November 9th 2010
Dr Oenbring
Literature Review
Sustainable tourism in the Bahamas
Lino Brigulio, Richard Butler, David Harrison and Walter Leal Filho, authors of the book entitled Sustainable Tourism in Islands and small states defined Sustainable tourism as tourism development that avoids damage to the environment, economy and cultures of the locations where it takes place [ (Lino Briguglio, 1996) ]. Throughout the book the authors stresses that in order for a country’s tourism industry to be sustainable, developmental and environmental matters must be addressed. In the Bahamas today, the government has introduced a few resort and hotel developments and expansion projects like the Baha mar Project. It is said that this resort will bring the country the economic sustainability it need. At the completion of this project, The Prime Minister of the Bahamas said that “more than 800 new jobs will be created for Bahamian workers all across the hospitality industry. [ (Lightbourne, 2010) ]. Moreover, Baha mar’s CEO Sarkis Izmirlian, added that “the project also represents a primary stimulus to help bring the country out of the recession and create better lives for thousands of Bahamians”. [ (Lightbourne, 2010) ].
Using the Bahamas as the case, in the book entitled making tourism sustainable, Dr T. Jennifer Edwards said “that in order for the tourism industry to remain sustainable, the government must make major investments in resorts” (Edwards, 2004) . She notes the importance of this sector as an export in development along with the key environmental management challenges and limitations it faces in being competitive. A survey conducted by the Bahamas Hotel Association gave the views of over 53% of Nassau/Paradise Island and 15 Family Island hoteliers concerning environmental management practices. The study revealed that “mainly small locally owned hotel made little use of environmentally sound technologies”. (Environmental Awareness
References: Association, B. H. (2001). Environmental Awareness Survey . Nassau Bahamas. Edwards, J. (2004). Making Tourism Sustainable. Trinadad and Tobago: University of the West Indies. Lightbourne, S. (2010, MARCH 1). Bahamar signs 2.6 Billion Dollar deal. Nassau. Lino Briguglio, R. B. (1996). Sustainable Tourism in Islands and Small States. Pinter. McPhee, E. (2010, MARCH 24). Tourism Sustainability in the Bahamas. (C. H. Reporter, Interviewer)