Sustainable Tourism
The
relevance of the tourism sector to the Caribbean cannot be overstated.
Tourism represents over 30% of the Caribbean's GDP, and is heavily
dependent on the region's natural beauty, namely sandy beaches and coral
reefs. Both of these elements are
threatened by environmental and social impacts.
For this reason, efforts for promoting tourism that preserves these
elements for the future have become very important to the region.
There
are a few programs that are addressing the status of information for
sustainable tourism in the Caribbean. For
the most part, statistics on tourism activities have been economic in nature.
Only more recently have efforts begun to qualify and monitor the
impacts of tourism on the environment. Thus,
in recognition of the pressing need to proactively manage resources and
address these concerns for sustainable development, the Caribbean Hotel
Association Environmental Committee was established in 1992.
In order to create an effective mechanism that would institutionalize
environmental activities throughout the region, the Caribbean
Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) was created three years later.
Among
other efforts, CAST has implemented a project jointly with the Caribbean
Tourism Organization (CTO) known as the Blue
Flag Program, which rates the environmental quality of beaches in the
region, and seeks to develop sustainable development indicators on
tourism.
The
OAS
Intersectoral Unit for Tourism has developed the Inter-American Program
for the Development of Sustainable Tourism, one of whose objectives is the
building of capacity for the exchange of information on sustainable tourism.
OAS is also engaged in several efforts for developing tourism statistics
databases.
However,
the status of information on sustainable tourism remains at a developmental
stage. The
CTO and the
Association
of Caribbean States
have plans
to develop databases with sustainable development indicators and listing of projects in the area, but have encountered difficulties in finding standardized information. Additionally, there are no funds set aside for the periodic collection of sustainable development statistics, nor is there a special program within governmental institutions for this type of effort. Sustainable development statistics are only generated through agreements between governmental institutions and other agencies.
CTO and
CAST are piloting MIST, the Management Information System for Tourism. MIST incorporates economic and tourism statistics, including information not generated by the Ministry of
Tourism, but it does not support environmental data management, nor provides any links with the natural resource base for tourism. However, it is a system that has the potential for
development into an authentic integrated resources management system.
LINKS
TO WEBSITES WITH RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INFORMATION
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TSA In Depth: Analysing Tourism As An Economic Activity
This document was designed as a course to explain the Tourism Satellite
Account (TSA), based on the experience accumulated in the course of the seven
regional seminars held by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) between May
2000 and October 2001. During this period a series of informative actions in
the different regions of the Organization was completed. These were aimed at
explaining the basic principles of the TSA and its usefulness as a tool for
obtaining reliable data that should put the tourism sector on equal footing
with other economic sectors with regard to the analysis of its economic
activity.
http://www.world-tourism.org/statistics/tsa_project/TSA_in_depth/index.htm
Caribbean Environmental
Network Program (CEN)
United
Nations Environmental Programme - Caribbean Regional Coordinating Unit
This
webpage describes the CEN program as part of UNEP's sustainable tourism
initiatives. The goal of the CEN Project is to improve environmental quality
and coastal and marine natural resource protection in the Wider Caribbean
Region, by promoting the use of environmentally sound practices by the tourism
industry. The webpage also provides access to downloadable documents
describing methodologies and best practices in sustainable tourism that
resulted from the implementation of CEN. http://www.cep.unep.org/issues/tourism.htm
Climate
Change and Tourism
The
First International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism was held
successfully in Djerba, Tunisia, from 9 to 11 April 2003. The Djerba
Declaration on Climate Change and Tourism, as well as the final conference
programme are available in the Internet, while the complete final report with
the conclusions and the documents presented will be posted at: http://www.world-tourism.org/frameset/frame_sustainable.html
Convention on Biological
Diversity - Biological
Diversity and Tourism
Provides
guidelines for the sustainable planning and management of tourism activities
in vulnerable terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems and habitats of major
importance for biological diversity. http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/socio-eco/tourism/
Coastal
Tourism in the Wider Caribbean Region: Impacts and Best Management Practices
United
Nations Environmental Program
Caribbean
Environmental Program
This
report summarizes the nature and causes of coastal resources degradation, the
contribution of the tourist industry to that degradation, the role of system
planning in addressing such impacts, and the possible best management
practices which can be employed by industry participants to reduce the impacts
of tourism on coastal and marine resources. These best management practices
include both planning and operational aspects of tourism facilities.
http://www.cep.unep.org/pubs/techreports/tr38en/index.html
European Charter for
Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas
Provides
standards and guidelines for sustainable tourism in protected areas. Responds
to the appeal issued by the 1995 World Conference on Sustainable Tourism held
in Lanzarote recommending the urgent establishment of action programmes for
sustainable development in the tourism sector. http://www.eco-tour.org/info/w_10168_de.html
United Nations
Environmental Programme Principles of Sustainable Tourism
Discusses
policy concepts and guidelines for applying the concepts of sustainable
tourism, including: integration of tourism into overall policy for sustainable
development, development of sustainable tourism, management of tourism, and
conditions for success. http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/policy/principles.htm
United Nations
Environmental Programme Sustainable Tourism
Facts,
links to documents, and discussion of concepts and impacts of sustainable
tourism. http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/home.htm
World Tourism
Organization (WTO) Sustainable Development of Tourism
The
website contains information on activities and documents relating to
sustainable tourism, including manuals on best practices. http://www.world-tourism.org/frameset/frame_sustainable.html
Institute
for Policy Studies
http://www.world-tourism.org/frameset/frame_sustainable.html
International
Network for the Sustainable Development of Coastal Tourism Destinations
An
open system for comments, suggestions and contributions. http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/coastalnetwork
Centre
for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development
A
joint Program of Stanford University and Institute for Policy Studies http://www.ecotourism.org
CTOnet Caribbean
CTOnet Caribbean or OneCaribbean, the official intranet
community of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), is dedicated to keeping
it's members and other interested tourism professionals up to date with
developments in the region's tourism industry.
http://www.onecaribbean.org/information/documentview.php?rowid=571
http://www.onecaribbean.org/information/categorybrowse.php?categoryid=335
Statistics
on Tourism in the Caribbean
Number of arrivals
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