Question

Develop a proposal for a Community Based Tourism Project that can be developed in a Caribbean Island in 2021.

Answer 1

The Caribbean is more dependent on tourism to sustain livelihoods than any other region of the world. Globalisation has left most Caribbean small island nations limited alternative economic options. Tourism is the main foreign exchange earner in most Caribbean countries and employs about one-third of the region's labour force. CTO member countries have only 1 per cent of the world's population but attract 3 per cent of global tourism arrivals and expenditure. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Caribbean received 22.5 million stay-over arrivals, 19.8 million cruise passenger visits and about US$21.5 billion in expenditure in 2005. 1 The trend of development that characterises the region's dependency on tourism, however, has seen the resources of numerous communities utilised by the state and companies with community members receiving marginal benefits. Because of the high level of visitor arrivals to the region, community-based tourism is relatively undeveloped in the Caribbean. The importance of community-based tourism is its emphasis on active participation and empowerment of local people in the tourism opportunity. Several good practices in community-based tourism have recently emerged in the Caribbean, particularly in less developed tourism destinations and repositioned markets. Documentation of regional experience to date is limited, yet the approach is gaining increasing attention from governments, donors and progressive tourism companies in their pursuits of sustainable development agendas. The CTO has the mandate to promote sustainable tourism in the Caribbean and disseminate good practices to its membership. The purpose of this manual, therefore, is to showcase community- based tourism case studies in the region that have enabled local people to participate in the tourism opportunity and brought benefits to the wider community. The manual should assist member countries and other interest groups to adopt and adapt strategies to enhance community- based tourism and the sustainability of the tourism industry in the region. ‘Community-based tourism' and 'community tourism' are generally used interchangeably by both international and regional stakeholders to describe the same phenomena. 'Community tourism’ is often used as an abbreviation of community-based tourism’. The more prevalent and preferred term of community-based tourism (CBT) is used in this manual. A plethora of definitions of CBT exist and many are eager to lay claim to the legitimacy of their model and definition. Interpretations often reflect the focus of the stakeholder such as conservation or rights-based development and paradigm shifts occur. The overriding difference between CBT and other approaches is its emphasis on community participation in the tourism opportunity. CBT that delivers net socio-economic and/or environmental benefits is considered a form of tourism that falls under the umbrella of the leading paradigms of pro-poor tourism (PPT), responsible and sustainable tourism. Several stakeholders in the Caribbean find international definitions of CBT restrictive as the approach has been focused on developing CBT attractions i.e. tourism products and services

provided by community members directly to tourists and has not encompassed the supply of goods and services i.e. inputs such as agricultural products to the industry. This is particularly relevant to small island developing states where the entire population may be seen as one community. For example, Nevis has a population of 10,000 - starkly different to the demographics of other destinations where CBT initiatives have developed such as Costa Rica (4 million), Uganda (25 million) and Thailand (63 million). The Saint Lucia Heritage Tourism Programme (SLHTP), the University of the West Indies Sustainable Economic Development Unit (UWI-SEDU), the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) consider agro-tourism linkages to the tourism industry as part of CBT. These organisations concur with the Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) Partnership that isolated 'alternative' and small-scale CBT initiatives are important but unlikely to deliver sustainable development. Changes in the way mainstream tourism is structured and operates are more likely to have the impact or create the market linkages needed to deliver the scale of net benefits to communities that would promote their sustainable development. There have been various initiatives to develop enterprises and bring local producers into the tourism supply chain in the Caribbean. Yet much more could be done to ensure the tourism industry contributes to poverty alleviation through developing agro-tourism linkages and opportunities for the informal sector. Good practice guidelines to encourage tourism companies in the Caribbean to contribute more to the local economy are available. Developments in Community-Based Tourism The CBT approach and its profile emerged in the mid-1990s through a combination of progressive actions by governments, donors, non-governmental organisations, tourism companies and communities themselves. Initiatives have not been evenly spread geographically and the level of CBT development appears to be related to the following: . The existence of an enabling national policy framework that is effectively implemented. The positioning or re-positioning of a destination and the branding or re-branding of tourism companies as environmentally and socially responsible. The availability of technical and financial assistance for CBT development. The level of local entrepreneurship and/or leadership in communities. Some governments have promoted CBT as part of their national development plans for poverty alleviation. In Southern Africa, CBT development has been significantly facilitated by states devolving rights over wildlife, land or other natural resources to rural communities, which has led to the emergence of community/private joint venture partnerships in tourism (Ashley and Jones 2001). In the Caribbean, the Saint Lucia Heritage Tourism Programme (SLHTP) arose out

of concerns for the sustainability and equity of tourism development and SLHTP has been one of the more progressive government CBT interventions in the region to date. Major donors have assisted CBT product, organisational and programme development and include the European Union (EU), United Kingdom Department of International Development (DFID), Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Canada International Development Agency (CIDA), Ford Foundation, World Wildlife Fund International (WWF), United Nations Development Programme Global Environment Facility - Small Grants Programme (UNDP GEF-SGP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Volunteer agencies such as Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have provided technical advisors at the local lev Several non-governmental organisations supporting capacity building, product development, marketing and advocacy for CBT have developed in the last decade. In Southern Africa, the Namibian Community-Based Tourism Association (NACOBTA) was founded in 1995, the same year as Responsible Ecological Social Tours (REST) began supporting CBT in Thailand. In East Africa, the Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA) was established in 1998 and a rural community tourism organization (ACTUAR) was set-up in Costa Rica in 2001. The majority of CBT developments in the Caribbean region have been in Belize, St. Lucia, Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. The European Union (EU) has been instrumental in providing financial and technical assistance for government tourism development programmes that have supported CBT to alleviate poverty. The SLHTP commenced in 1998 as a co-funded EU and St. Lucian government programme and endeavoured not just to develop CBT products but put the whole tourism sector on a more sustainable footing. The programme operates from micro to macro levels and has developed initiatives in the fields of policy reform, capacity building, product development, marketing and public awareness. Its objectives are to facilitate a broader distribution of benefits of existing tourism (cruise ship passengers and stay-over visitors), develop a complementary sub-sector of community-based Heritage Tourism and strengthen linkages between the tourism industry and other local economic sectors. The Eco-Tourism Development Programme (ETDP) in Dominica had an important CBT component. The programme developed a Community Tourism Policy that forms part of the national Tourism 2010 Policy, established a Community Tourism Development Fund that disbursed grants to 20 community-based organisations for infrastructure development, and provided skills development and technical assistance in business development. A tourism project to strengthen the National Parks Authority (NPA) and develop 20 tourism sites in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) identifies local communities as the main beneficiaries.

The project is to be co-funded by the EU and the Government of SVG and is expected to commence in 2007. The UNESCO Youth PATH (Poverty Alleviation through Heritage Tourism) Programme began in 2002 intending to contribute to poverty alleviation in the Caribbean. The purpose is to enable young people, aged 15 to 25 years, to gain skills for employment opportunities in CBT and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage sites. The Programme had three phases: Phase I (2002-2003) was implemented in 5 Caribbean countries (Barbados, Bahamas, Jamaica, St Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines); in Phase II (2004-2005), the Programme was expanded to Belize, Dominica and Suriname; and during Phase III (2006-2007) Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis were included. The Canada International Development Agency (CIDA), through its Caribbean Regional Human Resource Development Program for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), funded the Jamaica Community Tourism Project that commenced in 1996. The Project supported the training of trainers and skills development in community tourism, the development of a community tourism website and handbook, and the 1st IIPT Caribbean Community Tourism Conference in 2003. The University of the West Indies Sustainable Economic Development Unit (UWI-SEDU) in Trinidad undertook a practical research project, supported by DFID, from 2004-5. The project focused on 12 achieving sustainable livelihoods among marginalized communities along the Caribbean coast. It highlighted the potential of tourism in terms of providing product inputs and direct services to enhance linkages between community producers and mainstream tourism in St. Lucia, Belize and Grenada. The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) established an Agro-tourism Linkages Centre in Barbados housed in facilities provided by the government. The mission of the centre is to maximize linkages between agriculture and the tourism industry by facilitating trade in indigenous fresh and processed foods and non-food agro-industrial products with the hotel, gift, restaurant and foodservice sectors; and promote the development of agro-tourism and eco- tourism. The initiative is the first of its kind in the Caribbean and serves as a model for other countries. Several projects have successfully linked local producer groups to international hotel chains. Several non-governmental organisations have also supported CBT development in the Caribbean. The Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA) in Belize was founded in 1990. It represents several village associations that offer guesthouse accommodation and other tourism activities. The Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) in Belize has also successfully engaged in CBT and both TEA and TIDE have won international awards recognising their contribution to socially and environmentally responsible tourism development. The Community Tourism Foundation (CTF) in Barbados was set-up in 2000 with a mission to ‘Build safer and stronger communities in partnership with the tourism sector.” The CTF

mobilises resources, gives small grants and technical advice to social development programmes in low-income communities and encourages the tourism sector to invest in community development. In Jamaica, Diana McIntyre-Pike has pioneered and promoted community tourism. Ms McIntyre-Pike helped establish the Sustainable Communities Foundation through Tourism (SCF) that works in collaboration with the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network and the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT). The vision of the SCF and the network is that communities within central and southwest Jamaica actively participate in the economic, environmental, social and political processes that result in sustainable development leading to an improved quality of life for themselves and future generations. The Travel Foundation (UK) established an office in Tobago in 2004, which has several sustainable tourism initiatives related to CBT, including facilitating farmers to supply hotels and piloting small revolving loans to tourism micro-entrepreneurs. Some tourism companies have also helped to establish and support CBT in response to changing trends in the market that demand socially responsible tourism packages. There is also increasing recognition that it is in their long-term strategic interests to demonstrate their commitment to local development. Regional examples include 3 Rivers and Jungle Bay Resort and Spa in Dominica, all-inclusive Sandals resorts in St. Lucia and Jamaica, Ocean Terrace Inn in St. Kitts, Four Seasons Resort in Nevis, Curtain Bluff Hotel in Antigua and Casuarina Beach Club in Barbados. Widespread stakeholder discussions and documentation of experiences has been limited but is growing. The first regional CBT workshop was held by CANARI and the SLHTP in St. Lucia in 1999. An IIPT conference focused on community tourism in Jamaica in 2001. Interest in the approach is gaining momentum and training workshops were held in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago in 2006. A Good Practice Inventory (GPI) of CBT in protected areas was launched in 2006 by the Asia Pacific Environmental Innovative Strategies - Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (APEISRISPO 2006). The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Equator Initiative (GEF-SGP 2006) have also documented good practices by community-based organisations in alleviating poverty and promoting conservation through tourism. Marketing initiatives for CBT have rapidly developed in recent years. Guidebooks for consumers promoting community-based and ethical holidays have been produced by Tourism Concern in the UK (Mann 2000; Pattullo and Minelli 2006). Promotional programmes using the Internet are also growing. UNWTO, the Regional Tourism Organisation for Southern Africa (RETOSA) and SNV are developing an Internet-based information system to improve market access to CBT in Southern Africa. The UK travel agency, Responsibletravel.com, in partnership with

Conservation International, launched an Internet database to boost marketing of 100 CBT enterprises in 2006. There has also been an increase in the number of international tourism and environment awards that CBT projects are eligible for. These include the UNDP Equator Prize, the TO DO! Award for Socially Responsible Tourism and the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards. In 2002, a Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) Trademark was launched - the first time in the history of the fair tradel movement that a label for the tourism sector had been created. By 2006, 21 tourism enterprises in South Africa were accredited including several CBT enterprises. These developments show that the importance of CBT has grown over two decades. Successful CBT enterprises remain isolated and exceptional, however, as the approach has had marginal uptake and implementation challenges have led to a low level of sustainability internationally. CBT impacts on alleviating poverty and providing the incentives for conservation are currently being questioned more thoroughly (Goodwin 2006) and therefore it is important to examine critical factors and key lessons learnt as these guide good practice. Critical Factors and Instruments Market Access: Investment in infrastructure development has been important for product development and improved physical access to the river. A building constructed with donor assistance that is owned by the Forestry Division is used as a reception area and by vendors. The EU-funded Eco-Tourism Development Programme (ETDP) has built a retaining wall to stabilise the embankment and upgraded the embarkation jetty. Commercial Viability: PIRTGA is successful due to its proximity to a natural attraction and clientele. The Association offers an attractive quality product and has addressed health and safety issues. Life jackets are provided. Tour operators and the National Development Corporation (NDC) successfully market the product. Policy Framework: Dominica's Community Tourism Policy was prepared by the ETDP and forms part of the national Tourism 2010 Policy. The policy states, “actively open up opportunities for rural communities, local people and the informal sector to increase their involvement in the tourism industry, particularly in tourism planning and the running of enterprises”. Institutional support from the Forestry Division, NDC and ETDP has enabled PIRTGA to successfully operate the tour guiding business. Access rights to the Indian River have been crucial as the tourism activity takes place in a protected area. Implementation: The capacity building has developed skills and all PIRTGA members are certified tour guides. The National Development Corporation (NDC) has trained members in tourism awareness; quality customer services and has certified guides. The Forestry Division has improved environmental awareness and nature interpretation skills.

Tourism impact management by members is notable. Advocacy by PIRTGA successfully changed the law to prohibit the use of outboard motors on the river (Act 10 of 2002 Power Craft Prohibition) as this was diminishing visitor experience and negatively impacting on water quality, flora and fauna. Members advise yachts on where to anchor to prevent damage to the coral reef and police the harbour voluntarily. PIRTGA continues to lobby for the installation of mooring buoys for yachts to improve environmental management and security. The Association also has responsibility for cleaning up any debris on the river. Concluding Remarks CBT in the Caribbean is growing and there are case studies of good practice in the region. These provide a range of organisational models and high-quality goods and services. Natural and cultural excursions, regular and special events, accommodation, food and craft products are provided by a turtle conservation and tourism organisation, waterfall cooperative, river tour guide association, villagers supported by an eco-tourism lodge, a village event committee, women's flower and craft groups, a family cassava business and a community-based international food company. Many critical factors faced by CBT entrepreneurs in the Caribbean are similar to those experienced in Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Foremost is achieving commercial viability, which requires close attention to demand, product quality, investment in business skills, the inclusion of the private sector, promotion and finance. CBT is a unique, participatory model of tourism, which offers the potential to create tangible and lasting net socio-economic and environmental benefits for a wide range of stakeholders, inside and outside the community. Stakeholders in the Caribbean have an opportunity to learn from documented international and regional good practices in CBT and refine and maximise the effectiveness of their approach. CBT can only achieve its role in delivering sustainable development, however, if due consideration is given to policy reform and action to create an enabling national policy environment. This requires integrated sectoral policies, participatory approaches and instruments for planning and management, and suitable and supportive institutional arrangements. Priority attention must be given to the development and promotion of high quality, commercially viable, community-based products; linkages between the tourism industry and other economic sectors; community/private partnerships; funding mechanisms and fiscal incentives; and the use, management and development of common property resources for community benefit.