|
17.2.7 Tourism
Tourism is a major economic sector in many small island states. Table
17-5, which expresses tourist arrivals in terms of the populations of small
island states for which data were available, shows that in most small island
states, the numbers of visitors substantially exceed the number of inhabitants.
Table 17-5 also expresses tourism receipts in terms of
gross national product (GNP) and in terms of foreign exchange inflows from exports
of goods and services. Again, the ratios tend to be relatively high in most
small island states; the Maldives, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Bahamas exhibit
the highest ratios. In many countries, tourism also makes a significant contribution
to employment. For example, the industry provides jobs for 70% of the labor
force in the Bahamas, 40% in Malta, and 20% in Seychelles (Waters, 1998).
| Table 17-5: Tourist inflows and receipts,
various years, for select small island states (Waters, 1998). |
 |
| |
Number of Tourists (000s)a
|
Tourists as % of Populationa
|
Tourist Receiptsb
|
| Country |
as % of GNP
|
as % of Exports
|
|
| Antigua and Barbuda |
232
|
364.2
|
63.4
|
73.5
|
Bahamas
|
1618
|
586.4
|
42.0
|
75.6
|
| Barbados |
472
|
182.4
|
39.2
|
56.2
|
| Cape Verde |
45
|
11.4
|
11.5
|
37.3
|
| Comoros |
26
|
4.9
|
10.6
|
47.8
|
| Cuba |
1153
|
10.5
|
8.8
|
n/a
|
Cyprus
|
2088
|
280.7
|
24.0
|
49.1
|
| Dominica |
65
|
97.6
|
15.9
|
32.5
|
| Dominican Republic |
2211
|
28.1
|
13.6
|
30.2
|
| Fiji |
359
|
45.3
|
19.2
|
29.1
|
| Grenada |
111
|
116.2
|
27.0
|
60.6
|
| Haiti |
149
|
2.2
|
3.9
|
50.5
|
| Jamaica |
1192
|
45.6
|
31.6
|
39.8
|
| Maldives |
366
|
130.7
|
95.0
|
68.4
|
| Malta |
1111
|
294.7
|
22.9
|
28.7
|
Mauritius
|
536
|
46.4
|
15.7
|
26.8
|
| Papua New Guinea |
66
|
1.5
|
2.1
|
3.0
|
| St. Kitts and Nevis |
88
|
210.5
|
30.6
|
63.6
|
| St. Lucia |
248
|
164.7
|
41.1
|
66.6
|
| St. Vincent |
65
|
54.6
|
23.8
|
45.9
|
| Samoa |
68
|
31.1
|
19.6
|
48.8
|
| Seychelles |
130
|
166.7
|
34.6
|
52.2
|
| Singapore |
7198
|
209.2
|
6.2
|
4.1
|
| Solomon Islands |
16
|
3.72
|
2.8
|
4.2
|
| Trinidad and Tobago |
324
|
28.7
|
4.2
|
8.3
|
| Vanuatu |
49
|
27.1
|
19.3
|
40.9
|
|
It is widely acknowledged that the effects of climate change on tourism will
be both direct and indirect. For instance, sea-level rise would disrupt the
sector through loss of beaches, inundation, degradation of coastal ecosystems,
saline intrusion, and damage to critical infrastructure (Nicholls and Hoozemans,
1996; Teh, 1997; Perez et al., 1999). Because many small islands are so heavily
dependent on the tourism sector for their economic survival, adverse impacts
on the industry, from climate change or other causes, would be of great concern
in these countries. In many small islands, the industry also would be sensitive
to other climate-related impacts, such as loss of attractiveness of coral
reefs as a result of bleaching.
A high proportion of tourism in small island states is motivated by the desire
of visitors from developed countries of the north (their largest market) to
escape cold winters. Small island states are becoming increasingly concerned
that projected milder winters in these markets could reduce the appeal of these
islands as tourist destinations (Martin and Bruce, 1999). It is projected that
tourism could be further harmed by increased airline fares if GHG mitigation
measures (e.g., levies and emission charges) were to result in higher costs
to airlines servicing routes between the main markets and small island states
(Wall, 1996).
To ensure the sustainability of the tourist industry in Cyprus, it has been
recommended that a strategy of protection of infrastructure combined with planned
retreat would be effective and appropriate to local circumstances. The overall
goal would be to maintain the limited beach area to sustain the vital tourist
industry, specifically by erecting hard structures, enforcing building set-backs,
and use of artificial nourishment, although the latter measure may require external
sources of sand (Nicholls and Hoozemans, 1996). Although not all these strategies
may be applicable to the atoll states, many other island nations—such as
Barbados, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Singapore—already have begun
to implement similar approaches as part of the ICM process.
|