Cruise Tourism in the Caribbean - Research Paper Example

The environmental degradation caused by the cruise industry in the Caribbean region outweighs the economic benefits. Table of Contents Introduction 1 2. Cruise tourism in the Caribbean 1 3. The Caribbean economy and cruise tourism 2 4. Damages caused due to cruise industry 4 5. Conclusion 8 References 10 Appendix iii Figure I Pyramid of Tourism Segmentation 3 1. Introduction Tourism is general has been causing damage to the environment even when the authorities discuss of promoting green tourism and eco-tourism. A major cause of the environmental degradation that the oceans and the seas of the world have suffered from is the pollution they receive for both land and ship generated pollutants (Butt 2007). The growth of international tourism has been phenomenal and the group of Caribbean island nations, here termed as The Caribbean, ranks sixth in the world as far as tourist receipts is concerned (Jayawardena 2002). The Caribbean is the most tourism dependent region in the world. In the Caribbean region tourism has contributed to the growth of the overall economy which had been suffering due to stagnation in tradition economic sectors. Moreover, the Caribbean island nations have been bestowed with natural beauty, decorated with exotic flora and fauna, surrounded by blue seawater and natural breezes. However, the environmental degradation caused by the cruise industry in the Caribbean region far outweighs the economic benefits. 2. Cruise tourism in the Caribbean Cruising started as preferred mode of travel by the social elite in the 1920s and the latter part of the 20th century has seen tremendous growth in the industry following a decline post World War II (Johnson 2002). Worldwide cruise tourism has catered to 8.5 million customers between 1980 and 1997. The passenger figures are expected to reach 14.2 million by 2010 (Butt 2007). Today the super-mega cruise ships use cutting edge of design and technical innovation, and they offer multifaceted recreational experience on board. In 1998, the Caribbean received 50% of the world’s cruise tourism customers (Johnson 2002). In fact, the Caribbean destinations receive more cruises than stopover tourists. However, while the economy of the island nations has grown, the cruise tourism sector has expanded with sophisticated liners and offering on-board recreation, cruise tourism in the Caribbean has been exerting pressures on the fragile environments and the host communities. This is because the cruise ships consume significant amount of resources as a result of which great pressure is exerted on the places they visit (Butt 2007). The Caribbean islands have 44% share of the world cruise market. The environmental impact has exerted pressure on the small towns, islands and island groups in the Caribbean. However, the environmental impacts also depend upon the facilities available at the destinations to manage the degradation. 3. The Caribbean economy and cruise tourism Tourism is the major economic activity in the Caribbean as eight million cruise tourists and another 12 million land tourists visit the islands each year (Lewsey, Cid and Kruse 2004). The Caribbean tourism can be divided into five major segments – cruise ship passengers, all-inclusive tourists, Sun-lust tourists, special interest tourists and eco-tourists (Jayawardene 2002). The segmentation presented in a pyramid suggests that cruise passengers comprise of the highest segment in the Caribbean tourism market. Figure I Source: Jayawardene 2002 Tourism contributes about 25 to 30% to the total Caribbean economy (Lewsey, Cid and Kruse 2004). It accounts for 25% of the foreign exchange earnings and is responsible for one-fifth of the total employment in the region. This has resulted in average per capita income growth in the Caribbean region by more than thirty percent. The demand for coastal tourism has altered the demand for land use as a consequence of which the price of the lands has increased. When the crew ships dock at the Caribbean destinations, in addition to the passengers, the crew also disembarks to purchase goods and services. Cruise tourism is seasonal as is evident from the chart presented in Appendix A (BREA 2001). However, during the period 1999-2000, cruise-related expenditure in the Caribbean totaled $2.6 billion. This includes the direct spending by the passengers, the crew as well as the expenditures by the chain of suppliers. These expenditures had increased by 42% since 1992. Passengers and crew spend on local excursion, on purchase of locally produced crafts and foods, on local transportation and entertainment. All these give boost to the local economy while providing employment. These local businesses and the employees then spend their earnings to purchase goods from other sectors which indirectly impact the economy. This increased economic activity results in additional income for households and induces additional demand for final output. To bring the goods to the market additional jobs are generated in different sectors such as manufacturing, warehousing, transportation and construction throughout the Caribbean. Thus the cruise industry is a major source of income growth and employment generation. 4. Damages caused due to cruise industry The sea trade industry is in boon but the benefits of such expansion contradict the overall development objectives of the Caribbean island nations (Uebersax 1009). While economic benefits can be quantified, the environmental impact cannot be quantified. Moreover it is difficult to allocate impacts of marine activities to specific sources. Cruise ships are in essence, large villages or towns as they carry over 5000 passengers and a large number of crew on board (Davenport and Davenport 2006). An average cruise ship produces 1 kg. of burnable waste, 0.5kg food waste, and 1 kg of glass and tin waste per person per day (Johnson 2002). These have significant impact on the marine environment and the public health. An average cruise ship produces daily 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets, 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys, and showers, seven tons of garbage and solid waste, 15 gallons of toxic chemicals, 7,000 gallons of oily bilge water (Finity 2009). On a one-week voyage cruise ships generate approximately 1,000,000 gallon of grey water, in addition to the hazardous chemicals generated due to dry cleaning, photo printing and processing undertaken on board (Davenport and Davenport 2006). Most ships are registered with specific countries that are responsible for maintaining international environmental protocols and they are supposed to follow certain standards for waste treatment and disposal (Uebersax 1996). However, the cruise ship waste reaches the shores of the Caribbean islands. Most often the ship generated waste is discharged legally or illegally, treated or untreated, into international waters, which is carried by strong currents on to the Caribbean islands. In addition, cruise ships also disembark large number of tourists also at sites that are difficult to be reached through any other means (Davenport and Davenport 2006). This not only disturbs the wildlife, the snorkelers also can damage the reefs. All these lead to loss of biological diversity, deforestation and pollution of coastal waters. The cruise ships are responsible for large amounts of sulphur found in the atmosphere above the oceans (Johnson 2002). The cruise industry requires modifications to the natural and built environment so that the destinations serve as ports but this results in changes to local coastal wave sediment patterns. The operations of the ships involve the use of energy, air water quality pollution which impacts the environment causing antifouling, and intentional or accidental damage to the marine ecosystem. The Caribbean cruise destination environments come under pressure like consumption of water, use of chemicals and detergents, wildlife is disturbed, and the destinations are littered with waste. For curios and gifts, the tourists exert pressure on the endangered species. The damage caused to the environment by the cruise industry is phenomenal and far outweighs the benefits to the economy. Chronic environmental degradation as a direct result of cruise tourism in the Caribbean indicates that cruise tourism is not determined and planned by operators on a sustainable basis (Johnson 2002). This is because it has been found that the cruise industry in the Caribbean pollute the sea floors, harbors and coastal areas, the already scarce water resources suffer degradation, the coral reef habitat is destructed, it leads to public health concerns on the island nations and the problem of waste disposal is aggravated in the communities which is already under pressure to cope with their domestic commercial municipal waste. The Caribbean region comprises of an area including the marine environment of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the adjacent areas of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding coastal regions (Lewsey, Cid and Kruse 2004). The regions has an ocean circulation pattern and moves from east to west in the Caribbean Sea while it moves from southeast to northwest into the Yucatan Basin, followed by eastward movement again to reach the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Straits. The circulation patterns are important to note because the anthropogenic (human) generated waste and pollutants are concentrated in the coastal areas, which can have a severe impact on the entire region. The coastal areas that are most polluted in the Caribbean are major habitat for marine growth and animals that rely on the mangroves, estuaries and coral reefs (Uebersax 1996). As the ship pollution and waste is thrown onto the Caribbean shores, it can have long-term degenerating effects. Again, in the coral reefs areas exists the Caribbean’s biodiversity of marine life. These coral reefs are the main tractions for the tourists along with the appealing crystal-clear waters, the tropical and exotic fish species. Cruise lines also offer side trips as they bring the tourists to the islands to view the coral reef reserves and the museums. This is a major revenue generator for the islands but waste discharged by the cruise ships is detrimental to marine life. While the Caribbean has the world’s highest density of cruise tourism and coastal tourism, the pollution levels could damage the reef structure and make tourism in the area unsustainable. Additionally, pollution could lead to soil erosion and low water circulation, both of which are responsible for coral reef degradation and the loss of marine life (Uebersax 1996). While international conventions like MARPOL Protocol, an international convention for the prevention of marine pollution generated from all ships and Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Materials permit the disposal of shredded glass, tins and other human waste into the sea, the disposal has restriction in terms of location and time. The cruise ships are obligated to comply but poor management encourages violations. The Caribbean Basin is a major oil-producing area which adds to the environmental concerns, including major oil-spills (Uebersax 1996). Social and economic pressures on the urban, rural, coastal and interior areas result in further pollution which finds its way directly into the Caribbean further degrading precious water resources. Moreover, large ships use chemicals in ship building and repair. The boat hulls use antifoulants to prevent bioaccumulation but these negatively impact marine life. The tourist facilities on shore further increase pollution levels thereby increasing the environmental concerns. There has been gradual decline of agricultural activities in the Caribbean. The tourism industry requires air, land and sea transportation infrastructure because of the close proximity of the Caribbean to North America and Europe (Lewsey, Cid and Kruse 2004). This has resulted in a shift in the economic base from agriculture to tourism. Excessive coastal development has fueled the price of land and the developers have no incentives to accommodate vulnerability to climate variability and change. The vulnerability of the natural systems has reduced their effectiveness to act as buffers in extreme weather conditions. The water quality in the coastal zones has deteriorated to such an extent that it threatens the health of both reef and mangrove systems. Mangroves have been lost which deprives the coastal infrastructure and the land uses in the Caribbean of the essential ecological buffers to flooding. Clearing of mangroves has led to decline in the land level which further makes these areas susceptible to flooding. The discharge of oil and hazardous waste pose a continuous threat to the ecosystem and local communities in the Caribbean. The ship ports in the Caribbean are subject to tropical storms and hurricanes. 5. Conclusion This it can be seen that the impact of the cruise industry on the Caribbean region is tremendous. The waste from the cruising industry, both that is discharged into the sea and that is dumped at the ports, is the major pollutant. No guidelines are adhered to in waste management. While the shore excursions can, to some extent, benefit the local traders and tourism employees, overall it has a damaging effect on the environment. Moreover, as the crew and the passengers use the local services, pressure is exerted on the sewage and water systems. This increases the cost of provision and maintenance as well as the costs in increased sanitation and control of the systems. These often go unnoticed and uncalculated when the economic impact of tourism is calculated. The focus of the local government and the tourism authorities is on maximizing revenue from cruise tourism and hence the number of cruise ships is added every year. The environmental impact, the damages to the eco system and the biodiversity is never accounted for. The soil erosion and the pressure on the coastal belts that impact the marine life, is never considered. The price of the land keeps rising as the coastal belt is developed. The earnings and employment go up but if the price of the land too rises, the net result is not positive. Shore excursions are popular and beneficial to the economy as tourists wish to view marine life and the museums but waste discharged by the cruise ships is detrimental to marine life. This would, over time, impact the revenue that could be brought in through shore excursions. The use of hazardous chemicals by the boats impacts the water and the deterioration of scare water resources is damaging to public health. The cruise industry members do not adhere to the norms stipulated by the authorities and lack of regulatory measures is fast damaging the environment in the Caribbean region. Overall, the environmental degradation caused by the cruise industry in the Caribbean region far outweighs the economic benefits. References BREA. 2001. Cruise Industrys Economic Impact on the Caribbean. Prepared by PriceWaterHouseCoopers. http://www.f-cca.com/downloads/carib_impact.pdf Accessed 18 December 2010 Butt, N. 2007. The impact of cruise ship generated waste on home ports and ports of call: A study of Southampton. Marine Policy 31: 591-598. Davenport, J., and Davenport J. 2006. The impact of tourism and personal leisure transport on coastal environments: A review. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 67: 280-292 Finity, J. 2009. Overboard?: The Environmental & Cultural Impact of Cruises. http://matadornetwork.com/change/overboard-the-environmental-cultural-impact-of-cruises. Accessed 18 December 2010 Jayawardena, C. 2002. Mastering Caribbean Tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 14 (2): 88-93 Johnson, D. 2002. Environmentally sustainable cruise tourism: a reality check. Marine Policy 26: 261-270 Lewsey, C., Cid, G., and Kruse, E. 2004. Assessing climate change impacts on coastal infrastructure in the Eastern Caribbean. Marine Policy 28: 393-409 Uebersax, M. 1996. Indecent Proposal: Cruise Ship Pollution in the Caribbean. http://www.planeta.com/planeta/96/0896cruise.html. Accessed 18 December 2010 Appendix A Caribbean cruise arrivals from July 1999 to June 2000 Source: Lewsey, Cid and Kruse, (2004) Read More