The effects of Cruise Tourism on the Caribbean: Does it remain the dominant destination for Cruises or is it a destination that is sinking?
Author: Charley Hunt
0 Commentries
Abstract
The cruise industry has become one of the fastest growing sectors within tourism over the last decade and can now be classed as a discipline of its own. On the other hand, cruise ships and its passengers can bring both advantages and disadvantages to its visiting destinations and it is these that will be discussed in the following conference paper. In particular, the discussion will be focused on the impacts of cruise tourism on the Caribbean region.
Keywords: Cruise Tourism , Caribbean
Introduction
Cruise Tourism
Firstly, it is important to understand what cruise tourism involves. Morgan & Powers in Robinson (2010:p276) believe that to cruise means:
"to sail from place to place for pleasure calling at a succession of destinations, or to sail, journey or move about by means of a cruise ship"
Moreover, it is crucial to recognise that the sector has grown rapidly within the last few decades and it has become one of the most important sectors within the tourism industry. Interestingly, according to Cruise Lines International Association, (2009) the cruise industry carried 12.6 million passengers worldwide in 2009. Radically, there have been some significant discussions around the social and environmental impacts, and the perceived costs and benefits associated with the development of cruise tourism and it is these aspects that will be covered within this research paper.
Caribbean Cruise Tourism
Significantly, in terms of destinations the most popular in recent years has predominantly been the Caribbean. The CLIA (2010) reported that it is the Caribbean/Bahamas that represents the No. 1 destination for cruise itineraries, with 41.3 per cent of total capacity deployed there. Additionally, the Caribbean can be viewed as a highly complex tourism product in itself as it consists of a total of 34 country destinations which are spread over more than 1000 islands. The impacts of cruise tourism on the Caribbean are of both a positive and negative nature.
Economic Impacts
Primarily, Holder (2001) in Lester and Weeden (2004) indicate the fact that the Caribbean is four times more dependent on tourism for its economic income than any other region of the world. The primary aim of encouraging ports to accommodate cruise ships is due to the amount of money that passengers and the crew will spend ashore. Similarly, Johnson (2002) argued that cruise tourism destinations benefit dramatically from cruise tourism due to the extra factors such as the fees that are charged for dockage, fresh water and head tax as well as fuel charges. However, of course there are several negative economy effects that are worthy of mentioning. The fact that the cruise ships only dock in the cities ports during the daytime and although this gives the cruise tourists time to spend money within the destination, there is also the fact that the land-based sectors such as the hotels and restaurants loose trade due to the fact that the cruise ship offers all of these facilities on board and this is viewed to be an unfair advantage. On the other hand this could also be seen as an advantage as cruise tourism therefore requires fewer infrastructures than stop-over tourism at tourist destinations.
Environmental Impacts
When discussing the environmental impacts on anything the majority of the factors more than likely appear to be of a negative nature. Likewise, with Cruise Tourism there is no exception. Coates at responsibletravel.com (2011) reveals that taking a cruise is far more environmentally damaging than taking a flight. . Consequently, the fact that cruise lines now offer fly-cruise options poses an even larger threat to the environment as both modes of transport are being used to facilitate the experience. Other environmental impacts include marine pollution, waste disposal and infrastructure damage. In particular waste disposal is a huge issue for cruise ships and in actual fact cruise tourists produce more daily rubbish whilst visiting ashore than the local people do. In all, as revealed by Lester and Weeden (2004p.4) the
"Caribbean relies heavily upon the natural environment for attracting visitors."
Therefore, maintaining the environment is absolutely crucial in order to manage the balance of tourism because as Page et.al (2001) in Lester and Weeden (2004) emphasises if the environment deteriorates it will have a direct impact on tourism.
Socio-Cultural Impacts
Predominantly, cruise tourism can indeed have a negative socio-cultural impact on a destination. The fact that a large capacity of cruise passengers of all nationalities and cultures can arrive at any one time can put pressure on the local communities. The most obvious negative aspect that comes to mind is the fact that the host destinations will have in some way westernised in order to cater for the cruise passengers that visit therefore the traditional cultures of the place have been lost. Lester and Weeden (2004) note that passenger activities are usually carefully coordinated and controlled within specific spatial areas. Therefore, both the local communities and the cruise passengers are at a disadvantage as the visitors are unable to see and experience the true cultural aspects of a destination and the locals are unable to show off the local traditions.
Conclusion
The Future of Caribbean Cruise Tourism
Finally, it has been made clear that the small island states of the Caribbean rely heavily upon tourism as a tool for development, and the value of cruise tourism to the wider Caribbean region remains substantial. However, as suggested by Lester and Weeden (2004) not only do the region need to manage cruise tourism in order to sustain the economic benefits but it must also ensure that the environmental resources it relies upon are managed effectively.
References
Coates, I Are cruise liners a viable alternative to flying? [online] [Accessed 21.04.2011] Available at < http://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/are-cruise-liners-a-viable-alternative-to-flying>
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) (2010) in A Cruise Revolution (2010) [online] [Accessed 10.04.2011] Available at < www.travelagentcentral.com >
Morgans,P and Powers,L (2010) in Robinson,P, Heitmann,S and Dieke,P (2011) Research Themes for Tourism CABI , Oxford UK
Lester, J and Weeden ,C (2004) Stakeholders, the Natural Environment and the Future of Caribbean Cruise Tourism INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH 6 [online] [Accessed 10.04.2011] Available at < Wiley Inter Science (www.interscience.wiley.com)>
The cruise industry has become one of the fastest growing sectors within tourism over the last decade and can now be classed as a discipline of its own. On the other hand, cruise ships and its passengers can bring both advantages and disadvantages to its visiting destinations and it is these that will be discussed in the following conference paper. In particular, the discussion will be focused on the impacts of cruise tourism on the Caribbean region.
Keywords: Cruise Tourism , Caribbean
Introduction
Cruise Tourism
Firstly, it is important to understand what cruise tourism involves. Morgan & Powers in Robinson (2010:p276) believe that to cruise means:
"to sail from place to place for pleasure calling at a succession of destinations, or to sail, journey or move about by means of a cruise ship"
Moreover, it is crucial to recognise that the sector has grown rapidly within the last few decades and it has become one of the most important sectors within the tourism industry. Interestingly, according to Cruise Lines International Association, (2009) the cruise industry carried 12.6 million passengers worldwide in 2009. Radically, there have been some significant discussions around the social and environmental impacts, and the perceived costs and benefits associated with the development of cruise tourism and it is these aspects that will be covered within this research paper.
Caribbean Cruise Tourism
Significantly, in terms of destinations the most popular in recent years has predominantly been the Caribbean. The CLIA (2010) reported that it is the Caribbean/Bahamas that represents the No. 1 destination for cruise itineraries, with 41.3 per cent of total capacity deployed there. Additionally, the Caribbean can be viewed as a highly complex tourism product in itself as it consists of a total of 34 country destinations which are spread over more than 1000 islands. The impacts of cruise tourism on the Caribbean are of both a positive and negative nature.
Economic Impacts
Primarily, Holder (2001) in Lester and Weeden (2004) indicate the fact that the Caribbean is four times more dependent on tourism for its economic income than any other region of the world. The primary aim of encouraging ports to accommodate cruise ships is due to the amount of money that passengers and the crew will spend ashore. Similarly, Johnson (2002) argued that cruise tourism destinations benefit dramatically from cruise tourism due to the extra factors such as the fees that are charged for dockage, fresh water and head tax as well as fuel charges. However, of course there are several negative economy effects that are worthy of mentioning. The fact that the cruise ships only dock in the cities ports during the daytime and although this gives the cruise tourists time to spend money within the destination, there is also the fact that the land-based sectors such as the hotels and restaurants loose trade due to the fact that the cruise ship offers all of these facilities on board and this is viewed to be an unfair advantage. On the other hand this could also be seen as an advantage as cruise tourism therefore requires fewer infrastructures than stop-over tourism at tourist destinations.
Environmental Impacts
When discussing the environmental impacts on anything the majority of the factors more than likely appear to be of a negative nature. Likewise, with Cruise Tourism there is no exception. Coates at responsibletravel.com (2011) reveals that taking a cruise is far more environmentally damaging than taking a flight. . Consequently, the fact that cruise lines now offer fly-cruise options poses an even larger threat to the environment as both modes of transport are being used to facilitate the experience. Other environmental impacts include marine pollution, waste disposal and infrastructure damage. In particular waste disposal is a huge issue for cruise ships and in actual fact cruise tourists produce more daily rubbish whilst visiting ashore than the local people do. In all, as revealed by Lester and Weeden (2004p.4) the
"Caribbean relies heavily upon the natural environment for attracting visitors."
Therefore, maintaining the environment is absolutely crucial in order to manage the balance of tourism because as Page et.al (2001) in Lester and Weeden (2004) emphasises if the environment deteriorates it will have a direct impact on tourism.
Socio-Cultural Impacts
Predominantly, cruise tourism can indeed have a negative socio-cultural impact on a destination. The fact that a large capacity of cruise passengers of all nationalities and cultures can arrive at any one time can put pressure on the local communities. The most obvious negative aspect that comes to mind is the fact that the host destinations will have in some way westernised in order to cater for the cruise passengers that visit therefore the traditional cultures of the place have been lost. Lester and Weeden (2004) note that passenger activities are usually carefully coordinated and controlled within specific spatial areas. Therefore, both the local communities and the cruise passengers are at a disadvantage as the visitors are unable to see and experience the true cultural aspects of a destination and the locals are unable to show off the local traditions.
Conclusion
The Future of Caribbean Cruise Tourism
Finally, it has been made clear that the small island states of the Caribbean rely heavily upon tourism as a tool for development, and the value of cruise tourism to the wider Caribbean region remains substantial. However, as suggested by Lester and Weeden (2004) not only do the region need to manage cruise tourism in order to sustain the economic benefits but it must also ensure that the environmental resources it relies upon are managed effectively.
References
Coates, I Are cruise liners a viable alternative to flying? [online] [Accessed 21.04.2011] Available at < http://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/are-cruise-liners-a-viable-alternative-to-flying>
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) (2010) in A Cruise Revolution (2010) [online] [Accessed 10.04.2011] Available at < www.travelagentcentral.com >
Morgans,P and Powers,L (2010) in Robinson,P, Heitmann,S and Dieke,P (2011) Research Themes for Tourism CABI , Oxford UK
Lester, J and Weeden ,C (2004) Stakeholders, the Natural Environment and the Future of Caribbean Cruise Tourism INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH 6 [online] [Accessed 10.04.2011] Available at < Wiley Inter Science (www.interscience.wiley.com)>