Glimpses of Caribbean tourism and the question of sustainability in Barbados and St Lucia

Abstract

This chapter distinguishes four main types of sustainable tourism development and considers the extent to which they are found on the islands of Barbados and St Lucia. The analysis leads to the pessimistic conclusion that little significant progress has been made and that tourism growth remains the top priority. The advocacy of alternative forms of tourism serves mainly to project an image of political responsibility while supporting a marketing strategy aimed at expanding tourism as the islands compete for business against an ever-increasing number of long-haul destinations. The first key feature to note about sustainable tourism development (STD) is that it constitutes a polythetic class1 of phenomena (Needham, 1975) and thus the search for a single all-embracing definition is an unattainable goal (for an illustration of this argument in a different context see Southwold, 1978). In other words, there are a number of quite independent aspects to STD and these can vary dramatically from resort to resort. That this is so can be seen clearly in two recent representative articles, both of which find it necessary to provide checklists of different criteria. MacGregor (1993: 782-85) lists seven principles which should be used to guide STD: do not exceed carrying capacity; maintain biodiversity; minimize depletion of nonrenewable resources; promote development which maintains natural wealth; encourage equitable distribution of costs, benefits and management responsibilities; allow effective participation of local communities and other interest groups in the decision-making process; and encourage others to help promote sustainability.