Determinants of tourism flows in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Vitova, Pavla; Harmáček, Jaromír; Opršal, Zdeněk

doi:10.24043/isj.90

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Unfortunately, studies of individual accessibility in the context of protected islands are limited. Through a literature review, the authors were able to identify the components of accessibility in protected islands, including accessibility quality, tourism amenities and infrastructure, natural and cultural attractiveness, climate and biological characteristics of protected islands (Castanho et al , 2020; Ge, 2020; Vítová et al , 2019). Moreover, Castanho et al (2020) and Vítová et al (2019) added individual elements, such as perceived risk and social characteristics, into the accessibility measure.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tourism accessibility in protected islands: the case of the Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Rahmafitria

Dirgahayani²,

Putro³

et al. 2022

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Purpose Accessibility is critical in tourism planning for protected islands, especially when balancing tourism and conservation interests. This study aims to explore the dimensions of accessibility that impact tourists’ decisions to visit protected islands and encourage tourism. The accessibility dimension is essential in designing sustainable tourism management of protected islands. Design/methodology/approach This study was conceptualized by integrating the concept of accessibility in the context of transport accessibility, accessible tourism, protected areas and protected islands. In a sample of 487 surveys, factor analysis and structural equation model-partial least squares were used to examine the physical and nonphysical accessibility dimensions. Findings The primary objective of this study is to build a conceptual framework for the tourism accessibility of protected islands. This study confirms that accessibility is perceived in three dimensions: destination accessibility, individual accessibility and protected island accessibility. It is also found that all three accessibility dimensions have a significant influence on the decision to visit, with protected island accessibility as the lowering factor. This study demonstrates that, theoretically, tourism accessibility in protected islands should be treated as a convenience and restriction to balance the function of protected areas and tourism. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study can be generalized because the notion of accessibility dimensions is derived from a theoretical investigation of several contexts (transport accessibility, accessible tourism, protected areas and island characteristics) to identify more particular aspects. In addition, the results of the theoretical investigation were tested using quantitative methods with high statistical power (80%). However, saturation has not been reached, because thorough research on tourism accessibility on this protected island is still scarce. Within the same framework, application and duplicate research are required to increase the generalizability of the proposed concept. Therefore, the authors recommend further studies to validate the protected islands’ accessibility concept in a broader context by replicating the study in a more diversified timeline, sample and destination setting. Practical implications This study concludes that all dimensions of accessibility in protected islands must be considered from two perspectives: convenience and constraints. Conveniences can be constructed through tourists’ perceptions of accessibility. Destination accessibility should be designed with a “back to nature” mindset, excluding hedonistic elements. Individual accessibility is achieved by applying high safety, hygiene and health standards as well as environmental ethics standards that are consistent with the natural characteristics of the environment. This balance between constraint and convenience demonstrates that, while tourism accessibility must be made as comfortable as possible for all individuals, there are particular areas whose accessibility must be controlled to preserve them. The convenience of accessibility for universal access should not be allowed to lead to mass tourism that affects the ecosystem in protected areas. Originality/value The novelty of this study lies in the finding that the tourism accessibility of protected islands can be divided into three types: destination accessibility, individual accessibility and protected island accessibility. This study also demonstrates the significant influence of accessibility on tourists’ decisions to visit. Accordingly, the protected island accessibility dimension can create a perception of difficult accessibility and lower tourists’ decisions to visit. This study concludes that all elements influencing the perception of tourism accessibility on a protected island must be considered to sustainably manage convenience and restrictions to avoid mass tourism. Therefore, it is recommended that these three dimensions be considered in visitor management programs.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tourism accessibility in protected islands: the case of the Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Rahmafitria

Dirgahayani²,

Putro³

et al. 2022

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“…While the SIDS are mostly referred to as tourism-dependent economies, tourism activity is not evenly distributed across the group. The SIDS share some common characteristics, however, they are also individually distinct with specific challenges and opportunities (Vitova et al, 2019). The SIDS comprise 38 island economies 1 spread across three geographical regions; 16 in the Caribbean, 9 in the Pacific Ocean and 13 in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The SIDS comprise 38 island economies 1 spread across three geographical regions; 16 in the Caribbean, 9 in the Pacific Ocean and 13 in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea. Some common challenges that these economies face include limited resources, climate vulnerability, remoteness, narrow export base, underdeveloped financial markets, geographical remoteness and lack of infrastructure (Vitova et al, 2019). While not all are tourism-dependent, selected SIDS have exploited their rich natural and cultural heritage and emerged as leading tourist destinations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over time, these economies have become significantly dependent on tourism (WTO, 2012). Tourism has even enabled selected SIDS (such as Samoa, Cabo Verde, Maldives) to graduate from least developed to developing country status (Vitova et al, 2019). In addition to tourism-dependency, a country's exposure to trade, reliance on global value chains, severity of lockdowns, level of government debt, dependence on commodity exports and remittances are also highlighted in the relevant literature as contributing factors to an economy's vulnerability to the pandemic (Alisjahbana, 2020;Davradakis et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring the role of tourism dependency on COVID-19 induced economic shock in the Small Island Developing States

Gounder

Cox

2021

Current Issues in Tourism

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All countries have suffered significant economic losses due to COVID-19 but some are affected more than others. A number of vulnerabilities explain the magnitude and differences in the economic shocks felt worldwide. This paper uses Ordinary Least Squares regression techniques to estimate the role of tourism dependency in explaining the differences in the COVID-19 induced economic shock in a sample of Small Island Developing States. The model also includes remittances, natural resource dependency, government debt and a measure of the quality of governance. The results confirm tourism dependency plays a significant role in explaining the cross-country differences in economic shocks. The economies that are more dependent on tourism have suffered larger economic shocks but remittances and natural resources have mitigated the negative impacts. The differences in the quality of governance also matter but debt levels do not explain the crosscountry variations in the economic shocks. Hence, these fragile and small island economies need to develop appropriate economic diversification strategies, strengthen traditional economic activities and adapt new strategies, products and innovative business models for their tourism industry as the pandemic recedes and global travel resumes.

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“…Small islands face a unique set of infrastructure challenges due to their size, remoteness, and vulnerability to environmental threats (Adeoti et al, 2020). Moreover, many of these countries are reliant on tourism and must design their infrastructure systems to serve a large number of visitors in addition to their resident populations (Vítová et al, 2019). An approach to infrastructure modeling that accounts for these specific challenges to improve future performance of the national infrastructure system is therefore required.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Infrastructure Strategies for Achieving the Global Development Agendas in Small Islands

2021

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Small island developing states face particular challenges to ensure their infrastructure promotes social, economic, and environmental well‐being. Closing the achievement gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) involves prioritization and coordination across multiple sectors. With an application to the country of Saint Lucia, this paper develops a stakeholder‐driven analysis framework integrating four interdependent infrastructure sectors (electricity, water, wastewater, and solid waste). Drawing on extensive consultation with decision‐makers in‐country—134 stakeholders from 18 government ministries, agencies, academia, or the private sector—the analysis identifies specific interventions that could be implemented over the next decades to meet future needs for sustainable infrastructure services. These interventions are congruent with the government's development plans. Long‐term, cross‐sectoral portfolios of investments and policies (“strategies”) are developed which demonstrably reach the targets of the SDGs and Saint Lucia's emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. The sequencing of these investments or policies is designed to optimize their efficiency and impact over time, identifying “quick wins” while ensuring that there is sufficient action to provide services in the long‐term sustainably. A comparison of costs associated with each strategy suggests that accounting for interdependencies and taking a long‐term perspective can save costs over the life of infrastructure investments. This process of infrastructure assessment is applicable beyond the small island context, allowing practitioners a means to undertake systematic assessment of a country's future infrastructure needs and to develop appropriate solutions aligned with its national objectives and international commitments.

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Determinants of tourism flows in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Cited by 14 publications

References 41 publications

Tourism accessibility in protected islands: the case of the Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Tourism accessibility in protected islands: the case of the Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Exploring the role of tourism dependency on COVID-19 induced economic shock in the Small Island Developing States

Infrastructure Strategies for Achieving the Global Development Agendas in Small Islands

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