St. Lucia has very beautiful scenery, the tropical rainforests, the clear blue seas and the mountains are some of the big attractions. Tourists enjoy coming to the Caribbean because of the all-inclusive holiday activities such as tours and cruises and the excellent hotel facilities such as a private beach, restaurants and shops.
The tourists:
Most of the tourists that visit St. Lucia are from MEDC’S. This is because people in MEDC’S have better-paid jobs and can afford to go on holidays.
As you can see this graph shows us that most of the people that visit St. Lucia are from North America. North America is an MEDC and people have better paid jobs so they can afford to go to St. Lucia.
Map with arrows pointing
Over the years the number of tourists that have visited St. Lucia has increased dramatically. It is becoming an extremely popular holiday destination because of the beautiful scenery, all-inclusive holiday packages and the hot weather. In 1990 there were 0.5 million visitors and in 2000 it has increased by 6 times to 3 million visitors.
Most of the tourists that visit St. Lucia usually book an all-inclusive holiday package so they have paid to stay in an American or European (TNC) hotel already. This is not much good to the Caribbean government because none of the money is going to them. All the money is going back to the MEDC.
Graph-Income from tourism
Looking at the graph you can see that the amount of money spent by the tourists has increased over the years. But not all of the money being spent by the tourists is going to the Caribbean government, most of the is spent on the hotels, food, flights and entertainment which is part of an all-inclusive holiday package. So most of the money goes back to the MEDC. The LEDC does not profit by the tourists.
Most of the tourists that visit St. Lucia come in a package holiday this is an all-inclusive holiday which has paid for the cost of the hotel (usually a foreign owned hotel, a TNC), the food, flights, entertainment and activities in advance. This means that the tourist will not be willing to spend extra money on other things the local economy has to offer. This is not a solution to St. Lucia’s problems because the foreign income from the tourists is not going to the country; it is going back to the MEDC. Not many people of St. Lucia are in the tourist industry because there is a lack of training. Poorly paid jobs such as waiters, taxi drivers and cleaners are given to the local people.
Benefits of Tourism in ST. Lucia:
Tourism has benefited ST. Lucia by bringing them more job opportunities and better paid jobs for the local economy, 30% of the total employment in the Caribbean is in the tourist industry. Some local businesses such as souvenir shops and water sport activities also benefit from the foreign income. The local people do not benefit as much as they should because the tourists come on package holidays and do not leave the hotel for anything because everything is provided within the hotel so the multiplier effect does not take off. Most of the food is flown in from the USA or UK by plane so the tourists do not by food from the local shops. Most of the hotels have private beaches in which local people are not allowed to come in to sell anything. The local economy does not get much foreign income or benefit from tourism because the tourists hardly ever leave the hotel. Tourism can also benefit the country because the infrastructure (airports, roads, water and electricity supplies) which are improved for the tourists also benefit the local people. The local cultures and traditions may be preserved by the tourists and income from tourism may pay for management conservation and repairs for the environment
The costs of package tourism:
Package tourism has affected ST. Lucia in many ways. The social effects of tourism on St. Lucia are on the local economy. Tourists dress inappropriately and this affects the local peoples culture. The tourists walk around in short skirts, short belly tops. This may be against the local peoples culture or religion. The tourists do not try to understand the local economy’s culture. The tourists may look down on the local people and treat them badly. Another affect on the local people is that all the prices are rising, things are more expensive to buy and the people can’t afford to buy them. Tourists may drink alcohol and this can offend the local community, there is also increased crime, vandalising and mugging. The local businesses are not getting much profits from the tourists so they are raising their prices so they can make more money. This is bad for the local people because it will be hard for them to pay for the cost of the items. Many of the jobs created by tourism are unskilled, low paid and seasonal, some of the local people such as farmers may lose their livelihood in areas where tourist facilities are developed. The country does not gain the full benefits of income from overseas visitors, less than 15% of money spent on the holiday reaches the host country. A lot of the material and highly skilled staff are imported. Money for development may be borrowed, increasing th4e debts for the country. Mass tourism can come into conflict with the delicate ecosystem. In ST Lucia there are at least 3 types of environmental damages:
- Tropical rainforests are being cut down to build roads, airports and big hotels. Every year more and more animals are loosing their natural habitats. This is bad for St Lucia because they are loosing their beautiful scenery.
- The beautiful coral reef which is a living organism and can only live in warm, clear, clean, tropical seas is being destroyed/damaged by divers and water pollution, which is hotel sewage dumped into the rivers. The coral reef provides a habitat for marine creatures such as tropical fish. Tourists have been destroying coral reef by walking and some tourists even break of coral to sell or take home as a souvenir. Hotels are polluting the seawater by dumping sewage into the water and this is destroying the beautiful and attractive coral reef. Anchors from the tourist boats drag through the coral, causing damage to it.
- There are threats to the “turtle beaches” during the egg-laying season because tourists walk on the eggs without realising and kill them. If a tourist was playing volley-ball he would trample over the egg and kill it.
A sustainable plan
St. Lucia needs some long term, environmentally friendly (sustainable) solutions in which tourism can be used to help the local economy develop, here are some examples:
- The “adopt a beach” scheme in St. Lucia has encouraged the big hotels to protect their Turtle beaches by fencing them off during the egg-laying season. Locally employed guides take tourists to see these beaches, especially when the turtles hatch. This is a good solution for the hotels and the local people as well as the turtles because it has provided more jobs.
- Glass bottomed boats can be used to let people see the coral reefs without damaging them.
- Nature reserves should be created to protect areas of rain forest, and the natural habitats of animals.
- “Activity holidays” can be organised encouraging tourists to visit the rain forest with local guides, This will provide jobs for the local people.
- Sewage pollution from hotels is strictly controlled in St. Lucia, now with heavy fines. The sewage pipe system should be improved.
- Instead of building huge concrete hotels, companies can be encouraged to build smaller hotels, using environmentally friendly materials.
- Hotel owners should get permission from the government to cut down the rain forests, to build roads, hotels or airports.
Another Eco-tourism solution is to control diving on the coral reefs. Tourists should only be allowed to dive if they are with a diving instructor or have a permit. This will benefit St. Lucia because there will be more jobs for the local people and the coral reef will not get destroyed.
Tourists should be encouraged to not come on “package holidays” they should eat the local food, visit the local shops to buy souvenirs and cloths so they can blend on with the local culture and traditions. The tourists should also stay in one of the local hotels, this way the foreign income will be going towards St. Lucia and not the MEDC.
