By: Staff Writer
September 19, 2023
A new sustainable tourism report commissioned by the European Union (EU) says that the region must transition away from traditional all-inclusive resort style tourism and offer more opportunities in the eco, nature, culture and adventure tourism related offerings.
The report said: “Tourism, and therefore sustainable tourism, is one of the most attractive sectors in CARIFORUM for EU actors to invest in or do trade with. In 2019, the last pre-COVID year, stopover visitors had direct spending of between USD 17 and 26 billion in CARIFORUM, while cruise visitors spent some USD 1.2 billion. It is estimated that the indirect spending accounts for another 50% of direct spending. Based on WTTC estimates, international visitors spent USD 12.7 billion in CARIFORUM in 2021, which is significantly less than 2019. The difference is directly attributable to the impact of COVID-19 from which the region is still recovering.”
It added: “In all countries there is an increasing call for projects to cater to eco-, nature, culture, and adventure travellers, to develop the blue economy, to increase local food production (farm-to-table) to cater for tourists, to upgrade the labour force, and to make the tourism infrastructure more sustainable and resilient. The specific opportunities are listed on the respective websites of the Investment Promotion Agencies and include accommodation at all price points for nature-based and adventure tourism, developments in UNESCO heritage sites, spas, and heritage-based tours. Because tourism is such an important sector, the tourism boards of several countries also have a department specially dedicated to investments in tourism. Annex VI provides the contacts for both the general investment promotion agencies and the tourism investment promotion departments. Besides opportunities for investments and trade in sustainability products and services for tourism, there are opportunities for investments and trade in “traditional” tourism-related areas.”
Since 2015, many countries have ratified the United Nation’s Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, which aim to foster a balanced development between people, planet and profit.For the Caribbean, much of the profit and income for the people is a result of tourism. At the same time, travel and the type of tourism that excessively taxes the fragile environment of the Caribbean poses significant risks, as also indicated by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The report also said: “Transitioning to sustainable tourism can contribute to economic growth and development through the involvement of other sectors which have not focused on in the traditional tourism of “sun, sand and sea”. These include, among others, active (or passive) participation of visitors in creative and cultural events and in traditional communities, different uses of the coast and sea (blue economy), and a renewed emphasis on growing and processing food for use by tourists and locals alike.”
The CARIFORUM region is among the most tourism-dependent in the world. Tourism constitutes approximately 30 percent of the GDP in CARIFORUM territories. In 2019, at the start of the pandemic, 9 of the 20 most tourism-dependent nations were CARIFORUM states. In that year, tourism as a percentage of GDP ranged from a low of 2 percent in Suriname and 4 percent in Guyana to a high of 83 percent in Antigua and Barbuda. While the region suffered severely through the COVID-19 pandemic, with losses of up to 20 percent of GDP, it has recovered faster than any other region. By February 2023, inbound travel in the Caribbean, as a whole, was only 1% below the same period in 2019.
The report continued, “In 2010, the CTO developed a policy framework for sustainable tourism which was updated in 2020 (Caribbean Tourism Organisation, n.d.). To date, programs executed under this framework include the Climate Smart Sustainable Tourism Programme, a Tourism Health and Wellness Programme, the development of a Community-Based Tourism Toolkit and the annual Sustainable Tourism Awards (Caribbean Tourism Organization, 2023). Prominent and important actors in the industry (such as global hotel chains and restaurants airports, seaports, and others which are in direct contact with international tour operators) are introducing sustainability measures, such as energy-efficient appliances and fixtures, wastewater treatment plants and renewable energy, as well as more focus on engaging visitors in culture and nature- based events and farm-to-table concepts.
According to tourism executives in the region, sustainability has long been a focus but it is now an imperative. Sustainable tourism has evolved from care for the environment, to include resource efficiency and marketing cultural and natural assets as an add-on in order to increase tourist spending. Regional tourism bodies have developed toolkits and guidelines to support these efforts. Post-COVID-19, governments are focusing more on transforming the industry to one that is more socially inclusive, safe and sustainable. They are actively sourcing solutions in the scope of sustainable travel, particularly regarding training, resource efficiency, cooling and energy.