Coastal Tourism, Sustainability, and Climate Change in the Caribbean

This second volume of Coastal Tourism, Sustainability, and Climate Change in the Caribbean examines three key supporting sectors: golf, local agriculture and cuisine, and aviation.

As the 15 essays and case studies demonstrate, many problems facing the Caribbean’s natural environment predate but are exacerbated by climate change, and many, though not all, of the proposed climate change mitigation and adaptation techniques are already part of sustainable tourism best practices. For instance, before climate change was recognized, the Caribbean was heavily dependent on food imports; golf courses required large quantities of land, water, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides; and airlines were striving, for economic reasons, to cut their consumption of fossil fuels.

Today, climate change is propelling accelerated reforms in these three sectors. There are, for instance, expanding initiatives across the Caribbean linking local agriculture to tourism. This not only enriches the visitor experience, helps to revitalize local crops and cuisine, and benefits local farmers, but it also reduces the carbon impact—the food print—from agricultural imports. Similarly, golf certification programs are providing templates for building and operating courses with smaller carbon footprints, while some developers are choosing alternatives, such as parks or organic farms, to golf courses. In aviation, as well, virtually all international airlines are testing non-fossil fuel alternatives, and a nescient but growing green airport movement is reducing aviation’s carbon footprint and improving its resilience.

As the volume concludes, coastal tourism in the Caribbean is today addressing two intertwined concerns and opportunities: the impacts of climate change and imperative of responsible tourism. Like the first volume, this book is suitable for university courses, both graduate and undergraduate, tourism businesses, practitioners, and associations, governments, and international finance and development agencies.