Disertation (Masters)

Sustainable Tourism Development: The Case of Barbados
by

Nathali Rosario Greenidge

2006

A Dissertation presented in part consideration for the degree of MSc in
International Business
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 ii
SUMMARY
This study examines the issue of sustainable tourism development in the case
of Barbados. As part of the background analysis, the study begins by defining
what is meant by tourism and discussing its benefits and costs. It then goes
on to analyse trends in the tourism industry at both the global and regional
level. In this regard, it shows tourism as the largest and fastest growing
industry in the world and as being the most important sector for many
countries, particularly developing countries. The analysis is then narrowed to
Barbados where the evolution and structure of the industry is discussed in
detail. Barbados is shown to be heavily dependent on tourism and indeed
tourism has become the most significant sector in the economy. It is also
identified as the industry that will contribute the most towards the continued
economic prosperity for the country and also propel the country into further
social development, plus act as a catalyst for the conservation of the physical
environment. Therefore, the importance of tourism to the overall development
of the country can not be overstated. Yet, tourism can have adverse impacts
on the environment and the society if not managed and developed in a
manner that is in harmony with the surroundings and the locals. Issues such
as management of the islands water resources, over-crowding and the impact
on the environment are of paramount importance. Thus, the question arises
as to whether the industry is on a sustainable development path or whether its
future would require a different approach to the development. The study then
reviews the literature on assessing sustainable and applies a number of
indicators to the case of Barbados. In general, the results suggest that tourism
development in Barbados is on a sustainable path. Specifically, the economic
benefits of tourism will continue to accrue to the Barbadian economy well into
the long-term, any negative social effects are at manageable levels and the
authorities are implementing various measures to deal with the adverse
impacts the industry has had on the environment. These measures are aimed
at ensuring that the tourism industry develops in harmony with the
environment.
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12 September 2006 iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In completing this dissertation, I greatly give thanks to God for giving me health,
wisdom and the strength to overcome all difficulties.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Peter Lyth, for
his kind help, unfailing interest, guidance and support during the writing of this
dissertation.

This dissertation, and indeed the entire master program would have not had been
possible without the support and understanding of my husband, Kevin. For this, I
give him a very special thank you and my deepest gratitude.

I also acknowledge the assistance of a number of organisations, including the
Central Bank of Barbados, the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and the Barbados
Ministry of Tourism for providing me with valuable data and information on Barbados
and the Caribbean for my research.

Also, I sincerely thank my mother, Gladys for her extraordinary and unconditional
help during the year.

I am grateful for the assistance provided by the rest of my family, especially Kaye
Greenidge and Dion Greenidge. I am grateful too for the support of friends. So my
sincere thanks to John Williams, Darrin Downs, Roland Craigwell and especially
Tamika Beckles for kindly providing me with some interesting reading material.
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary.......vi

Acknowledgements.......vi

Table of Contents......vi

List of Figures.......vi

List of Tables ....vi

1. The Tourism Industry....................................................................................................1
1.1 Defining Tourism...................................................................................................1
1.2 Benefits of Tourism...............................................................................................1
1.2.1 Foreign exchange earner................................................................................2
1.2.2 Employment generator...................................................................................2
1.2.3 Encourages inter-industry linkages................................................................2
1.2.4 Other benefits.................................................................................................3
1.3 Costs of Tourism....................................................................................................4
1.3.1 Seasonal Employment....................................................................................5
1.3.2 Leakages........................................................................................................5
1.3.3 Environmental costs:......................................................................................6
1.3.4 Socio-cultural destruction..............................................................................6
1.4 Overview of World Tourism..................................................................................7
1.5 The Regional Picture..............................................................................................8
1.6 The Caribbean Picture..........................................................................................12
1.6.1 Market performance.....................................................................................13
1.6.2 Distribution of earnings...............................................................................14
1.6.3 Importance of Tourism to the Caribbean.....................................................14
1.6.4 Some challenges for the region....................................................................16

2. The Tourism Industry in Barbados..............................................................................17
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................17
2.2 Structure and Development of the industry.........................................................20
2.2.1 Exploration and Involvement (1956-1964)..................................................21
2.2.2 Development- accelerating growth (1965-1972).........................................25
2.2.3 Consolidation decelerating growth (1973-1992)......................................26
2.2.4 Rejuvenation (1993-2005)...........................................................................29
2.3 Barbados Tourism Product J ust Beyond your Imagination...........................30
2.4 Importance of the Industry...................................................................................33
2.5 Costs and Challenges of Tourism........................................................................36
2.5.1 Environmental Issues...................................................................................36
2.5.2 Socio-cultural Issues....................................................................................37

3. Sustainable Tourism.....................................................................................................40
3.1 The Concept of Sustainable Tourism Development............................................40
3.2 Assessing the sustainability of tourism development..........................................45
3.2.1 Possible Indicators To Assess Sustainable Tourism Development.............47

4. The Potential for Sustainable Tourism Development in Barbados..............................55
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12 September 2006 v
4.1 SWOT analysis of the Barbados tourism Industry..............................................58
4.2 Economic Sustainability of Tourism...................................................................59
4.2.1 Sustaining Tourist Satisfaction....................................................................60
4.2.1.1 Indicator 1: Perception of value for money.................................................60
4.2.1.2 Indicator 2: Percentage of returnees............................................................61
4.2.1.3 Indicator 3: Willingness to return or recommend a friend...........................62
4.2.1.4 Indicator 4: Visitor security.........................................................................63
4.2.1.5 Indicator 5: Product rating...........................................................................64
4.3 Social Sustainability of Tourism..........................................................................65
4.3.1 Socio-Cultural Carrying Capacity................................................................65
4.3.1.1 Indicator 6:Tourism density ratio.................................................................66
4.3.1.2 Indicator 7: Tourist penetration ratio...........................................................67
4.3.2 Tourism related employment.......................................................................68
4.3.2.1 Indicator 8: Direct and indirect employment from tourism.........................68
4.4 Environmental Sustainability of Tourism............................................................69
4.4.1 Indicator 9: Solid waste management..........................................................70
4.4.2 Indicator 10: Sewage treatment and wastewater management....................71
4.4.3 Indicator 11: Natural Resources Issues and Land Use.................................72
4.4.4 Indicator 12: Potable Water and Energy......................................................72
4.4.5 Indicator 12: Green Globe 21......................................................................73

5. Conclusions..................................................................................................................74
5.1 Summary of Study...............................................................................................74
5.2 Major Findings and Policy Implications..............................................................75
5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research..............................................78

Appendix 1...........................................................................................................................79

References............................................................................................................................84

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12 September 2006 vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1-1: Regional Shares of Total International Arrivals..............................................10
Figure 1-2: Regional Shares of International Tourism Receipts........................................11
Figure 1-3: Growth in Tourist Arrivals since 1970: Caribbean and World........................12
Figure 1-4: Tourists Arrivals to the Caribbean by Main Markets (2004)...........................13
Figure 2-1: A Map of the Caribbean and Barbados............................................................17
Figure 2-2: Map of Barbados..............................................................................................18
Figure 2-3: Tourist Arrivals to Barbados 1956 2005 (in thousands)...............................21
Figure 2-4: Tourist Arrivals to Barbados by Market: 1956-2005 (in thousands)...............24
Figure 2-5: Organisational Chart for the Barbados Tourism Industry................................31
Figure 4-1: Feeling of Safety in Barbados (percent of total respondents)..........................64
Figure 4-2: Barbados Tourism Employment (000s of jobs)..............................................69

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1-1: Worlds Top Ten Destinations for International Tourists..................................9
Table 1-2: Worlds Top Ten Tourism Earners..................................................................10
Table 1-3: Caribbeans Top Ten Destinations for International Tourists Arrivals...........13
Table 1-4: Caribbeans Top Ten Tourism Earners............................................................14
Table 2-1: Tourist Arrivals to Barbados by Market: Shares and Growth Rate (1956-2005)
..........................................................................................................................23
Table 2-2: Sectoral Contributions to Real GDP in Barbados (1970-2005) in percent......34
Table 2-3: Sectoral Contributions to Foreign Exchange Earnings in Barbados (1970
2005) in percent...........................................................................................................35
Table 3-1: WTO (1995) Core Indicators of Sustainable Tourism.....................................49
Table 3-2: WTO (2004) Baseline Issues and Baseline Indicators.....................................50
Table 3-3: English Tourism Council National Sustainable Tourism Indicators (2002)....51
Table 3-4: Spanish System of Environmental Tourism Indicators (2003)........................52
Table 3-5: Guidelines for a SWOT Analysis....................................................................54
Table 4-1: Coverage of Caribbean Tourism Organisations Surveys..............................58
Table 4-2: SWOT Analysis of Barbados Tourism Industry.............................................59
Table 4-3: Perception of Value for Money (on a scale of 0 to 10)....................................61
Table 4-4: Frequency of Visits to Barbados (percent of total visitors).............................61
Table 4-5: Frequency of Visits to Barbados by Purpose of Visit (percent of total visitors
in 2005)........................................................................................................................62
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Table 4-6: Willingness to Return to Barbados or Recommend it to a Friend (percent of
total visitors) ................................................................................................................63
Table 4-7: Visitors Rating of Barbados Tourism Product Components (1996-2005).....65
Table 4-8: Tourism Density Ratio for Barbados (1992-2005)..........................................66
Table 4-9: Tourism Density Ratio for Selected Caribbean Countries (2003 & 2004)......66
Table 4-10: Tourism Penetration Ratio for Barbados (1992-2005) ....................................67
Table 4-11: Tourism Density Ratio for Selected Caribbean Countries (2003 & 2004)......68
Table 4-12: Hotels in Barbados with Green Globe Certification........................................73
Table 5- 1: Summary of Findings on Sustainable Tourism Development in Barbados.....75

The Flying Fish National Icon of Barbados

Source: http://barbadostravel.squarespace.com/barbados-flying-fish/

Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 1

1. The Tourism Industry

1.1 Defining Tourism
This section discusses the tourism industry from a global and regional perspective. It
begins by examining the growth, distribution and importance of World tourism before
narrowing the discussion to the Caribbean. However, before proceeding in that
direction, it is we need to define what is meant by tourism. In this regard, Weaver
and Lawton (2002) argue that there is no unique definition of tourism in the literature
and offer a definition which attempts to capture the various stakeholders involved
and as such define tourism as the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising
from the interaction among tourists, the tourism industry, host government, host
communities, origin governments, universities, community colleges and non-
governmental organizations, in the process of attracting, transporting, hosting and
managing these tourists and other visitors (2002, pp. 3). However, nothing is lost in
the somewhat simpler definition of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO, 1994, pp.
5), which states that "tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and
staying in places outside their usual environment for no more than one consecutive
year for leisure, business, or other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place visited." Indeed, this has become the
internationally accepted and agreed upon definition of tourism (Middleton and
Hawkins, 2002, pp. 51). The key point is that tourism is multidimensional and
encompasses all those activities, services and industries that are directly or indirectly
linked to the tourist. Consequently, the industry has the potential to contribute
positively to the economic and social advancement of countries.

1.2 Benefits of Tourism
Tourism should positively affect economic growth and development for several
reasons (see for example, Bull, 1995; De Kadt, 1980; Weaver and Lawton, 2002).
The most obvious of these being, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), foreign exchange
earnings, tax revenue and the generation of employment. Indeed, it is because of
such benefits that the notion is commonly advanced that the development in tourism-
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 2
dependent economies could be accelerated if more resources are allocated to the
tourism sector (Dwyer and Forsyth, 1993; Dwyer and Forsyth, 2000).

1.2.1 Foreign exchange earner
This is perhaps the most cited benefit of tourism. First, tourism earns the country
foreign exchange which it can use to import not only consumer goods but also
capital and intermediate goods. In addition, the export and import of related goods
and services generate income to the host economy and can stimulate the investment
necessary to finance growth in other economic sectors.

1.2.2 Employment generator
Tourism provides employment opportunities for workers in the economy. To a large
degree, the tourism industry tends to be labour intensive since it is a service
industry. It comprises several segments; the principal ones being transportation,
accommodation, food and beverage and other related activities such as the
production a sales of souvenirs and other confectionaries. Given the diversification of
the industry, each of these sub-sectors offers many job opportunities and career
paths. These range from accountants and life guards to museum guides and
marketing officers; from travel writers and event planners to hostesses and
engineers. For example, various skills are required during the construction phase of
a hotel and immediately upon completion additional skills are required for the
operations phase.

A 1987 study by the Organisation of American States (OAS) suggests that an
investment of US$80,000 in the tourism industry in the Caribbean provides
employment for 41 persons. However, if that same investment is done in the oil
industry it generates only 16 and if it is in the bauxite industry the number is 11.

1.2.3 Encourages inter-industry linkages
Tourism is viewed as possessing the potential for creating positive linkages with
other sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture, manufacturing, and other
service industries. For example, food and most finished goods (furniture and other
construction materials) required by tourism establishments can generate supporting
industries in other sectors. Likewise, many other services, including transport,
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 3
business services, financial services, professional services, construction design and
engineering, environmental services, security services and government services are
also linked directly to the tourism industry (Diaz Benavides, 2001, pp. 7). This
process would lessen the country's dependence on outside factors, stimulate the
local economy and reduce foreign exchange leakage.

Tourism also promotes improvements in the countrys infrastructure, as it
encourages investment in areas that would have a positive impact on the tourists
experience and increase arrivals; areas such as water and sewage systems, roads,
electricity, telephone and public transport networks (including airport constructions
and upgrading). This benefits not only tourism but also other sectors in the economy.
For example, when a new road is built to provide access to a resort or when a beach
front is developed as a tourism project, businesses in the immediate vicinity benefit
and new ones are encouraged to setup, for example: providing entertainment,
transportation and laundry services, establishing catering facilities where local
cuisine is prepared.

Moreover, since tourism can be built on existing infrastructure and be developed with
local products and resources, it facilitates the use of resources that are in line with
the factors endowment of the country. For example, if a country has more beaches
than mountains then tourism can be developed around water sports and other
activities involving beaches as opposed to mountain climbing and hiking.

1.2.4 Other benefits
Another benefit that tourism brings is increased government revenue. Direct revenue
is generated by taxes on income from tourism employment and tourism businesses,
and by direct levies on tourists such as departure taxes. Similarly, indirect revenue is
generated from taxes and duties levied on goods and services supplied to tourists.

Tourism is a product, which has no exact substitute and as such the demand for
tourism rises with income. For example, a country producing sugar as in the case of
Barbados, would find that demand for sugar does not increase as peoples income
rises but in fact it may actually fall as they can now afford healthier though more
expensive alternatives. However, as peoples income grows, the more likely they are
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 4
to go on a holiday, take a recreational break, go to a sporting event or some other
form of travel. Thus, tourism demand increases with world income and once a
country provides a product that can attract visitors, it is likely to benefit from such
increases.

Finally, tourism can serve as a conduit for transferring new technology and
managerial skills into the economy. This is primarily through the heavy involvement
of multinational corporations
1
(MNCs) in the industry (United Nations Center for
Transnational Corporations, UNCTC, 1982). According to the UNCTC report (pp. 4),
MNCs have entered the international tourism industry at a very rapid pace since the
late 1960s and their contribution to its development has been tremendous;
particularly in the area of hotels, airlines and tour operations. Moreover, it is through
the MNCs involvement in these areas that the technology transfer occurs. For
example, MNCs make valuable contributions to the development of large scale
hotels through managerial know-how and access to marketing reservation systems.
Dwyer and Forsyth (1994) argue that the foreign investor will have better knowledge
of the home countrys travel market and thus is better placed to market the
destination
2
more effectively in that market. Similarly, transnational airlines and tour
operators can support the development of national and regional airlines through
various contractual agreements.

1.3 Costs of Tourism

Tourism not only generates economic benefits but also bring a number of direct and
indirect costs to the tourist destinations. In fact, Weaver and Lawton argue that the
economic, social, cultural and environmental effects of irresponsible tourism can
outweigh the positive impacts (Weaver and Lawton, 2002, pp. 254). The most cited
drawbacks of tourism are the seasonality of employment, revenue leakages and its
environmental and socio-cultural impact (Page and Dowling, 2002, pp. 152).

1
MNCs are enterprises which operate in more than one national territory.
2
The World Tourism Organisation (2004, pp. 8) defines a tourism destination as a physical space in
which a visitor spends at least one overnight.
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 5
1.3.1 Seasonal Employment
Even though the tourist industry is an effective way to generate jobs it has been
argued that the seasonality of such employment creates problems. Particularly,
where there are strong seasonal variations there may be both social and economic
disruptions (Weaver and Lawton, 2002, pp. 258; Wearing and Neil, 2003, pp. 72-73).
This effects both the planning of businesses and individuals, which lowers output
and results in an inefficient allocation of recourses. For example, Pattullo (1996, pp.
52) mentions the case of Aruba where the rate of unemployment was drastically in
1985 as a direct result of tourism, however, many of the jobs were highly seasonal
and as such wages are low and there is no job security or work-related health care.

1.3.2 Leakages
According to Weaver and Lawton, 2002, the major cost of tourism is its high
leakage. Leakage can be defined as the percentage of import expenditures to
export earnings (Pattullo, 1996, pp. 39). In other words, leakages reflect the erosion
of revenue gained from tourism. Often, a considerable portion of tourism receipts
leave the destination country in the form of international airfares, fees to tour
operators of all-inclusive package tours, management fees and other income to
international hotels and other multinational companies operating in the destination
country (often referred to as external leakages see Diaz Benavides, 2001, pp. 7),
and for imports of food, drinks and other commodities for the sector (or internal
leakages - see Diaz Benavides, 2001, pp. 7).

A 1996 report by the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development
(UNCSD) suggests that the impact of the leakage varied greatly across countries,
depending on the structure of the economy and the tourism industry. Nonetheless,
majority of leakages go from developing countries to developed countries. Estimates
by the World Bank indicate that on average 55 percent of gross tourism earnings to
developing countries actually leak back to developed nations (Frueh 1998, cited in
Boo, 1990). In the case of the Caribbean, estimates range from 25 percent in
Antigua and Barbuda to 56 percent in St. Lucia. Pattullo (1996) suggests that such
leakages may be much higher and put the regional average for the Caribbean at 70
percent, with Bahamas as having the highest leakage for the region (90 percent).
Leakages related to imports are estimated to be the highest form of leakage and
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12 September 2006 6
range from 10-20 percent of gross tourism earnings for most advanced countries, to
40-50 percent for most developing countries (Diaz Benavides, 2001, pp. 9).

1.3.3 Environmental costs:
One of the most severe impacts of the tourism industry is its environmental
consequences. In this regards, Lea (1988) identifies four environmental issues, what
he calls stressor activities, which are changes causing permanent restructuring of
the environment, the generation of waste products, tourist activities, and population
effects (Lea, pp. 55). Permanent environmental restructuring refers to the
modification of the physical landscape due to the construction of different
infrastructure (for example, shopping malls, hotels, golf clubs and piers) especially
on agricultural areas or wild areas. For instance, according to the Island Resources
Foundation (1996), sand has been removed from some parts of Havana (Cuba) for
the construction of buildings. The generation of waste products is related to the
increase of littering by travellers. In this regard, the Island Resources Foundation
(1996, pp. 22) claims that visitors produce more amounts of solid and liquid waste
per capita than local users. For instance, tourists tend to leave litter at picnic areas
and even human excrement is sometime found in some beaches and rivers in the
Caribbean. An example of this is the case of Quiba, one of the west coastal rivers of
Havana, which is extremely contaminated due to the increase pollution from
foreigners. Similarly, cruise ships and air transport are also major contributors to the
rise of residual products and pollution by dropping oil into the sea and by burning
fuel, damaging thus the seawater and air quality. Tourist activities themselves also
negatively impact on the environment. For example, destruction of reefs, pollution of
coastal waters, damage parks and removal of plants and precious corals are some
of the problems tourist destinations face in developing countries. Finally, population
dynamics is related to the seasonal effect of tourism on population densities. For
example, the seasonal flow of tourists can lead to congestion when the capacity of
the destination is exceeded.

1.3.4 Socio-cultural destruction
The impact of tourism on society significantly depends on the size of the population
of the tourist destination relative to the flow of visitors (Lea 1988, pp. 66).
Nevertheless, tourism does influence the locals behaviour, consumption patterns
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12 September 2006 7
and even beliefs. Moreover, it is argued that eventually tourism brings more social
and cultural damages to the society than positive ones (Weaver and Lawton, 2002,
pp. 277). This is possibly due to the demonstration effect, which occurs when the
flow of tourists becomes so large that it causes local residents change their
consumer habits and this may not necessarily be the best outcome for the entire
population of the destination (Lea, 1988, pp 66). The demonstration effects different
social stratus and racial groups. Weaver and Lawton (2002, pp. 282) point out that
young people are more incline towards adopting foreigners consumption patterns
rather than the home custom and culture, and this increases social tension between
the old and the young residents of the community.

The commodification of a destinations culture is another potential negative impact
that tourist destinations may experience because of fast and uncontrolled tourism
growth. Commodification refers to the modification of the local culture in order to
satisfy tourists expectations and needs so as to attract more tourism but losing in
the exchange, national integrity (see for example Weaver and Lawton, 2002, pp.
277). The general thrust of the commodification is that tourism can turn local
cultures into commodities where religious rituals, traditional ethnic rites and festivals
are modified, sanitised and repackage to conform to tourist expectations, diminishing
the original value and meaning of the particular cultural practice. One Antiguan
senator wrote that "folk culture has become a marketable commodity, readily and
monotonously packaged as Yellow Bird, limbo without meaning, except as tourist
entertainment, steelbands which now draw no response from the people for whom
the music is produced, and a national dish which is really Kentucky and Fries. A
culture has been turned on its head" (Pattullo 1996, pp. 182).

1.4 Overview of World Tourism
Tourism contributes significantly to the export earnings, employment and GDP of
many countries and is currently the worlds largest and fastest growing industry
(World Tourism Organisation, (WTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council
(WTTC)
3
). Indeed, estimates by WTO suggest that in 2005, approximately 808
million people travelled to foreign countries (45 million more than in 2004), spent

3
See for example, WTO (2005; 2006b) and WTTC (2005; 2006).
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 8
almost US$650 billion, generated US$6,201.5 billion in economic activity, accounted
for 12 percent of total world exports, and contributed 3.8 percent to world GDP and
8.3 percent to world employment. No other industry currently boasts these kinds of
statistics. Moreover, the WTO forecasts for up to the year 2010 indicate that the
industry should expand at an annual average rate of approximately 3 percent, in real
terms (World Tourism Organisation, 2006b).

In 2004, international tourism arrivals reached an all-time high of 763 million,
representing an 11 percent (or 73 million persons in absolute terms) increase on
2003. WTO (2005, pp.7) argues that this is an indication of the resilient of the
industry, having recovered from the September 2001 terrorists attacks in the USA,
the 2001 foot and mouth scare in the UK, and the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia.
Moreover, international tourism receipts accounted for roughly 6 percent of the
worlds exports of goods and services, and almost 30 percent of service exports
WTO (2005, pp.2).

Fifty two percent or 395 million tourists travelled for the purpose of leisure and
recreation, while business trips accounted for approximately 16 percent or 120
million. Another 24 percent, or 120 million tourists, either visited friends and relatives,
went on religious trips or had travelled for health treatments WTO (2005, pp. 10).

1.5 The Regional Picture
International tourist arrivals
Table 1 shows the top ten destinations in the world in terms of tourist arrivals for
2004, along with their previous rankings over the last decade and a half. The table
indicates that these top ten destinations have over the years accounted for roughly
half of international tourist arrivals, from 54.7 percent in 1990 to 47.6 percent in
2004, thus suggesting a heavy geographical concentration of tourism flows.
Moreover, six European countries consistently appear in the top ten, collectively
accounting for 30.5 percent of international tourist arrivals, with France being the
number 1 choice among tourists (visited by 75.1 million tourists in 2004) followed by
Spain (receiving 53.6 million tourists in 2004). From the Americas only the USA and
Mexico are in the top 10, with the USA securing the third largest amount of total
international tourists during 2004. Interestingly, a decade ago the USA was ranked
Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 9
second but is now outperformed by Spain. However, the most impressive
performance comes from China, which in 1990 received only 10.5 million
international tourists and was in 12th position, accounted for 41.8 million arrivals in
2004, placing it in 4th position behind the USA. A similar story can be seen in the
case of Hong Kong, which makes the overall position of China even more
impressive.

Table 1-1: Worlds Top Ten Destinations for International Tourists
Arrivals in millions World Ranking Market Share (%)
1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004
1990 1995 2000 2004
World 441 538.1 680.6 763.2

France E 52.5 60.1 74.5 75.1 1 1 1 1 11.9 11.2 10.9 9.8
Spain E 34.1 39.3 48.5 53.6 3 3 3 2 7.7 7.3 7.1 7.0
United States Am 39.3 43.4 52.7 46.1 2 2 2 3 8.9 8.1 7.7 6.0
China (mainland) AP 10.5 23.4 31.2 41.8 12 6 5 4 2.4 4.3 4.6 5.5
Italy E 26.7 31.1 41.2 37.1 4 4 4 5 6.1 5.8 6.1 4.9
United Kingdom E 18 24 24.9 27.8 7 5 6 6 4.1 4.5 3.7 3.6
Hong Kong AP 6.6 10.2 13.1 21.8 19 15 14 7 1.5 1.9 1.9 2.9
Mexico Am 17.2 20.2 20 20.6 8 8 9 8 3.9 3.8 2.9 2.7
Germany E 17.1 14.8 18.9 20.1 9 13 10 9 3.9 2.8 2.8 2.6
Austria E 19.1 17.2 17.8 19.4 6 10 12 10 4.3 3.2 2.6 2.5
Source: Various World Tourism Organisation Tourism Market Trends reports from 1991 to
2006. E denotes European region, Am stands for the Americas and AP refers to the Asia and
Pacific region.

Figure 1-1 gives a regional perspective on international tourist arrivals (supporting
data is given in Table A1 of Appendix 1). Reflecting the fact that at least six of its
member countries are top tourist destinations, the European region has dominated
the market for international tourist arrivals. However, its share has been gradually
slipping; from a high of 74.1 percent of total international arrivals in1965 to its current
position of 54.6 percent (see Figure 1-1). The rate for the Americas exhibits a similar
pattern, falling from 25.5 percent in 1970 to 16.5 percent in 2004. At the same time,
Asia and Pacific region has constantly trended upwards over the period, with its
share of total international tourist arrivals rising from 0.8 percent in 1950
(representing just 0.2 million visitors) to 20 percent in 2004 (or 152 million arrivals),
making it the second largest visited region behind Europe.

Nathali Greenidge
12 September 2006 10
Figure 1-1: Regional Shares of Total International Arrivals
Europe
Americas
Asia & Pacific
Africa
Middle East
0
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3
%

Data source: (World Tourism Organisation, 2006a, Annex 3).

Tourism receipts
Table 2 shows the rankings according to tourism receipts and tells a similar story of
geographical concentration where the top ten receivers of tourism earnings
accounted for 51.6 percent of the Worlds total. Moreover, eight of the top tourism
earners are also in the top ten destinations. In fact, the top three positions, though
reversed, are the same countries in both Tables.
Table 1-2: Worlds Top Ten Tourism Earners
Receipts (US$ billions) World Ranking Market Share (%)
1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004
World 273.2 411.3 479.2 622.7

United States Am 43 61.1 82.4 74.5 1 1 1 1 15.7 14.9 17.2 12.0
Spain E 18.6 25.3 31.5 45.2 4 4 2 2 6.8 6.2 6.6 7.3
France E 20.2 27.5 30.8 40.8 2 2 3 3 7.4 6.7 6.4 6.6
Italy E 20.1 27.5 27.5 35.7 3 3 4 4 7.4 6.7 5.7 5.7
Germany E 11.5 12.8 18.5 27.7 7 7 6 5 4.2 3.1 3.9 4.4
United Kingdom E 14.9 19.1 19.5 27.3 5 5 5 6 5.5 4.6 4.1 4.4
China (mainland) AP 2.2 8.7 16.2 25.7 25 10 7 7 0.8 2.1 3.4 4.1
Turkey E 3.2 5 7.6 15.9 21 21 14 8 1.2 1.2 1.6 2.6
Austria E 13.4 14.6 9.9 15.4 6 6 9 9 4.9 3.5 2.1 2.5
Australia O 4.1 7.9 8.6 13.0 14 14 11 10 1.5 1.9 1.8 2.1
Source: World Tourism Organisation Tourism Market Trends. from 1991 to 2006. E denotes
European region, Am stands for the Americas, AP refers to the Asia and Pacific region, and O
indicates Oceania region.

The USA is the number one tourism earner in the world and has always held this
position, or at least as far back as consistent data allows us to confirm. France has
Nathali Greenidge
also held the second position for quite sometime but since 2000 it was outperformed
by Spain, which was previously in fourth position. However, as with arrivals, there is
also evidence of market diversification with countries like China, Turkey and
Australia emerging as top tourism earners for the first time. This diversification has
not yet extended itself to the Latin America and Caribbean region (LAC), where the
Dominican Republic was the highest tourism earner for 2004 with US$3.2 billion,
which is roughly one-quarter that of Australia.

The above pattern of concentration in international tourism earnings is also reflected
in the aggregate at the regional level. Figure 1-2 (the supporting data is in Table A2,
Appendix) shows that the majority of annual earnings accrue to the European region.
However the ratio, which averaged 63 percent in the 1980s, has been gradually
sliding. Nevertheless, it is still above 50 percent. The second largest recipient of
international tourism receipts is the Americas and only so because it includes the
USA. In fact, the USA earnings accounts on average for between 60 and 70 percent
of the Americas total. The impressive performance of the AP region can also be
seen from the figure and is consistent with significant rise in arrivals to that region,
discussed above.
Figure 1-2: Regional Shares of International Tourism Receipts
Europe
Americas
Asia & Pacific
Africa Middle East
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1
9
5
0
1
9
6
5
1
9
7
5
1
9
8
1
1
9
8
3
1
9
8
5
1
9
8
7
1
9
8
9
1
9
9
1
1
9
9
3
1
9
9
5
1
9
9
7
1
9
9
9
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
3
%

Data source: World Tourism Organisation (2006a, Annex 10).
Nathali Greenidge
1.6 The Caribbean Picture
In 2004, the Caribbean region
4
received 2.4 percent of 2004s international tourist
arrivals, which may appear at first glance to be a small percentage but represents
18.2 million tourists visiting the region, just over half the regions population
5
. In
addition the region received 20.2 million cruise ship passengers. The industry also
generated US$19.2 billion in tourism receipts. Thus, for many of these countries the
tourism industry has become the most important economic activity, particularly as a
foreign exchange earner. In recent times its importance has grown even further as
other traditional areas of production have come under threat from trade liberalisation:
for example, sugar in Barbados; bananas in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean
States; and, bauxite in Jamaica.

An interesting feature of Caribbean tourism is that since 1986, arrivals have
increased at a much faster rate than that of world arrivals. Indeed, tourist arrivals to
the region have expanded at an annual average by 5.5 percent over the period 1986
to 2004, while world arrivals grew at a rate of 4.72 percent per annum (see Figure 1-
3). Even more interesting is the regions share in World tourist arrivals, which jumped
from 2.5 percent in 1985 to 3.0 percent in 1987. It then oscillated around this ratio,
only falling significantly in 2001 following the September 11 terrorists event.
Figure 1-3: Growth in Tourist Arrivals since 1970: Caribbean and World
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1
9
7
0
1
9
7
2
1
9
7
4
1
9
7
6
1
9
7
8
1
9
8
0
1
9
8
2
1
9
8
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9
8
6
1
9
8
8
1
9
9
0
1
9
9
2
1
9
9
4
1
9
9
6
1
9
9
8
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
4
%
Caribbean
World

Data sources: WTO (2006) and directly from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO)

4
The Caribbean region comprises Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados,
Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe,
Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.
Lucia, St, Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands,
and the US Virgin Islands.
5
Data obtained from the World Bank Development indicators 2005.
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Table 3 displays the top ten destinations in the Caribbean region. Of the 29 possible
destinations, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Cuba have emerge as the top 3
preferred destinations with market shares of 19.5, 19 and 11.1 percent, respectively.
Thus, almost half of tourists to the region go to these three areas. In this regard, the
best performer is Cuba, which in 1989 on accounted for only 2.9 percent of the
market but has since saw a six-fold increase in its arrivals.

Table 1-3: Caribbeans Top Ten Destinations for International Tourists Arrivals
Arrivals in Millions Caribbean Ranking Market Share (%)
1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004
Caribbean 11.40 14.10 17.10 18.20

Puerto Rico 2.56 3.13 3.34 3.54 1 1 1 1 22.5 22.2 19.5 19.5
Dominican Rep. 1.31 1.78 2.98 3.45 3 2 2 2 11.4 12.6 17.4 19.0
Cuba 0.33 0.74 1.74 2.02 11 5 3 3 2.9 5.3 10.2 11.1
Bahamas 1.56 1.60 1.54 1.56 2 3 4 4 13.7 11.3 9.0 8.6
Jamaica 0.99 1.15 1.32 1.42 4 4 5 5 8.7 8.2 7.7 7.8
Aruba 0.43 0.62 0.72 0.73 8 7 6 6 3.8 4.4 4.2 4.0
Barbados 0.43 0.44 0.55 0.55 9 11 9 7 3.8 3.1 3.2 3.0
US Virgin Is. 0.46 0.45 0.55 0.54 6 9 8 8 4.1 3 3.2 3.0
St. Maarten 0.55 0.45 0.43 0.48 5 10 11 9 4.8 3.2 2.5 2.6
Martinique 0.28 0.46 0.53 0.47 12 8 10 10 2.5 3.2 3.1 2.6
Data source: WTO (2006, Annex 5) and directly from CTO.

1.6.1 Market performance
In 2004, the Caribbean region received 53 percent of its long-stay visitors from the
USA, 24 percent from the European region, 8 percent from Canada, 6 percent for
within the Caribbean, and 9 percent from other markets including Japan.
Figure 1-4: Tourists Arrivals to the Caribbean by Main Markets (2004)

USA
53%
CANADA
8%
EUROPE
24%
CARIBBEAN
6%
Other
9%

2004
USA
58%
CANADA
6%
EUROPE
13%
CARIBBE
AN
9%
Other
14%
1988

Source: Data obtained directly from CTO
Nathali Greenidge

Figure 1-4 shows clearly the dominance of the USA market as tourist generators to
the Caribbean and the relative significance of the European and Regional markets.
In 1988, 58 percent of tourism arrivals came from the USA and although percentage
has declined slightly over the years, more than half of arrivals still originate in that
market. However, the European market has seen the greatest improvement over the
years, as the share of visitors from that market increased from 13 percent in 1988 to
24 percent in 2004.

1.6.2 Distribution of earnings
Tourist expenditure amounted to approximately US$19.2 billion in the Caribbean in
2004. Table 1-4 shows the top ten Caribbean countries earning tourism dollars and
their pervious rankings. As expected, the top tourism destinations are also the top
recipients of tourism expenditure. These ten countries together accounted for 81
percent of total tourism earning in the Caribbean in 2004, with the remaining 19
percent dispersed among the other 19 Caribbean countries. Dominican Republic
heads the list with 16.6 percent of total expenditure, followed by Puerto Rico with
15.8 percent, and Cuba is third with 10 percent.

Table 1-4: Caribbeans Top Ten Tourism Earners
Receipts (US$ billions) Caribbean Ranking Market Share (%)
1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004 1990 1995 2000 2004
Caribbean 8.73 12.25 17.15 19.15

Dominican Rep. 0.90 1.57 2.86 3.18 3 2 1 1 10.3 12.8 16.7 16.6
Puerto Rico 1.37 1.83 2.29 3.02 1 1 2 2 15.6 14.9 13.3 15.8
Cuba 0.24 0.96 1.74 1.92 11 5 3 3 2.8 7.9 10.1 10.0
Bahamas 1.33 1.35 1.73 1.88 2 3 4 4 15.3 11.0 10.1 9.8
Jamaica 0.74 1.07 1.33 1.44 4 4 5 5 8.5 8.7 7.8 7.5
US Virgin Is. 0.70 0.82 1.21 1.36 5 6 6 6 8.0 6.7 7.0 7.1
Neth. Antilles n.a 0.56 0.77 0.92 8 8 7 n.a 4.6 4.5 4.8
Barbados 0.49 0.62 0.72 0.83 6 7 9 8 5.7 5.1 4.2 4.3
St. Maarten 0.32 0.35 0.51 0.61 9 14 11 9 3.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
Bernuda 0.49 0.49 0.43 0.35 7 10 12 10 5.6 4.0 2.5 1.8
Source: data obtained from WTO (2006, Annex 12) and directly from CTO.

1.6.3 Importance of Tourism to the Caribbean
Estimates by the WTTC (2006, pp. 22) highlight the importance of tourism to the
Caribbean region. The industry generates approximately US$50 billion in demand,
Nathali Greenidge
supplies roughly 16.4 percent of the region GDP, 18.4 percent of exports of goods
and services, and provides employment for about 20 percent of the labour force. In
addition, the sector is the leading source of income in at least six of the islands:
Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts-Nevis, and the Dominican
Republic, and close to being so in many of the others.

Employment
Tourism generates direct employment for 881,000 people in the Caribbean, which
represents 5 percent of total employment. However, another 1.7 million people (15
percent of total employment) indirectly earns a living from tourism. These include taxi
drivers, bar workers, restaurants, casinos and souvenir shops. The top three
countries to benefit in terms of employment (both direct and indirect) are Aruba with
71 percent, Barbados with 59.5 and the Virgin Islands with 58.1 (WTTC, 2006, pp.
22-24).

Income
Although the contribution of the tourism industry to the national income or GDP of
the Caribbean is on average 16.4 percent, it varies considerably across the
countries. For the majority of countries, tourism makes a significant contribution in
the range of 20 to 55 percent of GDP. Such countries include Bahamas (50.1
percent) and Barbados (41.4 percent). However, for some countries more than two-
thirds of their GDP comes from tourism. These include Antigua and Barbuda (85.4
percent), Aruba (78 percent) and Anguilla (74 percent). While for a few countries,
tourism contribution is less than 10 percent. These include Puerto Rico (6.2 percent)
and Curacao (4.1 percent).

Government Revenue
The government also benefits from tourism through the variety of taxes which it
receives directly and indirectly from the tourist sector. Such taxes include; hotel
occupancy taxes; departure tax, liquor tax, road tolls, harbour revenues, customs
duties, profit (corporate) tax, hotel land tax, taxi and car rental licenses and casino
license tax. Data is not currently available to give a complete picture of the
aggregate contribution of all of these revenue categories to total government
revenues. The case of hotel occupancy tax is examined.
Nathali Greenidge

Hotel occupancy taxes complement government revenues by between US$ 10 and
US$13 million in Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Cayman Islands and the Virgin
Islands. It is interesting to note further that revenue from hotel occupancy tax
contributes the least in Barbados (US$ 0.20 million in 2005) (Caribbean Tourism
Organisation, 2005, pp. 263).

1.6.4 Some challenges for the region
The Caribbean has certainly benefited from the tourism industry and continues to do.
However, there are a number of challenges facing the region. These include
competition from traditional tourist generating regions. Additionally, there are several
new emerging destinations. In addition, there is the challenge of maintaining the
quality of the tourism product in order to meet the needs and expectations of the
tourists while preserving the integrity of the regions resource base.

Our earlier discussion indicated that Europe (particularly France, Spain, and UK) and
the Americas (particularly USA and Mexico) are still the main tourist-receiving
regions, while East Asia and Pacific region is the fastest growing region and is
emerging a major destination on the tourist schedule. The increased performance of
these regions presents a challenge for the Caribbean. Moreover, nearly half of the
world's population lives within a five-hour flight from Hong Kong, and in China, there
are in excess of 30 airports. This all suggests that, all things being equal, arrivals to
the Caribbean region will slow in the coming years.

In terms of product enhancement, CTO (2003) estimates that the Caribbean will
require an additional 120,000 rooms by 2010; and that there will be need for
extensive refurbishment of accommodation since in 1993 about 63 percent of the
rooms in the region were already over 15 years old. There is also clearly a need for
improvement and additions to the attractions, infrastructure and services as there is
for enhanced human resource development in the Caribbean. CTO (2003) also
notes that these improvements will require approximately US$5 billion annually.

Nathali Greenidge
2. The Tourism Industry in Barbados
2.1 Introduction
Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean chain of islands (Figure 2-1) and is
located at 13 degrees north, 59 degrees west, approximately 100 miles from the
nearest landmass. The island is 34 kilometres in length and 23 kilometres wide with
a total land area of approximately 431 square kilometres. It was first settled by the
British in 1627 and remained a British colony until 1961. Barbados gained full
independence in 1966 but maintained ties to the British monarchy as a member of
the Commonwealth. It has a population of 279,912 (CIA, 2006).

Figure 2-1: A Map of the Caribbean and Barbados

Sourced from the Barbados Ministry of Tourism and downloaded from
http://www.barmot.gov.bb/geninfo.htm on 12-06-2006

Part of the uniqueness of Barbados as a tourist destination versus the other
Caribbean countries lies in its formation as a coral Island. The Caribbean island
chain was formed by a volcanic eruption during the collision of the Atlantic and
Caribbean plates and as such the islands are very rugged and mountainous.
However, Barbados is not of volcanic origin but was formed later as coral began to
accumulate and eventually rose to 300 feet above the seabed. Thus, Barbados
unlike the other islands is mostly flat (Figure 2-2) and surrounded by coral reefs,
Nathali Greenidge
which provide excellent conditions for snorkelling and scuba diving activities.
Although it is not mountainous, there are a number of hills (the highest point being
Mount Hillaby at 336 metres) and many deep ridges and gullies, with an interesting
distribution of flora and fauna. Within the Barbados coral core there is a vast array of
caves and underground lakes which provide an excellent supply of drinking water
that is amongst the purest in the world. Rainwater percolates quickly through the
islands underlying coral limestone cap, draining into the underground streams and
adds to its water supply.

Figure 2-2: Map of Barbados

Source: World Atlas downloaded from http://www.worldatlas.com. on 29-06-2006

Foreign travel to Barbados predates the period of this study by more than two
centuries. However, it was not until the advent of the steamship in the nineteenth
century that travel exclusively for pleasure blossomed. The industrial revolution
Nathali Greenidge
which had produced the steamship, opened new avenues of prosperity and allowed
wealthy persons to travel to exotic destinations around the world.

Until well into the 1960s, most of Barbados tourist accommodation was of the
exclusive variety, catering to visitors who preferred high quality and full service.
Travelling to the Caribbean for holidays became extremely fashionable for a small
group of wealthy North Americans who had become accustomed to spending winter
in a warm climate. In addition, Barbados attracted visitors from the Caribbean who
took advantage of inter-island shipping services to visit the island. They were
generally less affluent than their North American counterparts and stayed primarily
with friends and relatives or in guest houses.

The early development of the hotel industry in Barbados was marked by a high
degree of foreign ownership. There was relatively little marketing done and
practically no governmental guidance or control. The entrepreneurs were mainly
European or North American businessmen with some experience in the travel and
/or hospitality business and they organised all the elements of the tourist trade, from
transportation to accommodation facilities and some ancillary services. Since the
1960s, however, increased participation by local entrepreneurs has been a
significant feature of the growth in tourist accommodation. Today, approximately two-
thirds of the accommodation establishments are owned by locals.

Tourism in Barbados emerged as a major economic activity in the late 1950s. Long-
stay
6
visitors to the island have increased from 17,829 in 1956 to 547,501 in 2005.
Barbados has also benefited from the development of the international cruise
industry with an increase in cruise passengers from 12,391 in 1956 to 563,588 in
2005.
7
Moreover, the contributions of the tourism sector to real Gross Domestic

6
Any tourist that enters Barbados via the airport is classified as a long-stay tourist, while those that
arrive on cruise ships are referred to as cruise ship arrivals. This classification is to highlight the fact
that cruise ship passengers normally stay for less than a day and contributes on average less to the
economy than those than come by air. This information was obtained in the course of a telephone
interview with Roland Craigwell, Deputy Director of the Research Department of the Central Bank of
Barbados.
7
All data is obtained from various publication of Annual Statistical Digest of the Central Bank of
Barbados; Tables H12 to H14.
Nathali Greenidge
Product (GDP), foreign exchange earnings and employment have risen considerable
during the period under review.

2.2 Structure and Development of the industry
Figure 2-3 plots the number of tourist arrivals to Barbados over the period 1956 to
2005
8
. It also plots the underlying trend
9
in tourist arrivals in order to give a clearer
picture of the evolution of arrivals over time and also to assist in identifying possible
phases in the development of the tourism product. The trend line can also be seen
as corresponding to the Butler (1980) curve. Butler posits that a tourist destination
goes through six key phases; exploration, involvement, development, consolidation,
stagnation and, decline and/or rejuvenation. Not every destination follows these
phases in the exact sequence and neither is every phase identifiable in each
destination. However, Butlers curve has proven to be a useful diagnostic tool (Choy,
1992, pp. 12) and has been extensively utilised to aid in describing the evolution of
destinations (see for example, Douglas, 1997; Essex et al., 2004; Haywood, 1986;
Lundtorp S. and Wanhill, 2001).

In the case of Barbados, it is possible to identify four distinct stages in the pattern of
tourist arrivals. The period from 1956 to 1964 marks the beginnings of a well-
organised local tourist industry and the start of the international travel boom. The
second stage dates from 1965 to 1972 and features the introduction of national
package promotions in the North American market. It also coincides with the
development of inclusive tour charters, new air traffic regulations, changing fare
policies and competitive practices which effectively reduced transportation cost. The
third stage, 1973 to 1992, was a period of mixed performance. It began with a
recession and featured three growth spurs, each followed by a recession. Stage four,
1993 to 2005, is marked by renewed growth in the established markets and new
market developments in Europe and, to a lesser extent, in Caricom countries.

8
No data is available prior to 1956. However, this is not a problem since it is only in the late 1950s
that tourism began to emerge as a major economic activity following the introduction of the Hotel Aids
Act of 1956, which allowed extensive fiscal concessions for the construction and operation of tourist
accommodations. Also note that the Barbados Tourism Board was established in 1958 to further
develop the sector.
9
To estimate the trend we use the Hodrick-Prescott (1997) Filter, which is a smoothing method used
extensively in macroeconomic research to obtain a smooth estimate of the long-term trend
component of a series and is a feature of most econometric and statistical packages. In this regard,
we utilise the Eviews 5.1 software package.
Nathali Greenidge
Figure 2-3: Tourist Arrivals to Barbados 1956 2005 (in thousands)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
1
9
5
6
1
9
5
8
1
9
6
0
1
9
6
2
1
9
6
4
1
9
6
6
1
9
6
8
1
9
7
0
1
9
7
2
1
9
7
4
1
9
7
6
1
9
7
8
1
9
8
0
1
9
8
2
1
9
8
4
1
9
8
6
1
9
8
8
1
9
9
0
1
9
9
2
1
9
9
4
1
9
9
6
1
9
9
8
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
4
Arrivals trend

Source: Data obtained from various publication of the Annual Statistical Digest of the Central
Bank of Barbados (1981, 1990, 1996 and 2005).

2.2.1 Exploration and Involvement (1956-1964)
Prior to the 1950s, tourism activity in Barbados was relatively uncoordinated and
powered entirely by private sector initiative. There was no common association or
organisation responsible for the management of tourism and no governmental
support or regulation for the sector. The first significant signs of organisation and
government involvement came in the late 1950s with the introduction of an Act to
encourage the expansion of hotel facilities. The Hotel Aids Act (1956) provided
exemption from customs duties on building materials and equipment for new hotel
development and granted a seven-year income tax holiday for eligible
establishments
10
. Additionally, the Barbados Development (Amendment) Act of 1958
gave permission for the Barbados Development Board to make loans for
construction and expansion of hotels (Watson, 1990, pp. 14).

At the same time, hotel owners started to organise themselves as a group and in
1957 the Barbados Hotel Association was formed. This organisation played a major
role in the development of the tourism industry and is now the main trade association

10
The Hotel Aids Act was amended in 1958 to include beach cottages.
Nathali Greenidge
in the industry
11
. In the following year, the Barbados Tourist Board was established
by Government to promote Barbados in international tourism markets (Downes,
2003, pp. 9). The Board of Tourism, as it was later renamed, was funded exclusively
by Government grants, and from its inception devoted its total annual budget to
advertising. With its establishment tourism began to record strong rates of growth.

In 1956 Caricom islands were the largest single source of visitors to Barbados,
representing 41 percent of the total (Table 2-1, in panel labelled exploration and
involvement), with Trinidad and Tobago accounting for roughly 45 percent of all
Caribbean tourists. However, Caricoms share of the market has been gradually
sliding as the international markets grew in importance.

Arrivals grew at an annual average rate of 16.1 percent during this stage, moving
from 17.8 thousand in 1956 to 57.6 thousand in 1964. The fastest growth (25.6
percent) was recorded in the Canadian market (also evident from the steep rise in
the Canadian line in Figure 2-4, in section labelled exploration and involvement).

This reflects the fact that the Barbados Tourist Board concentrated heavily on the
Canadian market during this period. Total promotional expenditures in the three main
extra-regional markets (USA, UK and Canada) more than tripled between 1960 and
1964, rising from Bd$90,000 in 1960 to Bd$306,000 in 1964. Canadas share of the
advertising budget increased almost thirteen-fold compared with a growth of 43
percent for the US. Expenditures in the UK increased nine-fold, but that brought
them only to one-third the level of promotion in Canada (data obtained from Clark et
al., 1985, pp. 39).

The USA market, where most of the advertising was done, grew at an annual
average rate of 18.8 percent. Although arrivals from the Caribbean grew most slowly
during this phase, they still accounted for the largest share of total arrivals. Barbados
is an important shopping and holiday centre for the islands of the Organisation of

11
See the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association website for a list of the achievements and
involvement in the industry: http://www.bhta.org/index.htm .
Nathali Greenidge
Table 2-1: Tourist Arrivals to Barbados by Market: Shares and Growth Rate (1956-
2005)
year UK USA Canada Caricom Other UK USA Canada Caricom Other Total Average
1956 6.5 23.1 10.4 41.3 18.7
1957 5.9 28.3 9.0 39.8 17.0 20.8 63.5 15.7 28.7 21.7 33.6
1958 6.1 28.4 10.0 37.4 18.1 8.9 5.2 16.7 -1.3 11.5 4.9
1959 5.7 28.3 11.1 38.6 16.3 13.9 21.0 34.4 25.0 9.2 21.3
1960 5.9 27.3 10.6 41.2 15.0 21.2 13.6 11.8 25.5 7.9 17.5
1961 7.8 27.9 14.6 37.7 11.9 38.0 6.2 44.6 -4.5 -16.9 4.3
1962 7.6 26.5 18.0 36.8 11.0 15.9 13.2 46.3 16.0 9.5 18.9
1963 9.4 26.0 19.7 33.5 11.3 41.7 12.5 25.8 4.7 17.9 14.8
1964 10.7 26.3 19.0 33.4 10.6 29.6 15.1 9.3 13.5 7.3 13.9
Average 7.3 26.9 13.6 37.8 14.4 23.8 18.8 25.6 13.4 8.5 16.1
1965 9.8 29.0 20.8 30.5 10.1 8.1 30.9 30.1 8.2 12.3 18.7
1966 10.5 30.1 20.7 29.3 9.4 24.4 20.3 15.2 11.1 8.3 15.6
1967 10.5 32.6 20.0 27.0 10.0 15.9 25.1 11.7 6.8 22.4 15.8
1968 9.9 35.7 24.1 20.8 9.4 19.4 38.5 52.4 -2.4 19.7 26.4
1969 7.6 39.2 23.5 19.0 10.7 -11.5 27.6 13.4 5.8 31.1 16.1
1970 7.7 36.5 25.3 21.4 9.1 18.8 8.4 25.3 31.1 -1.0 16.5
1971 7.2 36.2 28.4 17.9 10.3 12.7 19.9 35.6 1.3 36.9 20.9
1972 7.1 35.9 29.4 17.4 10.2 9.0 10.3 15.3 8.0 10.6 11.3
Average 8.8 34.4 24.0 22.9 9.9 12.1 22.6 24.9 8.7 17.5 17.6
1973 8.0 33.7 30.9 16.4 11.1 19.1 -1.0 10.9 -0.7 14.8 5.6
1974 10.3 28.7 33.5 16.5 11.0 34.4 -11.4 12.5 4.9 2.8 3.9
1975 11.2 24.8 34.1 17.2 12.7 4.3 -17.1 -2.2 -0.2 11.4 -4.0 1.7
1976 11.5 25.0 32.5 17.2 13.8 4.2 2.1 -3.3 1.2 9.6 1.3
1977 9.5 26.1 31.1 17.6 15.7 -1.4 25.6 14.7 23.3 36.5 20.1
1978 11.3 27.0 28.8 17.1 15.8 40.2 21.4 8.9 14.4 18.9 17.7 18.3
1979 13.3 24.6 25.0 20.5 16.6 38.4 6.9 1.7 39.8 22.4 17.1
1980 15.2 23.2 23.0 22.8 15.8 13.7 -5.9 -8.4 11.1 -4.9 -0.3
1981 20.4 21.1 19.8 24.6 14.0 28.2 -13.4 -17.7 2.9 -15.7 -4.7 -6.3
1982 16.8 24.9 19.6 26.9 11.8 -29.1 1.4 -14.7 -6.1 -27.0 -13.8
1983 14.5 34.7 16.2 25.5 9.0 -6.8 51.0 -10.8 2.7 -17.4 8.1
1984 12.6 38.1 18.3 22.8 8.2 -2.9 23.0 26.5 0.0 1.3 12.0 10.0
1985 10.8 41.2 19.7 19.7 8.6 -16.1 5.6 4.9 -15.4 2.2 -2.3
1986 12.9 45.0 16.3 16.6 9.2 22.6 12.3 -14.6 -13.3 11.1 3.0
1987 18.8 41.5 15.3 15.1 9.4 66.3 5.3 6.7 3.3 16.3 14.1 6.6
1988 22.4 37.8 14.5 14.0 11.2 27.9 -2.5 2.0 -0.2 26.8 7.0
1989 25.6 33.4 14.2 13.6 13.1 16.7 -9.7 -0.1 -0.9 19.9 2.2
1990 22.0 33.2 13.4 14.4 17.1 -19.7 -7.1 -11.8 -0.9 22.0 -6.3
1991 22.4 30.2 11.7 14.7 21.0 -7.1 -16.9 -20.0 -6.9 12.1 -8.8 -5.8
1992 23.0 28.7 13.0 13.7 21.6 0.7 -7.0 8.0 -8.9 0.6 -2.2
Average 15.6 31.2 21.5 18.4 13.3 11.7 3.1 -0.3 2.5 8.2 3.5
1993 25.3 28.5 12.4 13.2 20.6 12.7 1.9 -1.6 -0.7 -2.0 2.7
1994 29.0 25.6 12.3 12.1 21.0 23.4 -3.2 6.3 -1.9 9.6 7.5
1995 28.6 25.3 12.1 13.3 20.7 2.6 2.7 2.1 13.9 2.4 3.9
1996 31.2 25.0 12.3 12.7 18.8 10.2 -0.2 2.9 -3.2 -8.1 1.1
1997 33.0 22.9 12.5 13.5 18.2 11.7 -3.3 7.1 12.0 2.0 5.6
1998 36.4 20.7 11.7 13.7 17.4 19.7 -1.7 1.9 10.7 3.8 8.5
1999 39.4 20.4 11.1 16.7 12.3 8.6 -1.3 -4.4 22.4 -28.8 0.4
2000 41.6 20.6 11.0 16.1 10.7 11.8 6.9 4.6 1.5 -8.0 5.8
2001 42.9 21.0 10.3 15.8 10.0 -4.1 -4.9 -12.6 -8.4 -13.5 -6.9
2002 38.7 24.8 9.4 18.0 9.2 -11.4 15.8 -10.7 11.7 -9.7 -1.8
2003 38.1 24.3 9.3 18.2 10.0 5.2 4.8 6.2 8.2 15.9 6.7
2004 38.8 23.5 9.1 18.9 9.7 5.6 0.3 0.8 7.9 1.1 3.8
2005 37.0 23.9 8.7 21.0 9.4 -5.2 1.0 -4.7 9.9 -4.0 -0.7
Average 35.4 23.6 10.9 15.6 14.4 7.0 1.4 -0.2 6.5 -3.0 2.8
C
o
n
s
o
l
i
d
a
t
i
o
n
R
e
j
u
v
e
n
a
t
i
o
n
Market Shares (in percent) Growth Rates (in percent)
E
x
p
l
o
r
a
t
i
o
n

a
n
d

I
n
v
o
l
v
e
m
e
n
t
D
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t

Source: Authors calculation with data obtained from Table H12 of various
publication of the Annual Statistical Digest of the Central Bank of Barbados (1981,
1990, 1996 and 2005)

Nathali Greenidge
Figure 2-4: Tourist Arrivals to Barbados by Market: 1956-2005 (in thousands)
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
1
9
5
6
1
9
5
8
1
9
6
0
1
9
6
2
1
9
6
4
1
9
6
6
1
9
6
8
1
9
7
0
1
9
7
2
1
9
7
4
1
9
7
6
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9
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8
1
9
8
0
1
9
8
2
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9
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4
1
9
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6
1
9
8
8
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9
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1
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9
2
1
9
9
4
1
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1
9
9
8
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
2
0
0
4
U.K. U.S.A Canada Caricom Other

Source: Authors calculation with data obtained from Table H12 of various publication of the Annual Statistical Digest of the Central
Bank of Barbados (1981, 1990, 1996 and 2005)
Nathali Greenidge
Eastern Caribbean States
12
(OECS), Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. It is also
linked to them through the many Barbadians who migrated to these countries in the
early part of the century.

2.2.2 Development- accelerating growth (1965-1972)
By 1965 the rapid growth in world tourism led to considerably stronger growth in
arrivals from extra-regional markets and by 1966 the USA had become Barbados
largest source market with a share of 30.1 percent, compared with 23.1 percent in
1956. The Caribbean constituted the second largest source of visitors though its
share fell to 29.3 percent in 1966. Canadas share had increased to 20.7 percent and
that of the UK to 10.5 percent. The strong performance of tourism, in particular, the
Canadian market, drew attention to the enormous growth potential and led
government to become more involved in the development of the industry. Part of its
efforts included a Barbados Bonanza advertising programme in Canada and the
USA. The Bonanza was an all-inclusive package tour
13
for a minimum stay of six
nights and seven days. The Hotel Aids Act was amended in 1968 to give relief from
income tax to new hotel developments. Government also got involved in developing
some of the islands tourist attractions (Watson, 1990, pp. 13)

Total arrivals for this period increased from 68,418 in 1965 to 210,349 in 1972, which
is an annual average growth rate of 17.6 percent. The Canadian market again
recorded the fasted growth, expanding by an average of 24.9 percent per year, as
the number of Canadian visitors rose from 14,212 in 1965 to 61,918 by 1972 (Table
2-1, in panel labelled development and Figure 2-4, in section labelled development).
The USA market turned in the second best performance as the number of American
tourists to Barbados grew at an average rate of 22.6 percent over the period as a
whole. A reduction in the real cost of air transportation from North America was a
major contributing factor in the strong performance of the Canadian and USA
markets during this period (Dalrymple and Mascoll, 1993, pp. 232).

12
The OECS is a nine member grouping comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of
Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands are associate members of the OECS (see
http://www.oecs.org/index.htm for further details on these islands).
Nathali Greenidge
In the UK, slower economic growth during this period, combined with reduced
promotional efforts by the Barbados Board of Tourism, led to a slowdown in the
growth of the market to 12.1 percent. In addition, the pound sterling devalued in
1968
14
and a considerable portion of the marketing expenditure was switched from
the UK to the more lucrative markets of North America. By 1972 more than 70
percent of the total budget of the Barbados Board of Tourism was being spent on the
Canadian and US markets (Clarke et al., 1985, pp. 39). Barbados other major
market, the Caricom, received no significant promotional effort and grew by a
modest eight percent.

Government negotiated with various airlines in order to increase air access to
Barbados. Towards the end of this period the establishment of air links between
Europe and Barbados opened up the European market and the first promotional
campaign in European markets began in 1971. International Caribbean Airways
(ICA), established in 1970 jointly by Laker Airway and local entrepreneurs,
commenced scheduled flights between Barbados and Luxemburg as well as regular
charters from Canada and West Germany. The airlines fares were less than half the
normal return economy fare approved by the international airlines regulatory body
(Clarke, et al. 1985, pp. 3).

2.2.3 Consolidation decelerating growth (1973-1992)
This stage is referred to as one of consolidation, primarily because the growth in
arrivals was much slower than in the previous stages identified even though
Barbados sought to attract more tourists in the face of a number of external shocks.
During this period, total arrivals increased at an annual average rate of 3.5 percent,
moving from 222,080 in 1973 to 385,472 in 1992. However, this was not a period of
consistent growth but one marked with a number of sub-periods of expansions and
contractions (see Table 2-1, in panel labelled consolidation).

Between 1973 and 1976, arrivals to Barbados suffered a drastic slowdown as the
international economic recession, caused by the oil crisis of 1973-74, severely

13
An all-inclusive package tour is where transportation and accommodation (and sometimes other
services) are sold under one price, which is usually lower than can be obtain separately.
Nathali Greenidge
restricted the growth in arrivals from North America (Downes, 2003, pp. 12).
However, the UK market proved extremely resilient, mainly because of cheaper air
fares (Dalrymple and Mascoll, 1993, pp. 233).

The first signs of a slowdown had begun to appear as early as 1973. The growth in
arrivals in that year (5.6 percent) was the lowest since the 4.3 percent recorded in
1961. The USA economy had began to weaken from as early as 1969 and had an
adverse effect on tourist travel from that country in subsequent years. By 1974 most
industrial countries were in the grip of severed recessions and Barbados tourism
suffered its biggest setback since 1956. Arrivals increased by just 1.7 percent, on
average, between 1973 and 1976, with an actual decline of four percent in 1975. The
most severe difficulties occurred in the USA market, which contracted by 9.8 percent
(annual average over 1973 to 1976), and in the Canadian market, which recorded
growth of only 2.7 percent (also annual average over 1973 to 1976) compared with
its 35.6 percent growth in 1971. In contrast, arrivals from the U.K. averaged annual
growth of 19.3 percent during the 1973 to 1976 period.

The category labelled other also recorded significant growth between 1973 and
1976, mainly reflecting the good performance of the European market. Expansion
may be attributed partly to the relative strength of the West German and Swiss
economies between 1969 and 1976, versus the USA economy. In addition, it
became significantly cheaper for Europeans to travel to destinations like the
Caribbean where prices were set in US dollars, as the value of their currencies
appreciated. Between 1970 and 1978, the purchasing power of the US dollar
declined by almost 50 percent relative to the Mark and by as much as 62 percent
relative to the Swiss Franc.
15
Barbados tourism prices have usually been set in USA
dollars and the Barbados dollar was officially pegged to the US dollar in 1975.

The three years immediately following this recessionary phase was a period of
extraordinarily strong growth in tourist arrivals, which expanded at an annual
average rate of 18.3 percent. A notable feature of this expansion is that all markets

14
From 0.362 pence per US$1 to 0.417 pence per US$1 (data from theWorld Development indicators
2005).
15
Data from the World Development Indicators (2005, CD-Rom) published by the World Bank.
Nathali Greenidge
did well, which Dalrymple and Mascoll (1993, pp. 228) attributed to the diversification
in marketing emphasis. The expansion reflected renewed growth in USA and
Canadian arrivals, but the rapid development of the European and Caricom markets
was an even more significant factor.

The slow growth in the leading markets of earlier periods prompted the government
to intensify its promotion in the Caribbean area. Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela
had been experiencing rapid income growth for most of the 1970s owing to the
sharp rise in oil prices after 1973, and their growing wealth encouraged greater
foreign travel. The Caricom market grew on average by 25.8 percent annually for the
period 1977 to 1979. The UK market turned in the best performance among
Barbados major markets, averaging 25.7 percent per annum.

However, in 1980 the international economy slipped into recession again, as oil and
commodity prices increased (Downes, 2003, pp.11). Total tourist arrivals to
Barbados declined by an average of 6.3 percent over the next 3 years. The number
of visitors from the USA, Canada and Europe declined sharply although arrivals from
the UK and the Caribbean continued to increase.

The international economy began its recovery in 1983 as the USA economy picked
up. This, along with intensified marketing in the USA by the Barbados Tourism
Board, led to rapid increases in USA arrivals to Barbados. Total arrivals rose from
303,795 in 1982 to 461,259 in 1989, an annual average of 6.3 percent, with only a
slight dip in arrivals in 1985. The USA market performed best during this period (see
Figure 2-4, in section labelled consolidation) increasing at an annual average rate of
12.1 percent. Consequently, the USA emerged as Barbadoss number 1 tourist
market, accounting for more than one-third of all arrivals to the island. The UK
market also did well during this period and emerged as the second most important
source of tourist to Barbados. In contrast, both the Canadian and Caricom markets
declined over the period and their share of the market fell considerably.

Tourist arrivals entered into a three-year slump in 1990 as total arrivals declined by
5.8 percent. All the main markets fell during this period (1990-1992), with the USA
market suffering the largest decline (10.7 percent per year). This has been largely
Nathali Greenidge
attributed to: the 1990 Gulf War and the resulting hike in fuel prices, which adversely
impacted on world tourism; and, the effects of an aging tourism plant and product in
Barbados (Dalrymple and Mascoll, 1993, pp. 229). In regards to the latter point,
Potter and Phillips (2004, pp. 242-243) argue that by 1993 many of the hotels in
Barbados were in pressing need of upgrading, while many of the beaches were
suffering from environmental degradation.

2.2.4 Rejuvenation (1993-2005)
This period is referred to as one of rejuvenation because it features significant efforts
by the Barbadian authorities to rejuvenate the industry. Such efforts included the
building of a number of hotels, extensive landscaping and increased open spaces in
resorts; and, the provision of golf courses. Tourist arrivals to Barbados increased
every year during the period except for two occasions: 2001 to 2002, which can be
attributed to the September 11 terrorists attacks on the USA and the subsequent
USA-led invasion of Iraq; and, 2005 reflecting reduced airlift capacity out of the
USA (Central Bank of Barbados, 2005b, pp. 4).

Between 1993 and 2005, total arrivals increased at an annual average rate of 2.8
percent, (2-1, in panel labelled rejuvenation), rising from 395,979 to 547,501. The
best performing market during this period was the UK as the number, as the number
of visitors from that market more than double, moving from 100,071 in 1993 to
202,765 in 2005 which is an annual average growth rate of 7 percent (see Figure 2-
4, in section labelled rejuvenation). Such was the pace of expansion that it overtook
the USA as the number one source market in 1994. The number of American visitors
grew by just 1.4 per annum, as just 18,272 more USA tourists visited Barbados
during the period under review. Nevertheless, the USA is still a main source market
for Barbados and accounts for over 20 percent of its tourists. The Caricom market
also did well during the period as visitors from the region to Barbados increased from
52,462 in 1993 to 114,775 in 2005, representing an average growth rate of 6.5
percent each year.

Nathali Greenidge
2.3 Barbados Tourism Product Just Beyond your Imagination
16

Barbados views its tourism product as the total vacation experience, starting from
when the tourist travels to Barbados and includes the accommodation and transport
facilities used, the activities in which the tourist participates, the services used, the
infrastructure, the level of safety and security that exists and the quality of the
physical, human, socio-cultural and natural environment.

While Barbados, like most tropical island destinations, is known because of the
primary natural attributes of its climate and coastal environment, the other
components, particularly its stable political environment, friendly people and well-
developed cultural and natural heritage elements are of critical importance.
Barbados product is also diversed in quality and quantity and includes an
accommodation complement of 11,237 rooms (Table H14, of the Annual Statistical
Digest of the Central Bank of Barbados, 2005a), many restaurants and other food
and beverage facilities, nature attractions including underground caves and marine
parks, historic sites, festivals, golf courses and a range of other activities (see Table
A4 in Appendix and also the Barbados Ministry of Tourism website).

As noted in the previous section, the government made considerable effort to
reposition and rejuvenate its tourism industry in the early 1990s. In this regard, the
Ministry of Tourism was given overall governance for the sector and to coordinate all
the various activities of the different stakeholders in the industry. In addition, the
Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA) was established in 1993 as a statutory
corporation under the Ministry of Tourism with sole responsibility for marketing.
17

Since then a number of public and private sector agencies were formed to deal with
aspects of the industry (see Figure 2-5).

16
The official slogan for the Barbados tourism product and is usually accompanied by a logo which is
a picture of a flying fish (see the photo in the contents page), a fish that is plentiful in the waters
surrounding the island and has the remarkable ability to glide through the air up to distances of 30-40
metres.
Nathali Greenidge
Figure 2-5: Organisational Chart for the Barbados Tourism Industry

Source: Barbados Ministry of Tourism, available at http://www.barmot.gov.bb.

One of the main tasks of the Ministry of Tourism was to encourage the upgrading
and expansion of the hotel facilities on the island. To this end a number of projects
were undertaken by the Ministry. For example, one of the first projects Ministry came
up with was the Gems of Barbados project, an alliance of smaller properties which
would benefit from common sourcing as well as shared sales and marketing in order
to remain more competitive. They are Blue Horizons (129 rooms), Time Out at the
Gap (76), Silver Rock (70) and the Savannah (100)
18
. Although there has been
heated debate
19
as to whether or not the government should have spent the vast

17
The Barbados Tourism Authority was established under the Barbados Tourism Authority Act of
1993, which is downloadable from http://barbadosbusiness.gov.bb.
18
Details of these hotels can be found at http://www.gemsbarbados.com/home.asp.
19
See for example the report in the Barbados Nation Newspaper (5/8/03, pp.14) on the parliamentary
debated between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on the viability of the Gems
Project.
Nathali Greenidge
amount of money it did on the project, which some argue is in excess of US$60
million, there is no doubt that it has improved the tourism product.

Government also provided various fiscal incentives, loans and grants, which a
number of hotels benefited from. For example, the Accra Beach Hotel was converted
from a small inexpensive hotel with rooms priced at US$25 per night to a four-star
hotel with rate of US$225 per night. Other examples include the upgrading of Coral
Reef Club Hotel and the construction of the largest hotel on the island, the all-
inclusive Almond Beach Village with 330 rooms. Perhaps the best example of where
extensive renovation and refurbishment has been done to a hotel to transform it in to
a luxurious resort is the Sandy Lane Hotel and Golf course. Costing over US$180
million, the changes include a world class health spa and a 9-hole and two 18-hole
golf courses.

The largest rejuvenation hotel project was that of the Hilton Barbados Hotel, the only
hotel on the island with significant international interest. In 1999, it was completely
demolished and an entirely new 350-room ultra modern hotel with state-of-the-art
facilities was constructed and completed in August, 2005. It is estimated that since
the early 1990s Barbados overall tourism capacity has increased by more than 75
percent (Potter and Phillips, 2003, pp. 245).

Considerable investment also went into the development of new upmarket tourism
and leisure complexes (Potter and Phillips, 2003, pp. 244). Most notable among
these is the Royal Westmoreland, which has been voted one of the best residential
and golf club communities in the Caribbean. It is constructed on five hundred acres
of beautiful countryside overlooking the West Coast and offers an exclusive 18-hole,
par-72 golf resort with 350 villas and five tennis courts.
20

The development of Royal Westmoreland was also part of the drive to develop a
niche market in sports tourism, particular golf tourism, and as such the 1990s saw
five championship golf courses being constructed on the island. In fact, golf tourism
has grown to such an extent that Barbados is scheduled to host the 2006 World Golf

20
http://www.royal-westmoreland.com/
Nathali Greenidge
Championship World Cup.
21
There are also plans to construct at least two other 18-
hole championship golf courses over the next several years. It should be noted that
Barbados will also be hosting several matches of the Cricket World Cup in 2007.

Other projects include the ongoing upgrade and expansion of the airport, the
expansion of cargo and container activities for cruise and pleasure craft at the
islands main harbour, and the Urban Rehabilitation programme aimed at upgrading
and improving the infrastructure of the capital city and other popular entertainment
and tourism areas (Barbados Tourism Investment Inc., 2005).
22

In dealing with the issue of the degradation of the beaches, the Ministry of Tourism,
in collaboration with the Coastal Zone Management Unit, launched the Adopt-a-
beach programme in 1995, which seeks to encourage businesses, schools, and
community groups to contribute to the upkeep of the islands beaches by adopting
one of them. It attained national consensus under the belief that the coastal and
marine environments can be sustained if each Barbadian made an effort to look after
the beaches and reefs. The programme includes: regular beach and underwater
clean ups; the design and provision of creative and effective garbage receptacles,
benches and tables; and, the replanting of palm trees and various vegetations
around the beaches. The programme has been hailed as a success and has
received international recognition.
23

2.4 Importance of the Industry
The Governments tourism policy has been predicated on the economic benefits that
would accrue from the increased employment, foreign earnings and domestic
income. Accordingly, it has invested heavily in the tourism industry. The analysis
suggests that the industry has made significant contributions to the economy and the
overall development of Barbados.

21
See the BTA golf site for details http://www.barbados.org/golf_wgc.htm.
22
Information from the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. website at
http://barbadostourisminvestment.com/index.cfm.
23
See the Barbados Coastal Zone Management Unit website. http://www.coastal.gov.bb/index.cfm for
further details.
Nathali Greenidge
Table 2-2 shows the contribution of tourism to real GDP. The tourism sector currently
makes the third largest contribution to economic output (15.4 percent) behind the
wholesale and retail (20.2 percent) and the business and other services (17.2
percent) sectors. Moreover, when the sectors are grouped into those that are net
foreign exchange earners and those that are net foreign exchange users, tourism
emerges as the largest contributor to GDP among the foreign exchange earning
sectors. It should be noted that the 15.4 percent contribution from tourism is a direct
contribution to GDP (that is the output of hotels and restaurants) but tourism also
contributes to the other sectors. For example, the output for the wholesale and retail
sector is driven by the demand for imports, which increases with tourism.
24

Table 2-2: Sectoral Contributions to Real GDP in Barbados (1970-
2005) in percent
Source: Table I1 of the Central Bank of Barbados Annual Statistical Digest (2005, 2000, 1995)

The table also highlights an important feature of the structure of the Barbados
economy over the years and that is the decline in the contribution of some of the
more traditional sectors (especially agriculture) to total production. The share of
sugar agriculture in total GDP has fallen from 10.6 percent in 1970 to 1.5 percent in
2005, while the contribution of non-sugar agriculture declined from 4.1 percent to 3.4
percent over the period. Similarly, the share of manufacturing in total output declined
from 8.3 percent to 6.1 percent over the period. At the same time, the tourism sector
recorded an increase in its contribution to GDP from 8.3 percent in 1970 to 15.4
percent in 2005.

24
This point was noted by Darrin Downes in a discussion with the author. Darrin Downes is a senior
economist in the research department of the central bank of Barbados.
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Sugar 10.6 9.6 7.2 5.4 3.4 2.0 2.6 1.5
Non-Sugar Agriculture &
Fishing
4.1 3.8 3.1 4.2 4.0 4.3 3.7 3.4
Manufacturing 8.3 10.3 11.8 10.4 10.0 9.9 7.1 6.1
Tourism 8.3 9.3 13.8 11.5 13.9 15.4 16.1 15.4
Mining & Quarrying 0.2 0.2 0.5 0.9 0.8 0.7 1.1 0.9
Electricity, Gas & Water 1.2 1.5 2.1 2.7 3.0 3.5 3.5 3.6
Construction 7.3 6.6 7.0 6.3 6.8 5.6 7.5 9.3
Wholesale & Retail 19.6 18.2 19.5 19.6 19.6 19.1 19.4 20.2
Government 13.7 15.0 12.7 13.6 13.7 13.7 13.8 13.9
Transportation, Storage &
Communications
7.1 7.2 6.2 7.5 7.8 8.3 8.4 8.5
Business & Other Services 19.8 14.2 16.0 17.9 17.1 17.4 17.0 17.2
Foreign exchange using sectors
Foreign exchange earning sectors
Nathali Greenidge
The importance of the tourism sector is also evident in Table 2-3, which shows the
contribution of the various sectors to foreign currency earnings of Barbados. It shows
that the tourism sector is the largest contributor to foreign exchange earnings. In
2005, 38.6 percent of total foreign exchange earnings came from the tourism sector.
Although this percentage has fallen in recent years the sector it is still the leading
foreign exchange earner.

Table 2-3: Sectoral Contributions to Foreign Exchange Earnings in
Barbados (1970 2005) in percent
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Goods 32.7 39.8 29.0 41.8 22.8 20.1 18.4 18.4
Services 57.1 52.8 63.8 51.3 68.3 71.2 70.1 71.1
Tourism 36.9 32.6 40.5 37.0 53.1 51.1 46.5 38.6
Transportation 6.8 9.6 11.5 2.2 0.7 1.3 1.6 2.3
Govenment 2.9 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.8 1.9 2.2 3.1
Other services 10.4 8.3 9.6 10.0 11.7 16.9 19.8 27.1
Income 3.2 2.4 1.7 3.1 3.1 4.0 4.5 3.8
Current transfer 7.0 5.0 5.4 3.8 5.7 4.7 7.0 6.7

Source: Table 2 of the Central Bank of Barbados Balance of Payments of Barbados (2005,
2000, 1995, 1984)

Tourism would have also contributed to the earnings of the other sectors, in
particular that of Other services, through its multiplier effect. Thus, its overall
contribution to the Barbados economy in terms of foreign exchange is far greater
than the percentages in Table 2-6 under tourism would suggest.

The importance of the tourism industry to Barbados can also be seen in the
contribution it makes to employment. In 2005 approximately 26,940 people were
directly employed in hotel rooms and restaurants, representing about 16 percent of
the country's labour force. An additional 25,560 people were also indirectly employed
by the industry, which brings the total tourism employment to 45.7 percent or 1 in
every 2.5 jobs (Central Bank of Barbados Annual Statistical Digest, 2005, Table I14,
pp. 216; WTTC, 2006, pp. 12).

Tourism has also helped to promote local art, song, music, handicraft, dance, dress
and culinary arts. It has provided a means of demonstrating to the visitor the special
characteristics which distinguish Barbados from other destinations. Thus, the tourism
product is enhanced by an added cultural dimension (BTA, 2005, pp. 15).

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The promotion of tourism has resulted in significant investment in developing the
infrastructure of Barbados: improved port facilities; better road and communications
networks and improved recreational facilities. Barbados has also promoted rural
tourism, catering to the tourist whose interest lies beyond the traditional sun, sea and
sand product and who seeks to embrace a greater visitor experience through
learning about the indigenous life and folk culture.

Tourism has also led to the locals taking greater care of, and appreciating even
more, the beaches, caves, parks, botanical gardens and gullies; since these are the
major attractions for visitors and therefore are seen as part of the country's natural
assets. Tourism operators, who depend on a healthy reef for their activity, assist in
educating the public about the importance of protecting the reefs and often lobby for
their protection against unscrupulous operators and uncaring users. As noted earlier,
the Adopt-A-Beach project and the annual Coastal Clean-up are examples of this.

2.5 Costs and Challenges of Tourism
Although the industry has made significant contributions to the economy and the
overall development of Barbados, there are also some costs associated with the
industry.

2.5.1 Environmental Issues
First, being a small island its physical environment, especially the coral reefs, are
very fragile and hence vulnerable to negative environmental impacts. For example,
divers often topped and damaged the corals, and even remove them for souvenirs.
Dive boats have carelessly dropped anchors on the reefs and are also guilty of
dragging their anchors across the sensitive ecosystems.

Tourism has also placed a strain on the limited resources of the island. For example,
Gajraj (1981, pp. 5) notes that on average tourists in Barbados use 6-10 times more
water than locals. In addition, accommodation establishments need adequate
supplies of freshwater to meet the immediate needs of their guests as well as for
keeping golf courses lush and green. Farmers depend on fresh water for irrigation,
especially during the January to April dry season, and increasingly locals demand
water to wash vehicles and water their gardens (Drosfoff, 2004). The Barbados
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Water Authority estimates that locals use 60 to 63 gallons of fresh water a day while
hotels and resorts use 179 gallons a day (cited in Drosfoff, 2004). Managing the
strain on the water resources is even more importance considering that the United
Nations Commission on Water has classified Barbados as a water scare country,
putting it only slightly ahead of the desert nations of the Middle East in terms of
availability per capita (United Nations, 2002).

The tourism authorities have indeed recognised this problem and part of their
response was to construct a desalination plant but this can only deal with sourcing
water. There is still the question of water use and disposal. Given the highly porous
nature of the island limestone geology, water contamination from chemical use and
disposal at the various resorts can be a problem. There is the question of the
pollution of coastal waters, destruction of the reefs and damage of marine flora and
fauna. Perhaps what is needed is the formulation of a land-use policy framework to
deal with the increasing number of environment issues arising.

The additional strain on resources is not only with respect to the quantity of water but
also in terms of other utilities such as electricity consumption. In this regard, the
energy spent on each tourist is significantly larger than that of a local since most
visitors to the island are from developed countries, and as such, the Tourism industry
seeks to provide the visitor with first world amenities. For example, where the
average Barbadian lives in a naturally ventilated house, washes dishes by hand, and
dries the laundry on a clothesline, the tourist stays in air-conditioned facilities,
washes and dries his or her laundry and any dishes used with an electric appliances.
These differences in consumption patterns impact greatly on the islands resources
(Ministry of Physical Development and Environment, 2001, pp. 20).

2.5.2 Socio-cultural Issues
Since the annual influx of tourists out-numbers the local population by a ratio of more
than 4 to 1, the potential socio-cultural problems of tourism are also of immense
importance. Some argue that the inflow of luxury goods and services along with
tourists has changed the consumption needs and desires of the local population. The
commodification of the local culture and of land also have an adverse impact on how
the locals view themselves (Barry et al., 1984, pp. 137). Moreover, as the economy
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becomes more dependent on tourism, it also becomes more vulnerable to external
shocks. For example, the September 11 terrorists attacks in the USA discouraged
air travel and arrivals to Barbados fell by 6.9 percent for that year, while the economy
slipped into recession as real GDP declined by approximately 2 percent.

There is also the question of tourism capacity and over-crowding. Barbados
population is estimated at 279,912 at July 2005, which places it as the Worlds 15
th

most densely populated country with 627 persons per square kilometre (United
Nations, 2005). Add to this, over 1 million tourists each year (cruise and long-stay
arrivals combined) and the obvious question is whether or not the island can
accommodate this volume of visitors without it adversely impacting not only on the
local population but on the visitors themselves. Indeed, it has been suggested that
the crowding factor is important for the tourist and can impair the image of the
destination, leading to a decline in the number of repeat visitors (Fridgen, 1984;
Graefe and Vaske, 1987).

Doxey (1971), using Barbados and Niagra-on-the-lake as case studies argues that
there were reciprocating impacts between tourist and residents which can be
measured as varying degrees of irritations. As such there is a saturation point in
the development of a tourist destination after which residents start to question the
presence of tourists and the need for a tourism industry, while the authorities are
concerned with increasing the level of infrastructure and attracting more tourists
(Doxey, 1971, pp. 195). Eventually such irritations are overtly expressed, both
physically and verbally, while the authorities focus on how to increase the level of
promotion of the region to overcome any negative image being created by the
antagonism (Doxey, 1971, pp. 195). The findings of Doxey suggest that the local
population perceived tourism as generally detrimental as it tended to be an
extension of the slave-plantation syndrome, making reference to the poor treatment
of the African slaves by the plantation owners in the early days of colonisation and
the perceived poor treatment of modern Barbadians by tourist operators.

Doxeys study was done in 1971 and since then considerable investment in public
education on the benefits of tourism has occurred and the population generally
supports tourism. However, it is still possible to find sources of irritation with respect
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to tourism. For example, locals often complain about the reduced access to beaches
as some hotels attempt to make their beach front an exclusive area for their guest.
There is even a case, which caused a public outcry, of a hotel wanting to charge a
disable non-guest a fee for wanting to access a public beach through their lobby.
Although it is against the law to block beach access, many hotels attempt to
circumvent this by erecting boulders along the beach under the argument that they
are preventing beach erosion.

Another possible source of irritation is the significant increases in house and land
prices that often occur following the construction or expansion of a hotel or tourist
attraction. Locals often complain that they are priced out of the market and even
those that had owned property in the area prior to the construction, find that they
cannot afford the subsequent increase in land taxes and are forced to sell.

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3. Sustainable Tourism
3.1 The Concept of Sustainable Tourism Development
As discussed in section 1.3 of this dissertation, one of the main costs of the tourism
industry has been the damaging effects it has had on the environment of many
tourism destinations. For example, it is argued that tourism activities in coastal areas
and small islands place pressure on the fragile ecosystems leading to degradation of
the physical environment and disruption to wildlife. It also exerts pressure on the
scarce resources of the destination. It can result in increased pollution through the
generation of waste and also by increasing traffic congestions and noise levels.
Tourism can also generate negative social effects, particularly as tourist population
increases relatively to the local.

Yet tourism has been hailed as the fastest growing industry in the world, offering a
host of benefits to destination areas, including increased income, employment, and
foreign exchange and even generating awareness by locals of the need to preserve
and improve their local communities (see section 1.2 of this dissertation). Thus,
tourism has both positive and negative effects and therefore the challenge to
managers and planners of tourism destinations is to develop the industry in such a
manner as to maximise its benefits while minimising its adverse effects, thereby
ensuring its viability. Uncontrolled or irresponsible tourism development can not only
damage the society and environment but it could also contain the seed of its own
destruction (Mbaiwa, 2005, pp. 206; United Nations Environment Programme and
World Tourism Organisation, 2005, pp. 10).

The concept of sustainable tourism development is closely linked to that of the
general term sustainable development. The latter came to prominence in 1987 with
the publication of the Brundtland Report" by the World Commission on Environment
and Development (WCED) as a response to increasing global concerns over the
degradation of the worlds natural resource base in the pursuit of economic
development. The report defines sustainable development as "development that
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs" (WCED, 1987, pp. 43). By concentrating on
needs, this definition appears to emphasise the economic aspects of sustainable
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development but there are others that take a wider view. For example, Engel (1990,
pp. 10-11) defines it as the kind of human activity that nourishes and perpetuates
the historical fulfilment of the whole community of life on earth.

The concept has since evolved, most notably through Agenda 21, the plan of action
which emerged from the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992)
25
, and the plan of implementation from the
World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). It now
encompasses three principles: economic sustainability, which means generating
prosperity at different levels of society and addressing the cost effectiveness of all
economic activity; social sustainability, which means respecting human rights and
equal opportunities for all in society; and, environmental sustainability, which means
conserving and managing resources (United Nations Environment Programme and
World Tourism Organisation, 2005, pp. 9).

Sustainable development therefore implies achieving economic growth and social
development in ways that do not exhaust a country's natural resources. The essence
of this form of development is a stable relationship between human activities and the
natural world, in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments,
the orientation of technological development, and institutional changes are made
consistent with the future as well as present needs" (WCED, 1987, pp. 46). This
means that the present generation should leave for the future generation a stock of
quality-of-life assets, including an environmental quality, which is no less than those
it inherited (Mbaiwa, 2005, pp. 206). In other words, sustainability places an
intergenerational responsibility on the current generation (Stabler, 1997, pp. 2).

It should however be noted that though sustainable development is about balancing
growth with the social and environmental aspects of a country, it does not
necessarily involve growth. This is because it is essentially a process of realising
specific social and economic goals which may call for a stabilisation, increase,

25
Agenda 21 is downloadable from http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm,
while the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable development is available on
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/WSSD_POI_PD/English/POI_PD.htm.

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reduction, change of quality or even removal of existing products, firms, industries, or
other elements (Lui and Jones, 1996, pp. 217)

Extending the concept of sustainable development to the tourism industry implies
that sustainable tourism development is essentially tourism that takes full account
of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the
needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities (United
Nations Environment Programme and World Tourism Organisation, 2005, pp. 12). It
is therefore seen as leading to the management of all resources in such a way that
economic, social, and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural
integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity, and life support
systems (Goodall and Stabler, 1997, pp. 280).

It should be noted that sustainable tourism development was given limited attention
in Agenda 21, with the only reference to tourism being in chapter 11 where the report
recommends the promotion of ecotourism as a way to enhance sustainable forest
management and planning. In this regard, Hunter (1995) argues that, based on the
sustainability principles outlined in the Brundtland Report and in Agenda 21,
sustainable tourism development should:
meet the needs and wants of the local host community in terms of improved
living standards and quality of life;
satisfy the demands of tourists and the tourism industry, and continue to attract
them in order to meet the first aim; and,
safeguard the environmental resource base for tourism, encompassing natural,
built and cultural components, in order to achieve both the preceding aims
(Hunter, 1995, pp. 155-156).

In an effort to incorporate the principles set out in Agenda 21 in to the tourism
industry and outline priority areas for its sustainable development, Agenda 21 for the
Travel and Tourism Industry was developed by WTTC et al. (1997). This report
argues that sustainable tourism should:
assist people in leading healthy and productive lives in harmony with nature
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contribute to the conservation, protection, and restoration of the Earths
ecosystem;
be based upon sustainable patterns of production and consumption;
recognise and support the identity, culture, and interest of indigenous peoples;
use its capacity to create employment for women and indigenous peoples to the
fullest extent; and,
feature environmental protection as an integral part of the tourism development
process (WTTC et al., 1997, pp. 34).

These principles have been modified and fine-tuned in the recent years and the
WTO website currently states that sustainable tourism should: make optimal use of
environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development,
maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage
and biodiversity
26
; respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities,
conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute
to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance; and, ensure viable, long-term
economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are
fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and
social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
27
If
tourism development fails to meet these objectives then it cannot be considered as
sustainable.

In general, it is possible to identify four dimensions of sustainable tourism
development. The first being economic sustainability, which means, promoting
tourism and ensuring that tourism grows at a manageable rate while keeping an eye
on the destinations capacities to accommodate greater demand in order to avoid
tourists dissatisfaction. The second is social sustainability, which refers to ability of
the society to absorb increasing tourist arrivals without adversely affecting or
damaging the indigenous culture. The third is environmental sustainability, which is
related to the capacity of the natural and built environment to handle tourism without
damage. Finally, there is institutional sustainability and this refers to the destinations

26
Biodiversity describes the biological diversity or variety of life forms, including the different plants,
animals, fungi and micro-organisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems they form (definition
obtained from http://twinshare.crctourism.com.au/GLOSSARY.HTM#carr).
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commitment to sustainable tourism development as manifested by the incorporation
of sustainable principles into development planning, the use of indicators for
monitoring sustainability, the presence of monitoring and coordinating bodies for
sustainable development, and the presence of laws that promote sustainable tourism
development (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific, 1993, pp. 85-116; UNCSD, 1996).

Thus, sustainable tourism development for a destination is all about balancing the
economic and social benefits it gets from the industry, and any adverse effects the
industry may have on the environment and society, so that the destination becomes
a permanent beneficiary not the victim of tourism development. This would require
tourism authorities to be constantly monitoring the effects of tourism development so
that timely preventive and/or corrective actions can be taken whenever necessary
(United Nations Environment Programme and World Tourism Organisation, 2005,
pp. 11).

Before moving on to the next section, we should perhaps consider a related concept
to tourism sustainability and that is carrying capacity. Several studies have
attempted to define sustainable tourism development using the concept of carrying
capacity (Welford and Ytterhus, 1998; Williams and Gill, 1994). Carrying capacity as
a concept was initially developed in the area of wildlife management and is based on
the belief that the availability of suitable conditions for living determines the number
of organisms that can exist in an environment (Carey, 1993, pp.141). In the field of
tourism sustainability carrying capacity is often referred to as the maximum number
of people who can use an area without an unacceptable reduction in the quality of
the experiences that visitors may gain (Mathieson and Wall, 1982, pp. 21). Similarly,
McIntyre (1993, pp.23) defines carrying capacity as the maximum use of any site
without causing negative effects on the resources, reducing visitor satisfaction, or
exerting adverse impact upon the society, economy or culture of the area. Likewise,
the United Nations Environment Programme and World Tourism Organisation (2005;
pp. 75) state that carrying capacity is the number of tourists that a place can

27
See WTO website at http://www.world-tourism.org/frameset/frame_sustainable.html.
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accommodate without detriment to the environment or host population or any
reduction in tourists satisfaction.

The concept of tourism carrying capacity has been criticised on the grounds that it is
unrealistic and even misleading to put a precise capacity limit on the number of
tourists, beyond which conditions will deteriorate. There are many different factors
that affect capacity and these can be very complex as well as subjective because of
changing economic, social and political conditions. That is, there may exist a
measure of capacity under certain conditions, but this may change if circumstances
are altered and therefore the measure becomes unstable. Nevertheless, there are
many instances where it can be very useful and informative to quantify a threshold or
optimum level of usage. For example, carrying capacities can be useful in helping to
regulate the flow of visitors in order to avoid congestion, or to assist in decisions
about the number of accommodation units that may be acceptable in an area. Thus,
the concept of tourism carrying capacity is important and can be incorporated into
any analysis of tourism sustainability. (McCool and Lime, 2001, pp. 374; World
Tourism Organisation, 2004, pp. 309).

3.2 Assessing the sustainability of tourism development
In order for tourism managers and officials to assess whether or not their tourism
industry is on a path of sustainable development, they need accurate information on
the impacts of tourism on the environmental and socio-cultural conditions of the
destination, as well as its economic contributions. In this regard, sustainability
indicators have become the essential tools for providing this information, and
constitute fundamental building blocks in tourism planning, management and
monitoring processes (WTO, 1995, pp. 2).

Indicators are defined as measures of the existence or severity of current issues,
signals of upcoming situations or problems, measures of risk and potential need for
action, and means to identify and measure the results of our actions (WTO, 2004,
pp. 8). Thus, they assist in decision making with respect to planning and in
determining the implications of development within the destination itself in order to
promote sustainability. Accordingly, the development of indicators in the tourism
research can be seen as an effort to make sustainable development measurable.
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What is not measured can neither be managed nor sustained. Indeed, Butler (1999,
pp. 16) argues that without indicators the term sustainable is meaningless, while
Weaver (2001, pp. 14) blames the lack of progress in the implementation of
sustainable tourism on the overall lack of knowledge and consensus with regard to
indicators.

In fact, (WTTC et al., 1997) argue that there is a need for appropriate information
that supports decision-making, and suggest that the establishment of realistic
sustainable tourism indicators should be a top priority for national tourism
organisations. Since then, there has been considerable research in the area of
sustainable tourism indicators, and various models of indicators have been
proposed, but the variables used often proved to be too numerous, too broad, or too
technical to be useful for monitoring tourisms sustainability (Cruz, 2003, pp. 6)
Thus, the development of sustainable tourism indicators is still in its infancy stage
and practical case studies are hard to come by (Goodall and Stabler, 1997, pp. 298;
Twining-Ward and Butler, 2002, pp. 365)

In 1995 WTO attempted to rectify this problem by publishing a manual of guidelines
on the development of indicators and also included 11 core indicators, shown in
Table 3-1 (also see WTO, 1995, pp. 9). In 2004, WTO produced a revised
Guidebook on Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations. The
new guide discusses a number of sustainability issues, grouped as socio-cultural,
economic and environmental, and also makes recommendations for indicators to
measure them. The list of issues and their indicators are now more than 200.
However, the guide also cautions that these are not meant to be a prescription but is
rather for providing guidance, allowing managers to select the issues that are most
relevant to their destination and to have clearer ideas on indicators application and
measurement techniques (WTO, 2004, pp. 6). In this regard, the guide provides a
smaller list of 12 issues and 29 corresponding indicators that can be considered as
relevant to most destinations (Table 3-2).

Tourism managers in each destination must chose, from among all the possible data
and information, those indicators that are most likely to respond to the key risks and
concerns regarding sustainability of tourism, and also provide information which can
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help clarify issues and measure responses within that destination. Moreover, within
each tourism area there exist certain data and information that can serve as
sustainability indicators as long as their relevance is understood. For example, the
most commonly used and understood indicators are of economic aspects like
tourism earnings and expenditures, tourist arrivals, nights spent in the destination
and accommodation capacities. These can be reference points for business
decisions but can also be used to assess tourism sustainability. For example, tourist
arrivals can be considered a sustainability indicator when it is related to infrastructure
capacity in the tourism area (like the number of hotel beds) or used to indicate
potential level of stress on the system (like water consumption per tourist). The
number of tourist arrivals can also be compared with the number of local residents
and the ratio used as an indicator of potential social stress (WTO, 2004, pp. 10).

Indicators are usually quantitative in nature where the relevant economic, social or
environmental states are expressed in numbers, percentage or ratios; for example,
the number of tourists visiting a particular site relative to the size of that site.
Qualitative measures are also used and these are normally descriptive in nature; for
example, tourists opinion of the quality of service at a particular site. Qualitative
measures are normally obtained from questionnaires and interviews and can be
used to support the quantitative indicators. However, conducting surveys tend to be
very expensive and time-consuming and this is perhaps why most investigations are
based on quantitative indicators which can often be computed from existing data.
Moreover, information derived from questionnaires and interviews can at times be
biased and short-sighted as experts in the industry would have their own political and
tourism related interests, which would be reflected in their opinions (see WTO, 1995
pp. 19; Laimer et al., 2004, pp. 49).

3.2.1 Possible Indicators To Assess Sustainable Tourism Development
Proposed indicators to assess tourism sustainability should be easy to understand,
and the data collection should not be time consuming and cost expensive. At the
same time they should be significant to the issues of the destination, examining:
tourism trends and any environmental and social patterns that may be of
significance; interactions between tourism, the environment and social conditions;
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and, economic linkages between tourism activities, the environment, society, and
related policy aspects (WTO, 2004, pp. 8; Laimer et al., 2004, pp. 15).

In order to have an idea of the range and number of indicators we may want to
examine in the case of Barbados, we take a look at what is suggested in the
literature as the basic set or group of indicators one should consider. Interestingly,
though there exist numerous grouping of indicators of sustainable development, our
search found only five such sets that dealt with tourism sustainability and that
covered dimensions discussed above. Perhaps this is because, as noted earlier,
research into the development of indicators of tourism sustainability only began in
earnest around the mid-nineties.

In this regard, the 1995 WTO 11 core indicators are perhaps the first published
compiled set of indicators of sustainable tourism (Table 3-1). As noted by WTO
(1995, pp. 8), these indicators were chosen because together they constitute the
base level of information necessary to manage sustainable tourism in virtually any
destination. Of the 11 core indicators, two are related to the economic dimension of
sustainable tourism development (indicators 9 and 11), two deal with the social
sustainability dimension (indicators 4 and 10), two examine the institutional
sustainability dimension (indicators 5 and 7) while the remaining five deals with
environmental and ecological issues. The other point to notice about these indicators
is that they are mainly quantitative in nature (only indicators 9 and 10 are qualitative)
and thus the data to compute them are less costly and easier to collect.

However, one of the main short-comings of the WTOs 1995 indicators is that the
report made no attempt to define sustainable tourism development nor justify the
choice of indicators (Twining-Ward and Butler, 2002, pp. 366). The 2004 WTO guide
addressed both concerns and also offers a more equitable distribution of the
indicators with respect to the different dimensions of sustainable tourism
development (see Table 3-2). Thus, the number of socio-economic issues has
increased (baseline issues 1 to 5) relative to those dealing with the environment and
ecosystem (baseline issues 6 to 10). There is now a greater selection of indicators to
choose to address any particular issue. For example, on the issue of tourist
satisfaction (no. 9 in Table 3-1 and no. 3 in Table 3-2), there are now three possible
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indicators as opposed to the single indicator in the earlier guide. Moreover, one of
the indicators is quantitative, such that it is not necessary to rely on a questionnaire.
Table 3-1: WTO (1995) Core Indicators of Sustainable Tourism
Core Indicator Specific measure
1 Site protection
Category of site protection according to the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(IUCN) index
2 Stress Tourist numbers visiting site (per annum/peak month)
3 Use intensity Intensity of use in peak period (persons/hectare)
4 Social impact Ratio of tourists to locals (peak period and over time)
5
Development
control
Existence of environmental review procedure or formal
controls over development of site and use densities
6
Waste
management
Percentage of sewage from site receiving treatment
(additional indicators may include structural limits of other
infrastructure on site, such as water supply)
7 Planning process
Existence of organised regional plan for tourist destination
region (including tourism component)
8
Critical
ecosystems
Number of rare / endangered species
9
Consumer
satisfaction
Level of satisfaction by visitors (questionnaire based)
10 Local satisfaction Level of satisfaction by locals (questionnaire based)
11
Tourism
contribution to
local economy
Proportion of total economic activity generated by tourism
only
Source: Adapted from WTO (1995, pp. 9).

Table 3-3 shows the set of indicators recommended by the English Tourism Council
(ETC) for the assessment of tourism sustainability
28
. There are 20 indicators
grouped according to the ETCs three core objectives for the management of
sustainable tourism: (1) to protect and enhance the built and natural environment; (2)
to support local communities and their culture; and (3) to benefit the economies of
tourism destinations. These indicators are used by the ETC to monitor Englands
tourism industry progress in adopting a sustainable approach. The indicators were
first made public in 2002. Since then the responsibility for developing sustainable
tourism indicators has been passed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS), and the indicators set has been reduced to ten (indicators 5,6, 8,9,10, 12,
13, 16, 17 18 of Table 3-3 were eliminated).

28
Information on the ETC sustainable tourism indicators were obtained from
http://destinet.ewindows.eu.org/policies_resources/fol955810/English_Tourism_Council_National_Su
stainable_Tourism_Indicators_2002.
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Table 3-2: WTO (2004) Baseline Issues and Baseline Indicators
Baseline Issue Suggested Baseline Indicator(s)
1
Local satisfaction with
tourism

Local satisfaction level with tourism (Questionnaire)

Ratio of tourists to locals (average and peak period/days)
% who believes that tourism has helped bring new services or
infrastructure (questionnaire-based) 2
Effects of tourism on
communities

Number and capacity of social services available to the community
(% which are attributed to tourism)
Level of satisfaction by visitors (questionnaire-based)
Perception of value for money (questionnaire-based) 3
Sustaining tourist
satisfaction
Percentage of return visitors
Tourist arrivals by month or quarter (distribution throughout the
year)
Occupancy rates for licensed (official) accommodation by month
(peak periods relative to low season) and % of all occupancy in
peak quarter or month)
% of business establishments open all year
4 Tourism seasonality
Number and % of tourism industry jobs which are permanent or
full-year (compared to temporary jobs)
Number of local people (and ratio men to women) employed in
tourism (also ratio of tourism employment to total employment)
5
Economic benefits of
tourism
Revenues generated by tourism as % of total revenues
generated in the community
Per capita consumption of energy from all sources (overall, and
by tourist sector- per person day)
% businesses participating in energy conservation programs, or
applying energy saving policy and techniques
6 Energy management
% of energy consumption from renewable resources (at
destinations, establishments)
Water use (total volume consumed and litres per tourist per day)
7
Water availability and
conservation Water saving (% reduced, recaptured or recycled)
% of tourism establishments with water treated to international
potable standards
8 Drinking water quality
Frequency of water-borne diseases: number/ % of visitors
reporting water-borne illnesses during their stay
% of sewage from site receiving treatment (to primary,
secondary, tertiary levels)
9
Sewage treatment
(waste
water management)
% of tourism establishments (or accommodation) on treatment
system(s)
Waste volume produced by the destination (tonnes) by month
Volume of waste recycled (m3) / Total volume of waste (m3)
(specify by different types)
10
Solid waste
management
Quantity of waste strewn in public areas (litter counts)
Existence of a land use or development planning process,
including tourism 11 Development control
% of area subject to control (density, design, etc)
Total number of tourist arrivals
12
Controlling use
intensity
Number of tourists per square metre of the site (e.g. at
attractions), per square kilometre of the destination, - mean
number/peak period average
Source: Adapted from WTO (2004, pp. 244-245).

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Table 3-3: English Tourism Council National Sustainable Tourism Indicators (2002)
INDICATOR MEASURE
Group 1: Protect & enhance the built and natural environment
1.
Number of businesses signed up to
environmental management schemes
Number of businesses with e.g. David Bellamy
Conservation Award, ISO14001, EMAS, GTBS,
Green Lanterns etc.
2. Number of English beaches with a Blue
Flag and a Seaside Award.
Number of beaches, reported annually
3. Carbon dioxide savings made by the hotel
industry.
CO2 savings by hotels as a result of installing
energy efficiency measures.
4. Transport used on England holiday trips
by UK residents.
% of trips by mode of transport (Public, private
car, hired car, other)
5. Local authorities with Tourism Action
Plans.
% of Local Authorities with Tourism Action Plans
6. Ratio of the land and historic buildings
protected by national agencies against the
amount of money spent on protection of
these assets.
Ratio
Group 2: Support local communities and their culture
7a. Workforce employed in tourism. % of total workforce
7b. Average hourly earnings in tourism versus
the average national hourly wage.
Ratio
8. Local authorities with LA 21 strategies that
include sustainable tourism elements.
% of Local Authorities
9. Audit of community perceptions of tourism No further information available
10. English adults not taking a holiday of four
nights or more.
% of English adults
11. Accommodation registered as meeting
National Accessible Scheme criteria for
disabled people.
Percentage
12. Local authorities with tourism strategies
that incorporate cultural and heritage
considerations.
Percentage of Local Authorities
Group 3: Benefit the economies of tourism destinations
13. Tourism accommodation enterprises in the
tourism sector participating in Welcome
Host training.
Number of tourism accommodation enterprises
14. Accommodation registered with ETC, AA
or RAC Quality Assurance Scheme.
Percentage of accommodation
15.
Extent of visitor satisfaction.
Survey with 6 point scale from not at all to
completely satisfied.
16. Domestic tourism spend by region. No further information available
17. Contribution of English tourism to UK
economy.
Tourism contribution as a percentage of UK GDP
18. Composition of tourism sector by business
turnover
No further information available
19. Trips to England by UK residents. Total number of trips per month
20.
Net domestic holiday spend by UK
tourists.
(English domestic holiday spend + Spent by
other UK residents in England + Overseas
visitors spend in England) Spend abroad on
tourism by English residents = Net domestic
inflow/outflow over time (m)
Source: Data downloaded from
http://destinet.ewindows.eu.org/policies_resources/fol955810/English_Tourism_Council_National_Su
stainable_Tourism_Indicators_2002.

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Table 3-4: Spanish System of Environmental Tourism Indicators (2003)
INDICATOR MEASURE
1.
Average number of bedspaces in
tourist accommodations per
establishment
No. bedspaces/ total no. establishments
2. Annual distribution of tourism inflow Annual distribution by Autonomous Community
3. Total annual tourism expenditure
Total annual tourism expenditure (Euro millions)
by Autonomous Community
4.
Percentage employment in hotel and
restaurant sector
No. employees in the sector / total no.
employees
5.
Percentage of tourism population
equivalent (PTE)
[(Total no. tourists (inc. Spanish & 2nd homes) /
365) / Total present population] x100 = PTE
6.
Collective accommodation
establishments
Number per resident
7.
Potential pressure over natural
habitats
No further information
8. Tourist density in urban areas PTE / Total urban area (ha)
9. Tourist anthropisation factor No further information
10.
Distance from airports to urban
inhabited areas
Distance in km
11. Presence of second-dwellings
No. second dwellings / each 100ha of municipal
area
12.
Visitors to places of cultural and
historical interest
13.
Interventions carried out by
SEPRONA over tourism and sport
activities in natural environments
14. Equipped beaches No. of equipped beaches per km coastline
15. Moorings offered in sport harbours No. moorings per km of coastline
16. Tourism urban waste generation
(Annual waste generation / total present
population) x PTE
17.
Tourist consumption of urban
drinking water supplies
18.
Electric power consumption due to
tourism
19. Modal distribution of tourist arrivals No further information
20.
Degree of naturality of the
environment
% of area of Sites of Community Interest over
total Autonomous Community area
21. Continental bathing water quality No further information
22. Marine bathing water quality No further information
23.
Wastewater purification capacity per
tourism population equivalent in
main tourist towns
24.
Percentage of protected areas
having controlled accesses and
itineraries
25.
Hotel establishments certified
according to environmental
management regulation systems
26.
Selective collection of containers
generated by tourism activities
27.
Incorporation of environmental
criteria to tourism and territorial
planning and legislation
Source: Information obtained from OECD (2005, pp 85-100).

Nathali Greenidge
Table 3-4 gives the set of sustainable development indicators developed by the
OECD for Spain and discussed in OECD (2005, pp. 85-100). However, these 27
indicators are primary for evaluating the effects of tourism on the environment.

In the next chapter, we will attempt to assess the sustainability of tourism
development in Barbados with the aid of a sufficient number of the above indicators.
What is deemed sufficient will be guided by data available for the computation of the
indicators and the issues that are of concern to tourism development on the island;
some of these issues have already been discussed in chapter 2.

Indeed, an examination of the current state of the destination and its tourism is an
important initial step in developing indicators of sustainable tourism. This has two
main purposes. First, to identify and understand the nature of the data that exists
within the respective destination, and second, to help in understanding the potential
issues that may exist or likely emerge (WTO, 2004, pp. 25).

It is also suggested that part of the process in developing indicators of sustainable
tourism should include an assessment of the destinations strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats (SWOT). A SWOT analysis would give a concise picture of
the assets and short-comings of the destinations tourism industry and reveal the
opportunities and challenges it faces, thus helping in the decision on what type of
indicators will be appropriate in monitoring trends and progress towards achieving
sustainability in tourism (WTO, 2004, pp.34). Table 3-shows the kind of structure and
issues the SWOT analysis will address.
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Table 3-5: Guidelines for a SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Destination assets: local, complementary attractions, natural and
cultural assets, infrastructure and support services;
Community support: active participation, common objectives;
Workforce: availability, skill levels;
Management capacity: skill levels, funding available.
Opportunities
Economic opportunities: for businesses, employment;
Product and market opportunities: unique, authentic products, product
market match, niche markets;
Community enhancement: socio-cultural benefits;
Conservation: tourisms contribution to natural and cultural heritage.
Weaknesses
Lack of tourist appeal: few significant or unique tourism attractions, poor
accessibility, lack of infrastructure;
No vision: uncertainties in direction, lack of understanding or cohesion in the
destination community;
Preparedness: lack of plans, training needs, funds, alternative priorities.
Threats
Environmental impacts: disturbance of loss of habitat, increased use of
(and constraints) resources, waste;
Cultural degradation: daily lives, customs and practices disrupted;
Poor quality: tourist dissatisfaction, lack of standards;
External threats: regulations, travel security, environmental impacts
Source: Adapted from WTO (2004, pp. 34).
Nathali Greenidge
4. The Potential for Sustainable Tourism Development in Barbados

In chapter 2 we discussed the Barbados tourism industry and demonstrated its
importance to the island, not only as the main economic activity and source of
employment but also as a major catalyst in promoting infrastructure development,
greater socio-culture awareness and an appreciation of the need to take care of and
maintain the environment. However, by its very nature of being a small island with
limited resources and fragile ecosystems (including beaches, coastal wetlands and
marine ecosystems) means that Barbados is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of
tourism. In addition, the small size of the local population relative to the increasing
number of visitors has heightened concerns about the social impacts of tourism. For
example, local residents have complained of loss of access to some beaches and
dislocation from areas of economic activity. Thus, the question arises as to whether
the industry is on a sustainable development path or whether its long-term viability
would require a different approach to the development.

The government of Barbados has recognised that in order for tourism to continue to
play a major role in promoting economic, social and cultural development as well as
environmental conservation, there needs to be a proactive approach by all industry
partners to develop, market and manage the industry in the most responsible
manner so as to create a sustained competitive advantage(Barbados Ministry of
Tourism, 2001, pp. ii). In fact, the government of Barbados also argues that the
current emphasis on sustainable tourism development comes from the recognition
that many of the practices of local tourism stakeholders in the past were either not
economically, socially or environmentally sustainable. Consequently, the conclusion
has been drawn that these practices must be altered if Barbados is to have a real
and sustained future in tourism(Barbados Ministry of Tourism, 2001, pp. ii).
Moreover, there is a view among those in the industry that visitors to the island are
no longer satisfied that they are getting value for money and that if Barbados is to
continue to capitalise on its market status it must improve the quality of its product,
that is, the entire vacation experience. This includes improvement in the range and
quantum of services offered to customers, and ensuring a culture of excellence in all
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aspects of the vacation experience (Barbados Ministry of Finance and Economic
Affairs, 2005, pp. 94).
This recognition of the need for Barbados to pursue sustainable tourism
development has led the Ministry of Tourism to issue a Green Paper on Sustainable
Tourism in Barbados, outlining broad guidelines for the sustainable development of
the tourism industry in Barbados in the short to medium term. The document also
states that the Barbados National Tourism Policy objective is:
To pursue sustainable tourism development through improvement and
optimal use of our land, human resources and services, and through
the conservation and managed use of our cultural, built and natural
heritage, in order to ensure a product of the highest quality whilst
improving the life and economic development of the people of
Barbados (Barbados Ministry of Tourism, 2001, pp. ii).

The Green Paper on Sustainable Tourism Development gives very broad policy
objectives as to what sustainable tourism development should entail and was borne
out of discussions between various tourism officials, both in the public and private
sector. In this regard, it has been quite useful in providing direction and a long-term
vision for the industry. Indeed, it led to the 2002 Tourism Development Act, which
seeks to encourage the development of the tourism industry by providing duty free
concessions and income tax concessions for approved tourism projects and certain
tourism entities and for other related matters.

However, the Green Paper on Sustainable Tourism Development does not attempt
to assess the extent of tourism sustainability in Barbados which, as discussed in the
preceding chapter, should be seen as a necessary and important part in the
formulation and implementation of policy towards sustainable tourism development.
In fact, we did not find any study that explicitly dealt with the question of whether
tourism development in Barbados is currently sustainable or not. This reflects the
fact that the concept and issue of sustainable tourism development is new to
Barbados and what it is all about and what it involves is still not clearly understood
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by those in the industry.
29
In discussions with an official at the Barbados Tourism
Authority
30
, it was pointed out that Barbados is part of the United Nations Testing
Programme on Sustainable Development Indicators and has been committed to the
development a National Indicators Programme, which would seek to define national
indicators for all policy areas, including sustainable tourism. Presently, the
programme has reached the data collection stage in terms of trying to discover the
level of existing available information and formats.

This chapter is therefore timely in efforts to develop a number of indicators of
sustainable tourism development for Barbados with the objective of evaluating
whether or not the industry is on a sustainable development path and also what
actions are required in this regard. The indicators are grouped under the headings of
economic, social, environmental and institutional sustainability, based on the
analysis of chapter 3. In this regard, we are guided by the principles discussed in
that chapter as it relates to the development of indicators. In particular, we bear in
mind that any proposed indicators: should be easy to understand; be significant to
the destination; and moreover, data collection should not be time consuming and
cost expensive. Thus, we will give a description of each indicator used as well as its
significance and data sources available.

We rely mainly on quantitative indicators which can be computed from existing data.
However, we also make use of qualitative indicators where possible and in this
regard we rely heavily on the Barbados Visitor Exit Survey conducted by the CTO for
the Barbados Ministry of Tourism
31
. This survey is conducted on a quarterly basis
since July 1995 via a questionnaire at the islands only airport and covers a wide
cross-section of departing passengers. Only one person per family or spending party
is required to complete a questionnaire on the party's behalf. Therefore, the number
of visitors actually covered by the survey is significantly higher than the number of
completed questionnaires.

29
These sentiments were expressed by Sean Smith, Tourism development Officer of the Caribbean
Tourism Organisation, and Sharon Bamfield, Chief Tourism Development Officer in the Barbados
Ministry of Tourism, during telephone interviews with the author on August 25, 2006.
30
During a telephone conversation with Lana Harewood, Tourism Quality Assurance Officer, on
August 25, 2006.
31
We thank CTO, in particular Sean Smith and Angela Maynard, for providing us with the survey data
2001-2005 and Sherry-Anne Mayers of the Central Bank of Barbados for the back years 1996-2000.
Nathali Greenidge

The advantage of using this survey as opposed to conducting our own survey is that
the methodology and broad questionnaire structure by CTO are primarily that which
is recommended in the WTOs 1995 and 2004 reports which we referenced earlier in
this dissertation. Moreover, the use of a common approach in terms of data
collection and processing greatly facilitates the comparison of data over time, which
allows for the identification of trends in the indicators.

The quarterly surveys are aggregated into an annual survey, providing information
on over 20,000 departing visitors for each year since 1996, which in most cases is
almost 5 percent of total arrivals (see table below). We also try where possible to
obtain an official view on the issue being discussed.

Table 4-1: Coverage of Caribbean Tourism Organisations Surveys
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
no. of respondents 22,628 26,059 21,463 24,588 18,845 18,754 18,701 21,276 23,781 23,568
% of total arrivals 5.1 5.5 4.2 4.8 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.0 4.3 4.3

Source: Information obtained direct CTO

4.1 SWOT analysis of the Barbados tourism Industry
As discussed in chapter 3, in analysing sustainable tourism development it is
important to understand the different factors (opportunities, constraints, challenges)
that can, and often do, have major influences on the industry. However, we
discussed such issues for Barbados in chapter 2 (sections 2.4 and 2.5) and therefore
we only summarise the key factors that impact on the industry in Table 4-2 below. In
completing the table, we also draw on the information in section 7 of Green Paper on
the Sustainable Development of Tourism in Barbados and on appendix II of the
National Strategic Plan 2005-2025.

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Table 4-2: SWOT Analysis of Barbados Tourism Industry
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
a diverse product;

insufficient focus on
service;
the ability to cater to
changing travellers
needs;
the emergence of
competing places in Asia
and the Pacific,
year-round activities;
relatively high operating
costs; excellent transportation
systems,

the possible development
of work exchange
programmes with other
destinations;
the possibility of natural
disasters

physically run -down
accommodation plants in
some areas
dependence on foreign
owned airlines;

growing interest in
heritage and ancestral
linkages to Africa;

tourism and hospitality
training at vocational and
tertiary levels; a stable
currency;
increased crime levels;

incidence of garbage
pollution
a mature destination; globalisation of trade;

the introduction of an
enhanced legislative and
regulatory framework;

inadequate foreign
language skills in the
work force;
established tourism
institutions and
organisations;
negative attitudes and
behaviour by some parts
of the local populace;

a stable political climate;
the possibility of the
development of stronger
inter-sectoral linkages
with the productive and
services sector;

little or no participation of
local communities in
planning and
development;
the development of
tourism in many source
markets.

no clearly stated vision;

being part of the diversity
offered by the Caribbean
islands.
excellent infrastructure
and utilities.
limited national focus on
intra-regional tourism;

inadequate access to
some activities and
beaches;

general lack of
awareness and
understanding of the
tourism industry and its
contribution to national
development.

Source: Chapter 2 (sections 2.4 and 2.5) of this dissertation; Section 7 of Green Paper on the
Sustainable Development of Tourism in Barbados, pp. 17-19; and, the National Strategic Plan 2005-
2025, appendix II, pp. 91-103.

4.2 Economic Sustainability of Tourism
As discussed in chapter 3, economic sustainability of tourism is mainly about
ensuring that tourism grows at a rate that is in line with the destinations ability to
handle the increased influx of visitors without visitors becoming dissatisfied with their
vacation experience. Therefore, it is not sufficient that tourism is a major contributor
to GDP and earnings but if the rate at which it is contributing is declining (perhaps
because of a drop in the number of repeat visitors or maybe visitors are spending
less because they are unhappy with the quality of service or various attractions
offered), then such a position is not sustainable as the rate at which economic
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benefits are accruing to the destination is slowing. Thus, what really matters for
economic sustainability of tourism is that the visitor is satisfied with his or her
experience and returns again and also tells others about the destination. The key
issues are therefore whether or not tourist satisfaction is being sustained and
whether or not the economic benefits of tourism are accruing to the destination (see
baseline issues no. 3 and 5 in Table 3-2 of the previous chapter). Since we have
already discussed the benefits of tourism to the Barbados economy in chapter 2, we
concentrate here on tourist satisfaction.

4.2.1 Sustaining Tourist Satisfaction
Tourist satisfaction is an important indicator of the long-term economic viability of a
destination. If tourists are not satisfied with the experience, they will not return and
will not recommend the destination to others. Tourist satisfaction is influenced by a
number of factors, including the various attractions of the destination, the quality of
services (including the friendliness of the locals), the quality of accommodation
(cleanliness), the quality of water and food, and the extent to which they feel safe
and secure (strongly influenced by crime and acts of hostility).

The most direct way to assess the level of tourist satisfaction is to ask the tourist.
Such data are normally obtained through a survey of visitors leaving the island, and
for this we rely on the CTO exit survey described above.

4.2.1.1 Indicator 1: Perception of value for money
This measure questions the tourist as to whether or not they felt that they had
received good value for their money. The responses obtained is used not only to
gauge satisfaction or dissatisfaction but also to act as an early warning of emerging
problems or issues which have caused changes in satisfaction levels.

The results in Table 4-3 suggest that on average, visitors thought that had received
good value for money. Moreover, this rating shows very little change over the years.
In addition, none of the categories were rated as below average values for money,
while accommodation received the highest value for money rating over the period.
Thus, this measure suggests that visitors satisfaction levels are above average to
good and therefore are most likely to revisit the island or even recommend it.
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However, since none of the scores are higher than 10, it would suggest that there is
room for improvement in what is being offered to the visitors, particularly in the area
of transportation (taxis and hire cars), which is currently unregulated with respect to
fares charged.
Table 4-3: Perception of Value for Money (on a scale of 0 to 10)
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Overall cost of visit 6.9 6.9 6.5 6.7 6.5 6.6 7.0 7.0 6.9 6.9
Accommodation 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.6 7.4 7.4
Meals and Drinks 6.6 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.3 6.7 6.7 6.8 6.8
Taxis/Hire Cars 6.3 6.2 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.6 6.6 6.7 6.7
10 = Excellent 7.5 = Good 5 = Average 2.5 = Poor 0 = Very Poor
Source: Data obtained directly from CTO on September 01, 2006.

4.2.1.2 Indicator 2: Percentage of returnees
The percentage of return visitors is also suggested as a leading gauge of tourists
satisfaction. The return of visitors indicates that they were happy with their
experiences in previous visits (see WTO, 2004, pp. 88). Thus, repeat visitation is
considered a positive indication of tourist satisfaction. This type of tourist is most
likely to revisit the destination time and time again, and also recommend the
destination to friends and relatives (Oppermann, 1998; Oppermann, 2000; Pritchard,
2003).

Table 4-4: Frequency of Visits to Barbados (percent of total visitors)
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
First visit 62.7 61.5 62.4 61.3 62.3 60.4 58.0 58.9 56.3 53.1
Second visit 10.7 11.4 11.8 12.1 12.1 13.3 13.0 12.1 12.1 12.5
Third visit 6.7 6.7 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.2 7.7 7.0 7.5 7.5
Four or more visit 19.9 20.4 19.6 20.4 19.5 20.2 21.3 22.0 24.1 26.9
Total Returnees 37.3 38.5 37.6 38.7 37.7 39.7 42.0 41.1 43.7 46.9


Table 4-4 shows the frequency of visitations to Barbados. In 2005 almost half (46.9
percent) of all visitors to the island had visited before. Moreover, this ratio has been
steadily rising over the years. In addition, for each of the years shown, more than
half of the returnees had visited Barbados at least four times before. Indeed, the
relatively high percentage of returnees to Barbados and the fact that this percentage
has been rising, would suggest that visitors to Barbados are generally satisfy with
the experience that are offered.

Nathali Greenidge
Examining the number of returnees by purpose of visit is also useful in gauging the
extent of visitor satisfaction and leads to direct implications for policy. However, we
could only conduct such an analysis for a single year because the categories in the
survey changed over the years. In this regard, we used the most recent data which is
2005 (Table 4-5). The evidence in Table 4-5 suggests that where there is likely to be
existing connections between tourist and locals or where the tourist is likely to be in
an environment where local connections or relationships could be formed, the
chances of returned visitations are much higher. For example, of all visitors to see
family or relatives, almost three-quarters have been to the island before and for the
same reason. Similarly, over 60 percent of tourists on business trips or visiting to
take part in golf tournaments or in the crop-over festival have previously visited
Barbados. Thus, visiting for such purposes appear to provide a greater level of
satisfaction than if the tourist came strictly for the purpose of vacationing, to attend a
wedding or on a honeymoon. Perhaps this is because the local connection the visitor
has or establishes helps to ensure that he or she has a pleasant experience. Indeed,
it is quite common in Barbadian culture that when a local has a visitor, to go the extra
mile and find various activities and events for the visitor to have a good time.

Table 4-5: Frequency of Visits to Barbados by Purpose of Visit
(percent of total visitors in 2005)
Vacation
Business
Only
Vacation/
business
Friends/
Relatives Honeymoon Wedding
Meeting/
Incentive Golf Festival
Sports
Meet Other
First visit 56.8 34.3 45.3 28.1 87.7 70.1 45.6 37.5 34.4 52 42.4
Second visit 12.8 14.3 12.9 12.8 5 13.4 11.5 0 13.4 6.3 12.6
Third visit 7 11.1 8.3 9.7 1.1 5.1 9.7 12.5 9.5 11 10.8
Four or more visit 23.4 40.3 33.5 49.4 6.2 11.4 33.2 50 42.7 30.7 34.2
Total Returnees 43.2 65.7 54.7 71.9 12.3 29.9 54.4 62.5 65.6 48 57.6

4.2.1.3 Indicator 3: Willingness to return or recommend a friend
This part of the survey asked the direct question of whether or not the tourist would
consider returnng to Barbados or even recommending it to a friend. The results in
Table 4-6 indicate that over the years more than half of visitors to Barbados were
definite in their intention to return to the island or recommend it to a friend. More
importantly, this ratio has been rising since 2001 and when combined with those who
were less definite but still positive in their intentions, the ratio currently exceeds 90
percent. Again, this is a positive indication for the level of visitor satisfaction.
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Table 4-6: Willingness to Return to Barbados or Recommend it to a Friend
(percent of total visitors)
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Definitely 55.4 54.4 62.8 53.5 53.6 53.4 58.0 59.7 59.8 60.5
Probably 33.8 35.1 29.5 34.7 33.8 35.0 32.6 30.4 29.9 31.0
Probably Not 9.5 8.5 5.9 9.8 10.2 9.8 7.7 8.3 8.7 7.0
Definitely Not 1.2 2.0 1.9 1.9 2.4 1.9 1.7 1.5 1.6 1.5

Source: Data obtained directly from CTO on September 01, 2006

4.2.1.4 Indicator 4: Visitor security
The visitors perception of safety at the destination highly affects their level of
satisfaction and is particularly important for tourism. Incidences of crime,
harassment, sickness or any act which the tourist perceives to be hostile or
dangerous can ruin a trip. Tourists who have been the unfortunate victims of such
incidents are likely to inform others of their experiences, and this could significantly
affect the decisions of others on whether to visit a destination, and hamper the
transfer of economic benefits of tourism to the local economy. In addition, ensuring
good public security is a major factor in promoting a good image for a destination
(WTO, 2004).

Barbados has one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean region and has over
the years been marketed as a safe destination and is indeed justified in doing so as
can be seen from Figure 4-1. Over the years, on average more than 90 percent of
visitors to the island felt safe during their trip. This is certainly a positive factor in
favour of tourism in Barbados and would most certainly be positively related to
sustaining visitors satisfaction.
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Figure 4-1: Feeling of Safety in Barbados (percent of total respondents)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Felt Safe Did not Feel Safe
%
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


4.2.1.5 Indicator 5: Product rating
Visitors were also asked to rate the various components of the tourism product on a
scale of 0 to 10: 0 represent a product of very poor quality; and, 10 is for a product of
excellent quality (see Table 4-7). The tourist opinion of the quality of the tourism
product and its components is a direct indication of the level of satisfaction they
derive from it. In this regard, beaches were rated highest of all the product
components, receiving a rating of excellent in every year of the survey. Water
sports, accommodation, restaurants and tours/excursions have all received high
scores as well. Generally, the tourism product offered by Barbados has over the
years been highly complimented by tourists and this suggests that visitors
satisfaction is fairly high.

Another interesting point borne out in the data is that every component, with the
exception range and price of duty-free items, have increased in rating over the years
and this implies that not only is the level of visitors satisfaction high but it is also
rising. It therefore appears that the tourism product components are of sufficient
quality to sustain visitors satisfaction.

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Table 4-7: Visitors Rating of Barbados Tourism Product Components (1996-2005)
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Airline Connections 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4
Immigration 7.1 7 6.7 6.6 6 6 6.8 6.7 6.9 6.8
Customs 7.3 7.2 7 6.9 6.5 6.5 6.8 7 7.1 7.1
Accommodation 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.9 7.9 7.9 8 7.9
Restaurants 7.8 7.6 7.6 7.7 7.6 7.7 7.7 7.9 8 7.9
Night Life 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.2
Handicrafts/Souvenirs 6.3 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.7
Range of Duty-Free Goods 6.9 6.8 6.6 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.4
Price of Duty-Free Goods 6.2 6.1 6 6 5.8 5.9 6 6.2 6.5 6.3
Sales Personnel 7 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.8 6.8 6.9 6.8
Shopping 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.6
Beaches 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.8 9 9 9.1 9.1 9
Water Sports 8.1 8.1 7.9 8 8 8.1 8.2 8.2 8.3 8.1
Environment/ Cleanliness 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.8 6.9 6.9 7.1 6.9
Taxis/Hired Cars 7.1 7 7.1 7.1 7 7.1 7.2 7.2 7.4 7.4
Tours/ Excursions 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.6 7.6 7.7 7.6
Other 7.5 6.5 6.8 6.4 6.1 6.7 6.7 7.3 6.7 6.9
Very Poor Poor Average Good Excellent
0 2.5 5 7.5 10


Overall, the findings from the various measures suggest that visitors are generally
satisfied with their experiences in Barbados. Moreover, it appears that their levels of
satisfaction have been rising over the years. However, there is also room to improve
visitors satisfaction.

4.3 Social Sustainability of Tourism
As discussed in the previous chapter, social sustainability of tourism is about
ensuring that tourism develops in a manner that does not cause social stress or
disharmony. Thus, here we are concerned about numbers and tourists density
relative to the population or area (socio-cultural carrying capacity). We are also
interested in the contributions tourism makes to employment since this directly
affects society by providing opportunities for persons to earn a living. We also
wanted to examine local satisfaction with tourism as this is also important for
sustainability (WTO, 2004). However, this should be done through a yearly
questionnaire and no such has been done for Barbados.

4.3.1 Socio-Cultural Carrying Capacity
Capacity measures frequently used in the literature include the density ratio (the
annual number of tourist-days divided by resident-days) and the (penetration ratio
Nathali Greenidge
the annual number of tourist-days divided by the total land area of the destination)
(Thomas et al., 2005, pp. 16).

4.3.1.1 Indicator 6:Tourism density ratio
Tourist density ratio (TDR) gives the number of tourists per square kilometre and is
an attempt to show the density of tourists in the country at any one time on average.
It is calculated as (see CTO, 2003, pp. 251):
365
Average length of stay x number of visitor
x area in square kilometers

As noted above, there may be a relationship between tourism density and the growth
of resentment towards tourists. The inference here is that tourism density is an
indicator of the degree of confrontation between tourists and indigenous population
and that this confrontation gives rise to the resentment of tourists.

Table 4-8: Tourism Density Ratio for Barbados (1992-2005)
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
26 28 30 31 30 31 36 33 35 33 35 34 35 35

Source: Data obtained from CTO (2005) and directly from CTO

Table 4-8 shows the TDR for Barbados. It suggests that there were approximately 26
tourists per square kilometre in 1992 and this ratio has risen to 35 in 2005. Thus,
tourist density in Barbados has increased over the years. It is difficult to say whether
or not 35 tourists per square kilometres are too many and generating negative social
effects. However, as noted in chapter 3, placing a maximum number on a carrying
capacity ratio (and the tourism density ratio is in fact measuring social carrying
capacity) is not recommended. In this regard, we compare the TDR ratio for
Barbados with that of a number of other Caribbean countries over a two-year period
in order to have an idea of what is an average TDR for the region (Table 4-9).

Table 4-9: Tourism Density Ratio for Selected Caribbean Countries (2003 & 2004)

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2003 12 74 2 34 94 5 54 18 11 2 2 8 3 16 n.a 10 7 8 18 21.0
2004 11 81 2 35 82 5 52 16 12 3 2 9 3 16 3 11 4 8 19 19.7

Source: Data obtained from CTO (2005) and directly from CTO on September 4, 2006.
Nathali Greenidge

Table 4-9 shows Barbados as having one of the highest TDR in the region, only
lower than that of Aruba, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands but significantly
higher than the average for the region. Thus, there are more tourists-days spent in
Barbados per square kilometre of land area than any of the other 18 islands
examined. Therefore, Barbados TDR is a cause for concern, as Barbados appears
to face more visitor "pressure" per square kilometre than most of the other islands. It
should however be noted that one of the main limitations of the TDR is the fact that
tourism activity tends to be concentrated in specific geographical areas like towns
and along coast lines and this is certainly the case with Barbados.

4.3.1.2 Indicator 7: Tourist penetration ratio
The tourist penetration ratio (TPR) is considered a more rigorous indicator as it
attempts to avoid the geographical limitation of the tourist density ratio by expressing
density as the average number of tourist per thousand of the population in the
country at any one time (CTO, 2003):
365
Average length of stay x number of visitor
x mid year population

The TPR for Barbados shows a similar picture to the TDR, being significantly higher
in 2005 than it was in 1992 (Table 4-10). The TPR suggests that in 1992 there were
on average 43 tourists per 1000 of the local population. However, when compared to
the region (Table 4-11) Barbados ranks 9
th
out of the 19 countries and, more
importantly, its TPR is below the regional average. This suggests that the number of
tourists visiting Barbados relative to the number of residents is below the region
average.

Table 4-10: Tourism Penetration Ratio for Barbados (1992-2005)
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
43 46 50 50 50 51 59 54 56 52 55 69 69 68


Nathali Greenidge
Table 4-11: Tourism Density Ratio for Selected Caribbean Countries (2003 & 2004)

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2003 85 143 77 69 110 97 389 113 31 23 9 26 13 n.a n.a 39 23 145 57 85.2
2004 89 155 77 69 115 99 360 120 35 28 10 29 14 50 7 43 15 150 57 80.1


Therefore, while the TDR indicates some pressure per square kilometre, the TPR
suggests there is no pressure with respect to the population. Together they seem to
suggest that the influx of tourists may be placing a strain on the resources of the
country but not directly on the society. Thus, there may more be an environmental
issue that a social one. This conclusion is supported by the Barbados Tourism
Authority who claimed that the carrying capacity of some beaches and reefs
especially on the south and west coast has been surpassed due, in part, to the
concentration of both tourist and local populations in these areas. Additionally,
anchoring shipping mainly for sailing vessels has contributed to the degradation in
some areas particularly because of solid waste disposal.
32
We will discuss these
issues further under the environmental section.

4.3.2 Tourism related employment
Tourism related employment reflects the importance of tourism to the labour market
and is considered an indicator of social sustainability.

4.3.2.1 Indicator 8: Direct and indirect employment from tourism
Figure 4-2 shows the number of jobs that depends directly and indirectly on the
tourism sector. Since 1992 the number of person earning a living from tourism has
been rising. In 1992, 20,269 persons were directly employed in accommodation
establishments and restaurants, while another 21,202 were employed in tourism
related areas, which meant the 46.1 percent of all job in Barbados were tourism
related. By 2005 the number employed directly in the industry had risen to 26,944
and those employed indirectly expanded to 25,565, bringing the total tourism related
Nathali Greenidge
employment to 52,509 or 45.7 percent of total employment. Moreover, WTTC (2006,
pp. 12) forecast that by 2016, the tourism sector will provide 82,000 jobs, 56.5
percent of total employment or 1 in every 1.8 jobs.

Figure 4-2: Barbados Tourism Employment (000s of jobs)
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
9
8
8
1
9
8
9
1
9
9
0
1
9
9
1
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9
9
2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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4
2
0
0
5
Direct Indirect

Source: Table I1 of the Central Bank of Barbados Annual Statistical Digest (2005, 2000) and
WTTC (2006, pp.20).

Thus, the tourism industry has been, still is and will continue to be a significant
source of employment for Barbadians. By doing so, the industry is helping to improve
the living standards of a large proportion of the population. Moreover, since most
tourism-related jobs tend to be of the unskilled or semi-skilled variety, the industry
plays a vital role in reducing poverty. This is a positive indication that the industry is
contributing to society and hence socially sustainable.

4.4 Environmental Sustainability of Tourism
As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, tourism and its supporting
infrastructure are likely to have the greatest impact on the environment, particularly
on the marine and coastal ecosystems as well as water resources. The industry also
impacts on the environment in the areas of waste generation, physical damage to
corals from divers and from boat anchors, as well as sand compaction from the
heavy usage of beaches by tourists and vehicles. The construction of tourism

32
This view is expressed by Lana Harewood, Quality Assurance Officer at the BTA in a telephone
conversation with the author on August 25, 2006.
Nathali Greenidge
facilities (for example, golf courses) in ecologically sensitive areas is also a concern
as is the usage of potable water. In fact, as discussed in chapter 2, a tourist uses
significantly more water than the average Barbadian.

4.4.1 Indicator 9: Solid waste management
Tourism generates substantial amounts of solid waste and this has direct and
indirect impacts on the environment. This problem has special significance for
Barbados owing to the difficulty that the island faces in finding places to construct
solid waste disposal facilities and because it is too small to be able to support
economically viable re-cycling programs (Vlugman, 1994). It is estimated that each
person generates approximately 0.9kg of solid waste per day and though it is difficult
to get estimates that relates to tourism, at the national level it translates into an
estimated 450 tonnes per day or 163,880 tonnes of solid waste per year
33
. As a
result, there is a lot of debate and concern for the potential threats that this large
amount of waste may pose to the environment.

Barbados currently uses landfill technology for the disposal of solid waste. Very little
is done in the areas of large scale recycling, composting or incineration. Thus, the
majority of waste is disposed of at the landfill. However, landfills can be a threat to
both ground water quality and marine coastal water quality through generation of
leachate
34
. Leachate is toxic and is capable of impacting the near-shore marine flora
and fauna. Additionally, it can affect human health through ingestion if the leachate
gets into potable ground water or surface water resources. In fact, over the years
there have been many problems (fires, offensive odours and concerns about ground
water pollution) and public discussions on the operation and management of the
islands main landfill (Mangrove Pond Landfill) and this has led to the construction of
a new national Landfill at Greenland. However, it is not operational as yet.

33
Data obtained from the Government of Barbados Waste Management website at
http://www.solid.gov.bb
34
Leachate is formed when water passes through the waste in the landfill cell. The precipitation can
be from rain, melted snow or the waste itself. As the liquid moves through the landfill many organic
and inorganic compounds, like heavy metals, are transported in the leachate. This moves to the base
of the landfill cell and collects (www.foe.org/site1/ptp/chapter3.html). How the landfill has been
constructed determines whether the leachate pollutes groundwater. In landfill sites which have been
created recently, liners are present and so this greatly limits the leachate leaking and the only way it
will leave the cell is if the liner tears.
Nathali Greenidge
4.4.2 Indicator 10: Sewage treatment and wastewater management
In Barbados, the location of hotels and related tourism properties mainly in the
coastal belt has contributed significantly to the degradation of coastal water quality
and ecosystems primarily through the generation of liquid waste, raw sewage, the
presence of increasing quantities of oil and other waste from recreational vehicles
(including cruise ships) along with herbicides, pesticides, and fertilisers from resort
landscaping and golf course management. The increased percentage of concreted
areas, roads and other impervious surfaces normally associated with hotels and
resorts development increase the level of rainwater runoff to coastal areas. Being so
close to the sea, the water table beneath these properties is in many cases less than
two metres deep, so many disposal systems do not function efficiently
35
. There is
also little time for the harmful chemicals and bacteria in the wastewater to degrade
before this water reaches the sea.

Concerns over the environmental impact that this was having along the south and
the west coast of the island were the impetus behind the development of the
Bridgetown sewage treatment plant and the recently constructed sewage treatment
facility along the south coast (launched in 2004). With this system, sewage is to be
piped from a 12 kilometre strip of the southern coastline extending about 500 metres
inland, to undergo primary treatment before being discharged 1.1 kilometres out to
sea. The west coast facility is schedule to begin in 2006. Present capacity to treat or
recycle wastewater (public sewerage scheme) is limited to the Bridgetown sewerage
treatment plant with a capacity of approximately 9000 cubic meters/day. There are
about 12 package plants at various hotels. Two hotels, Sam Lords Castle and
Almond Village Resorts, treat the wastewater and reuse it for irrigation.
36

Therefore, it appears that though there exit some environmental concerns with
respect sewage treatment and wastewater management, these are currently being
addressed and in the coming years these negative environmental aspects of the
tourism industry will be significantly reduced.

35
Taken from the Government of Barbados Waste Management website at http://www.solid.gov.bb.
36
The data for this paragraph is taken from the United Nations Sanitation Country Profile of Barbados
http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/barbados/sanitation.pdf
Nathali Greenidge
4.4.3 Indicator 11: Natural Resources Issues and Land Use
In the past, little importance had been placed on the natural environment, particularly
the mangrove forests. These were often cut down for the development of hotels or
marinas. Attention was not paid to the fact that these eco-systems are
interdependent and that the destruction of one would lead to significant ecological
degradation of the others. The St. Lawrence Gap area in Barbados is a characteristic
example where a wetland area was sacrificed for hotel development.

Indeed, most of the negative effects of tourism along the coastline reflect inadequate
planning and inappropriate physical changes and can be resolved by improvements
in land use planning, construction practice, engineering, architecture, and design
processes. For example, the Needhams Point development on the south western
coast of Barbados is a case where coastal engineering has taken into consideration
the surrounding environment and has led to extensive beach build up. In addition,
the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU) was designed to correct physical
changes from decades-old tourism development projects. Since its establishment,
the CZMU has undertaken successful work in beach restoration at Accra Beach
Hotel and coral habitat restoration on the reefs of the west coast of Barbados.

4.4.4 Indicator 12: Potable Water and Energy
As noted in chapter 2, the average Barbadian uses between 60 and 63 gallons of
water per day while hotel guests use on average 179 gallons per day. This heavy
use of potable water has significant environmental consequences for Barbados as
the island depends almost entirely upon ground water for its potable water supply.
Over extraction of this resource will lead to saline intrusion of the aquifers which will
render them virtually useless as a source for potable fresh water.

Barbados is taking action on almost all of these fronts. It has built two desalination
plants since 2000 and has leased a third one that is mounted in a trailer. The
Barbados Water Authority plans to recycle wastewater and to upgrade the
distribution system to reduce leakage and other sources of waste. The west coast
facility mentioned above will allow wastewater to be treated for agricultural use and
for reinsertion into underground aquifers. The government estimates that it can
Nathali Greenidge
recover up to 5 million gallons of wastewater a day for non-potable uses through new
investments in treatment and recycling (Drosdoff, 2004).

4.4.5 Indicator 12: Green Globe 21
In 1994, WTTC initiated the Green Globe 21 accreditation scheme, which is an
industry improvement programme that provides guidance materials and a
certification process linked to the principles of Agenda 21. Green Globe 21 is thus
designed to certify that companies or communities are implementing sustainable
development criteria. Only six of the many hotels in Barbados have Green Globe
certification (see Table 4-12). However, this should be seen as a positive
development since in 1999 there was only one hotel on the island with Green Globe
certification. Moreover, the Government of Barbados has been encouraging tourism
establishments to implement sustainable development policies and as such the
Tourism Development Act (2002) makes specific provision for expenditure on
acquiring eco-certification and on community tourism programmes to be offset at a
rate of 150 per cent against tax assessable income.

Table 4-12: Hotels in Barbados with Green Globe Certification

1999 2000 2006
Treasure Beach Hotel Treasure Beach Hotel Allamanda Beach Hotel
Casuarina Beach Club Almond Beach Club & Spa
Almond Beach Village
Amaryllis Beach Resort

Bougainvillea Beach
Resort/Sand Acres Resort
Hotel PomMarine
Source: Green Globe website (http://www.greenglobe21.com ).

Nathali Greenidge
5. Conclusions
5.1 Summary of Study
Barbados is a tropical island in the Caribbean and is known primarily for its physical
attributes, including a warm and pleasant climate all year round, beautiful sandy
beaches which are safe for swimming and water sports, a varied landscape with
contrasting coastlines and a well developed road network. In additional, its reputation
for political stability, a hospitable and friendly people, a very strong British tradition
and a good historical and cultural legacy are key components of the Barbadian
tourism product. Barbados has also developed niche markets in nature-based
tourism, sports tourism particularly golf, conferences and meetings, boating, and all-
inclusive vacation packages. This dissertation addresses the issue of sustainable
tourism development in Barbados. In doing so, the study develops a number of
indicators to examine the long-term economic viability of the tourism industry along
with its social and environmental impacts.

The prime motivation for this study is the fact that Barbados is heavily dependent on
tourism and indeed tourism has become the most significant sector in the Barbadian
economy and is identified as the industry that will contribute the most towards the
continued economic prosperity for the country. It is also expected to propel the
country into further social development, and act as a catalyst for the conservation of
the physical environment. Therefore, the importance of tourism to the overall
development of the country can not be overstated. Yet, tourism can have adverse
impacts on the environment and the society if not managed and developed in a
manner that is in harmony with the surroundings and the locals. In this regard, some
of the concerns that came out in the study include: the negative effects of tourism on
the coastal ecosystem; the strain it has placed on the islands water and energy
resources and on the waste disposal system; and, the various sources of irritation it
is said to have caused (like restricted beach access and dislocation from prime
economic areas). Thus, the question arises as to whether the industry is on a
sustainable development path or whether its future would require a different
approach to the development because the adverse effects it is causing may
eventually outweigh the benefits it brings.

Nathali Greenidge
5.2 Major Findings and Policy Implications

Table 5- 1: Summary of Findings on Sustainable Tourism Development in Barbados
OVERALL INDICATOR SUMMARY FINDINGS
Economic Sustainability of Tourism
Contribution of tourism to the
Barbadian economy.
A main contributor to GDP and foreign exchange earnings.
Rising trends in economic contributions.
Sustaining tourist satisfaction:

Perception of value for money
Frequency of visits
Visitor security
Product rating

Getting good value for money but some areas can be improved.
More than half will return; relationships and good service matter.
Over 90 percent of visitors feel safe.
Highly complimented by tourists, particularly beaches and water
sports.
Social Sustainability of Tourism

Socio-cultural carrying capacity:

Tourism density ratio

Tourism penetration ratio

Tourism related employment

It has one of the highest TDR in the region; cause for concern and
indicates pressure on resources.

Rising but still below regional average; not much stress on locals.

Significant employer; almost 1 in every 2 jobs are tourism related.

Environmental Sustainability of Tourism

Solid waste management
Tourism sector generates substantial amounts of solid waste.
Barbados uses landfill technology and the current landfill is almost
20 yrs old.
New landfill ready but not in operation as yet.
Landfills can be a threat to both ground and marine coastal water
quality.
Sewage treatment and wastewater
management
Inadequate sewage treatment and wastewater management by
the sector has led to the degradation of coastal water quality and
ecosystems.

Bridgetown sewage treatment plant and the south coast treatment
facility were built in response to these issues.

West coast treatment facility to be constructed.
Natural resources issues and land use
Tourism development had a negative impact on natural
environment.

Various institutions and programmes have been established to
deal with beach and coral habitat restoration.

Development plans now take into consideration the natural
environment.
Potable water and energy
Tourism has placed a strain on water and energy resources.

Three desalination plants have been built in response to this
issue.
Accreditation schemes
Six hotels have Green Globe certification and others are being
considered.
The number of hotels receiving certification has risen over time.
Notes: Based on findings of chapters 2 and 4. A indicates that the particular dimension is on a
sustainable path, while a means that there are some concerns but that the authorities have
recognised this and have began to implement measures towards greater sustainability.

Nathali Greenidge
The main findings are summarised in Table 5-1. In general, the results suggest that
tourism development in Barbados is on a sustainable path, meaning that over time
the economic benefits accruing to the Barbadian economy are increasing, the
negative social effects are at manageable levels and the authorities are
implementing various measures to deal with the adverse impacts the industry has
had on the environment. These measures are aimed at ensuring that the tourism
industry develops in harmony with the environment.

On the question of the economic viability of tourism, all the indicators suggest that
Barbados will continue to reap the benefits of tourism for years to come. Tourists
satisfaction is generally high, which means arrivals will continue to rise and this is the
basic denominator for the economic success of tourism. However, there is room for
further gains in sustainability. For one, some components of the tourism product
have over the years been rated between average and good (for example, the range
and prices of duty-free goods, night life, shopping and sales personnel) and these
are the areas that attention should be focused on in order to improve overall quality.
The findings also suggest that when visitors have a local connection or relationship
they are likely to have a more enjoyable experience than if they are on a vacation or
honeymoon where their experiences are most like to depend on the quality of service
they received from workers in the industry. Again, this is an area the authorities may
want to focus on.

With respect to the social sustainability of tourism, it appears that the interactions
between visitors and locals is not generally stressful and has not produced any
antagonistic behaviour of major concern. However, there are instances where
irresponsible practices by those in the industry (for example, as some hotels
attempting to restrict beach access or locals being forced to relocate from developing
areas), have caused some people to questioned the extent to which tourism may be
impacting on the Barbadian society. The research suggests that these instances are
more the exception than the rule. Nevertheless, they need to be addressed to ensure
that feelings of discontent do not begin to spread. In this regard, the monitoring of
local satisfaction via regular surveys is recommended.

Nathali Greenidge
A direct implication of the above results is that the tourism authorities should ensure
that training and education (particularly on issues and principles of sustainability) are
at the forefront of tourism development. This includes integrating sustainable tourism
development education curricula of schools, universities and training institutions,
involving all stakeholders groups. It also means ensuring that formal education and
vocational training systems are adapted to the rapidly changing needs of the
industry, covering a variety of skills and customer service. Finally, it also means
ensuring that site developers carry out all the necessary research, information
gathering and dissemination to ensure that locals do not end up feeling displaced by
tourism development.
Training and education programmes are even more critical to the success of the
industry if one considers that the concept of sustainable tourism development is
quite recent and within the Barbados tourism industry there is very little
understanding of what it is, what it involves or what it requires.

It was noted earlier that the environment is where the tourism industry has had the
most negative impacts. However, it was also noted that the government is currently
addressing all such concerns. In this regard, an additional recommendation based
on the findings of this study is that it may be appropriate for the government to
investment in large-scale recycling, composting and incineration. This would help to
address issues associated with solid waste, given the lack of space for landfills in
Barbados. It may prove costly in the short-term but given the problems (including
potential threats to the water resource) and public discontent with landfills, not to
mention the eye-sore that a mountain of dump is to visitors, would be a worthwhile
venture in the long-run.

Another recommendation is for the tourism authority to explore the role of technology
for improving techniques for wastewater management at the various accommodation
establishments. This may even be more pressing for establishments on the west
coast of the island since the West Coast Sewage project will take a number of years
to be completed (the South coast project began in 1991 and was only completed in
2004) The development and use of new and appropriate technologies that minimise
the impact of tourism activities on the environment and conserve natural resources
Nathali Greenidge
(particularly water) will help alleviate pressures on the environment caused by
pollution and the excessive use of water resources.

5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research
One area that this study has been unable to explore in detail is the extent of tourism
leakages in the Barbados economy. To do this will require a model that links tourist
arrivals and expenditure to imports, which in itself requires information on the
responsiveness of imports to tourism. In other words, when tourist arrivals increase
what is the corresponding rise in imports needed to meet the increased tourism
demand. No such model currently exists for Barbados and more importantly we have
been unsuccessful in obtaining data on the imported inputs into the tourism industry.

Another area the study was unable to assess in greater detail is the extent of local
satisfaction with tourism. This is an important for its sustainability analysis since
rising levels of dissatisfaction can lead to hostility towards tourists and negative
impact on the industry. The most effective way to assess local satisfaction is through
a yearly questionnaire with customised questions on specific issues of local concern
and then compare the answers from year to year. No such questionnaire has ever
been done for Barbados and no such data exists. This is certainly an interesting area
for further research.

Finally, it would be interesting to carryout further research into the factors that
influence a tourist decision to visit Barbados. In other words, what are the main
determinants of tourism demand in Barbados? However, though interesting with
direct policy implications, such a study was beyond the scope of this dissertation.

.
Nathali Greenidge
Appendix 1
Table A1: International Tourist Arrivals (in millions)
World Africa Americas
Asia &
Pacific Europe
Middle
East
1950 25.3 0.5 7.5 0.2 16.8 0.2
1960 69.3 0.8 16.7 0.9 50.4 0.6
1965 112.9 1.4 23.2 2.1 83.7 2.4
1970 165.8 2.4 42.3 6.2 113 1.9
1975 222.3 4.7 50 10.2 153.9 3.5
1980 278.2 7.3 62.3 23.6 177.5 7.5
1981 278.6 8.1 62.5 25.4 174.6 8
1982 277.1 7.5 59.7 26.6 174.8 8.5
1983 282.1 8.2 59.9 27.1 179.1 7.8
1984 306.9 8.8 67.4 30.1 192.6 8.1
1985 320.2 9.6 65.1 33.6 203.4 8.5
1986 330.5 9.3 70.9 37.6 205.3 7.4
1987 359.8 9.8 76.6 43.1 222.7 7.5
1988 385.5 12.5 83 50.1 230.5 9.4
1989 410.2 13.8 86.9 50.8 249.2 9.5
1990 441 15.2 92.8 57.7 265.3 10
1991 443.9 16 95.3 59.7 263.5 9.4
1992 481.4 18.3 102.2 67.8 281.4 11.8
1993 494.7 18.7 102.2 74.5 287.4 11.9
1994 519.5 19.1 105.1 82.2 300.4 12.7
1995 538.1 20.4 109.2 85 309.3 14.3
1996 569.6 22.1 114.5 94 323 16
1997 592.5 23 116.2 93 343.3 17
1998 611.6 25.5 119.2 92.4 355.7 18.9
1999 634.1 26.9 121.9 102.3 360.5 22.5
2000 680.6 28.2 128.2 114.9 384.1 25.2
2001 680.4 28.9 122.1 120.7 383.8 25
2002 700.4 29.5 116.6 131.1 394 29.2
2003 689.7 30.8 113.1 119.3 396.6 30
2004 763.2 33.2 125.8 152.5 416.4 35.4
Source: WTO (2005, Table 1 in Annex).
Nathali Greenidge
Table A2: International Tourism Receipts (US$ billions)
World Africa Americas
Asia &
Pacific Europe
Middle
East
1950 2.1 0.1 1.1 0.04 0.9 0.03
1960 6.9 0.2 2.5 0.2 3.9 0.1
1965 11.6 0.3 3.4 0.5 7.2 0.3
1970 17.9 0.5 4.8 1.2 11 0.4
1975 40.7 1.3 10.2 2.5 25.9 0.9
1980 106.5 3.4 24.7 11.3 63.7 3.5
1981 108.1 3.7 27.8 13.2 59.4 4.1
1982 104.3 3.4 25.7 13.4 58 3.9
1983 104.9 3.5 26.3 14.1 56.7 4.3
1984 113.7 3.2 32 15.1 58.8 4.6
1985 120.8 3.1 33.3 16.3 63.9 4.2
1986 146.6 3.6 38.4 21 80.2 3.4
1987 181.1 4.6 43.1 28 101 4.5
1988 210.2 5.5 51.3 36.7 112.2 4.3
1989 230 5.7 60.3 41 118.1 4.9
1990 273.2 6.4 69.3 46.7 145.6 5.1
1991 286 6 76.4 48 150.4 5.3
1992 328.7 6 83.7 56.3 174.4 7.5
1993 334.9 6.9 89.2 62.1 168.7 8
1994 366 7.6 92.5 72.8 183.8 9.3
1995 411.3 8.5 98.4 82 211.9 10.5
1996 447.5 9.7 108.3 93.5 224.2 11.9
1997 452.3 9.5 114.5 90.8 224.7 12.8
1998 448.9 10.3 115.2 76.6 234.1 12.6
1999 462 11.1 120 83.7 233.1 14.1
2000 479.2 10.6 131 90.4 231.6 15.6
2001 467 11.5 119.8 93.5 226.7 15.5
2002 481.6 11.8 113.7 99.1 241.2 15.7
2003 524.2 15.5 114.1 94.9 282.9 16.8
2004 622.7 18.3 131.7 125 326.7 21
Source: WTO (2005, Table 2 in Annex).
Nathali Greenidge

Table A3: Visitor Expenditure in the Caribbean (US$ millions)
Destinations 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Commonwealth Caribbean 6,910.8 6,589.9 6,608.4 6,898.3 7,374.7
OECS Countries 1,406.1 1,335.9 1,261.2 1,389.5 1,553.2
Anguilla 56.3 61.7 56.9 60.3 69.4
Antigua and Barbuda 290.5 272.1 273.8 299.8 337.3
British Virgin Islands 386.0 400.8 344.6 342.0 392.7
Dominica 48.2 46.4 45.7 55.4 60.3
Grenada 178.0 162.6 173.5 176.1 156.8
Montserrat 9.0 8.5 8.7 7.3 8.6
St. Kitts and Nevis 58.4 61.9 57.1 75.3 106.9
St. Lucia 297.4 233.0 210.0 282.1 325.7
St. Vincent and Grenadines 82.3 89.0 91.0 91.2 95.6
Other Commonwealth 5,504.7 5,254.1 5,347.2 5,508.7 5,821.4
Bahamas 1,736.8 1,649.7 1,762.7 1,757.4 1,884.5
Barbados 711.3 686.8 647.8 747.0 763.2
Belize 120.2 120.5 132.8 156.2 205.2
Bermuda 431.0 350.5 378.8 347.9 353.7
Cayman Islands 559.2 585.1 607.0 518.3 519.0
Guyana 86.8 86.6 95.0 n.a n.a
Jamaica 1,332.6 1,233.0 1,209.5 1,351.1 1,436.6
Trinidad and Tobago 212.8 200.9 242.0 248.9 260.3
Turks and Caicos Islands 314.0 341.0 271.6 287.0 304.0
Dutch West Indies 1,534.5 1,540.4 1,480.9 1,552.1 1,804.8
Aruba 737.0 739.3 654.1 647.5 812.4
Bonaire 59.4 64.4 65.3 84.4 83.7
Curacao 226.7 252.7 272.5 282.2 295.8
St. Maarten 511.4 484.1 489.0 538.0 612.8
French West Indies 756.2 680.2 672.4 682.0 726.3
Guadeloupe 454.2 435.3 n.a n.a n.a
Martinique (revision) 302.0 244.9 237.1 246.7 291.0
US Territories 3,593.8 3,962.2 3,681.8 3,933.1 4,390.0
Puerto Rico 2,387.9 2,728.1 2,486.4 2,676.6 3,024.1
US Virgin Islands 1,205.9 1,234.1 1,195.4 1,256.5 1,365.9
Other Countries 7,063.4 6,715.9 6,400.9 7,022.4 7,333.2
Cancun (Mexico) 1,805.2 1,601.9 1,428.8 1,376.9 1,483.1
Cozumel (Mexico) 349.8 371.4 371.4 417.3 454.9
Cuba 1,948.2 1,840.4 1,769.1 1,999.2 2,113.6
Dominican Republic 2,860.2 2,798.2 2,730.4 3,127.9 3,180.4
Haiti 56.0 54.0 54.1 n.a n.a
Suriname 44.0 50.0 47.0 n.a n.a
TOTAL CARIBBEAN 19,858.8 19,488.6 18,844.4 20,087.9 21,629.0
Source: CTO Annual Report 2005

Nathali Greenidge
Table A4: Tourism Activities in Barbados
Name Brief description
Heritage sites
The Barbados Museum &
Historical Society
The museum displays artefacts of the early Amerindians
and china, glass and silver from Barbados African,
European and Caribbean heritage. Also find furnish from
an 18
th
-century plantation house, a collection of rare
maps and prints and paintings depicting Barbadian life.
Mount Gay Rum
The largest rum manufacturer in Barbados and which
provide rum for the 1000 rum bars on the island. Visitors
can experience the making of rum process at the worlds
oldest rum, Mount Gay.
Morgan Lewis Mill
This is a splendid example of a Dutch windmill from the
days of the sugar cane planters. It has been completely
restored and is open to the public.
Sunbury Great House
Learn about Barbados history by visiting the only great
house (over 300 years) with all rooms open for viewing
and appreciate featuring mahogany antiques and old
prints.
Cherry Tree Hill
Enjoy the spectacular view of the entire east coast of the
island. This is an absolute contrast to the flat and gentle
landscape of the rest of the island. The approach to
Cherry Tree Hill in not related to cherry tress but a road
canopied by magnificent old mahogany trees.
St Georges Church
Visit the oldest church in Barbados. It was built in 1836.
An 18
th
-century, and worth a visit for its wonderful
altarpiece.
Speightstown
Typical West Indian village, with attractive wooden
houses, shops and old churches.
Beaches
Accra Beach
Mullins Beach
Sandy Beach
Speightstown Beach
These beaches are one of the most visited by locals and
tourists. Beaches along the West coast are famous for
having fine, white sand and clear waters. They are ideal
for a day with the family because the sea is calm and
with gentle surfs, making them safe for children to swim
and snorkel. Also, they host a number of activities, such
as volleyball, snorkeling and water sports
Platinum Coast
This beautiful stretch of coast is also known as
Millionaires Row. There are fine beaches of white sand
and clear, turquoise waters.
Mother Nature sites
The Harrisons Cave
A mile-long ride underground excursion where it is
possible to see many stalactites and stalagmites beside
other underground scenery, such as a crystal-clear
waterfall and a deep emerald lake.
The Animal Flower Cave
A cavern carved out by the sea with coral rock tinted
almost every imaginable colour.
Farley Hill National Park
This is a 17-acre pleasantly landscaped Government-
owned national park. It is a commonly used picnic area
for Barbadians and tourists.
The Barbados Wildlife Reserve
A forest where different species of animals can be
viewed. Some of them include, monkeys, tortoises, deer,
wallabies, pelicans, otters, peacocks and turkeys.
Andromeda Botanic Gardens A 50-acre flower forest in which can be found almost
Nathali Greenidge
every plant that grows on Barbados. Also, thousands of
plants (including many rare species and hybrids) have
been introduced from various parts of the world
Bathsheba
Visit the world renowned as one of the best location to
surf, and each year in November the Independence Pro
Surfing Championships are held
Tours ,Cruises Rides
Atlantis Submarines Barbados
Dive 150 feet below the surface of the sea to view a
veritable treasure of life and activity, such as exotic
corals, fascinating sunken ships, fish and other marine
creatures.
Catamaran Cruises
There is a wide offer of variety of cruises. From the sleek
and luxurious mega-catamarans to the smaller, more
intimate mono-hulls and the wild party-your-face-off fun
cruise.
Helicopter Tours
Enjoy the unique view of Barbados from the comfort of
jet helicopters.
Safari Tours
Step into one of the safaris rigged 4X4 Land Rovers and
prepare for a tour of the island.
The Atlantic Coast
This is the road to take to explore the sugar-cane
country side, along with tiny towns and little churches.
Sports Tourism
Golf
Visit one of the most well-known golf club in the world,
such as
Cricket
Have a flavour of Barbados national sport by visiting the
Kensington Oval, Barbados largest cricket ground.
Surfing
Visit the Soup Bowl at Bathsheba. This is the location for
local and international surfing events. Surf boards are
available for rent from surf shops on the South Coast.
Windsurfing and Kitesurfing
Take the opportunity of the trade winds, waves and
crystal clear water of the South coast of Barbados for
windsurfing and kitesurfing
Diving & Snorkeling
Enjoy the unique experience of Barbados sea, which
include tropical fish, different types of turtles, sting rays,
mantarays, barracudas and well as beautiful coral
formations.
Festivals
Independence Day Parade
Joint the spectators line at Garrison Savannah to
appreciate the parade which is on every 30
th
of
November to celebrate Barbados independence from
Britain.
Barbados Jazz Festival
A week of Jazz performances featuring stars from all
over the world.
Crop Over Festival
Enjoy and be part of Crop Over Festival. This festival
takes the form of a series of national events during ..
Some of the events are: The Ceremonial Delivery of the
Last Canes, the Fine Craft Exhibition, the Crop Over
Promenade, the Bajan Cultural Village, Bridgetown
Market, Calypso tents, the Party Monarch Competition
and Grand Kadooment.

Nathali Greenidge
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Sustainable Tourism Development: The Case of Barbados

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