally, the work will explore ICT and its influence on tourism and assess how Caribbean SIDS respond to these developments within the industry given their financial constraints and the constant evolution of these technologies. Importantly, the economic sustainability of tourism and the social milieu within which Caribbean travel and tourism exist are also teased out towards the aim of answering the most pivotal question: What is the future of Caribbean tourism?