Sixth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Abstract

The increasing reliance on tourism in the Caribbean economies has grown to unsustainable levels. It is well known that the leakage of investments in the region is one of the biggest in the world and that traditional sectors, such as agriculture, are being greatly affected due to the drainage of labor into the touristic enclaves. These countries share a common past of colonialism that has left them in a rather fragile economic situation. Most of them are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which makes them more susceptible to external shocks and climate change. The objective of this study is to analyze how the model of mass-tourism guided by the notions of classical development contributed to the production of even more dependent economies and how paradigm shift to sustainable development has helped shaping the new trends of tourism. By doing this, the research aims to help guide policy makers and tourism specialists when assessing possible solutions to mass-tourism and over tourism problems in the Caribbean SIDS.