After working forty hours a week, day after day, week after week, people need a vacation to relax their minds and bodies. Science has proven that short breaks improve concentration, and long breaks such as a vacation will increase job productivity and performance. In an interview with ABC News, Francine Lederer, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles explains, "Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out" (Thompson, 2012). Therefore, a record number of people are traveling, and tourism has grown in the world’s largest and fastest growing industry. In 2013, travel and tourism’s total contribution to the global gross domestic product (GDP) rose to 9.5%
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With its white sandy beaches, turquoise water, and tropical weather, the Caribbean, formally known as the West Indies, has become a popular travel spot; additionally, travel to the Caribbean is relatively accessible and inexpensive (Jayawardena & Ramajeesingh, 2003). As illustrated in the map below, the Caribbean includes over 7,000 islands, cays, islets and inhabited reefs scattered in the Caribbean Sea south of Florida, north of South America, and east of Central America and Mexico (“World Atlas,” 2015). The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) defines the “Caribbean” as its 33 destination members within the Caribbean Sea and also the Bahamas Islands and Bermuda within the Atlantic Ocean (Jayawardena & Ramajeesingh, 2003). The expansion of the tourism industry in the Caribbean has generated significant positive economic growth; however, researchers reveal the considerable detrimental environmental and sociocultural effects to the host community as well as several negative economic …show more content…
The economic growth is important, but the long-term objective should be to retain the quality of the tropical island environment and to preserve the local cultures. The literature suggest the income from tourism should provide jobs with fair wages to the local residents to reduce poverty in the host community, finance nature conservation projects, and protect the finite resources, fragile ecosystems, and cultural heritage of the host community from economic activities. Cultures do change over time; however, the influx of tourists tends to alter the cultural authenticity of the host communities. The tourists and locals should exchange of social and political ideologies in order to better understand each other and to work together to improve the world (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2012). Compared to cruise tourists, stopover visitors have more time to see the country in depth, and they are in charge of their itinerary; thus, they have more opportunities to interact with the local population. To continue to remain profitable, the tourism industry must practice sustainable tourism as defined by the World Tourism Organization as “leading to management of all
With its white sandy beaches, turquoise water, and tropical weather, the Caribbean, formally known as the West Indies, has become a popular travel spot; additionally, travel to the Caribbean is relatively accessible and inexpensive (Jayawardena & Ramajeesingh, 2003). As illustrated in the map below, the Caribbean includes over 7,000 islands, cays, islets and inhabited reefs scattered in the Caribbean Sea south of Florida, north of South America, and east of Central America and Mexico (“World Atlas,” 2015). The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) defines the “Caribbean” as its 33 destination members within the Caribbean Sea and also the Bahamas Islands and Bermuda within the Atlantic Ocean (Jayawardena & Ramajeesingh, 2003). The expansion of the tourism industry in the Caribbean has generated significant positive economic growth; however, researchers reveal the considerable detrimental environmental and sociocultural effects to the host community as well as several negative economic …show more content…
The economic growth is important, but the long-term objective should be to retain the quality of the tropical island environment and to preserve the local cultures. The literature suggest the income from tourism should provide jobs with fair wages to the local residents to reduce poverty in the host community, finance nature conservation projects, and protect the finite resources, fragile ecosystems, and cultural heritage of the host community from economic activities. Cultures do change over time; however, the influx of tourists tends to alter the cultural authenticity of the host communities. The tourists and locals should exchange of social and political ideologies in order to better understand each other and to work together to improve the world (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2012). Compared to cruise tourists, stopover visitors have more time to see the country in depth, and they are in charge of their itinerary; thus, they have more opportunities to interact with the local population. To continue to remain profitable, the tourism industry must practice sustainable tourism as defined by the World Tourism Organization as “leading to management of all