Sustainable tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals in sub-national island jurisdictions: The case of Tobago

Abstract

Tourism has the potential to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed to by United Nations member states. For sustainable tourism to be successful, stakeholders must be involved in the process. The aim of this study is to consider the extent to which sustainable tourism contributes to achieving the SDGs and how tourism stakeholders understand and implement sustainable tourism. Specifically, the study adopted a qualitative approach and used the case study of Tobago. The data were collected using focus groups of tourism stakeholders. The research revealed that stakeholders embraced the SDGs despite a lack of understanding. They were unable to provide a comprehensive definition of sustainable tourism and their relation to the SDGs, but recognised its traditional components along with specific island features. Stakeholders more easily listed sustainable tourism practices and potential and their link to the SDGs. The barriers to sustainable tourism centred mainly on the role of the local governing body and political affiliation, dependency on the mainland, and prohibitive costs. Action is needed to facilitate broader stakeholder awareness and collaboration in support of efforts to enhance sustainable tourism and the achievement of the SDGs, where policymakers need to act as a catalyst for change.

Attitudes of Generation Z Towards Sustainable Behaviour in Tourism

“…A tourist accepts a higher price for recycled products. [3]. A tourist prefers to buy local products.…”

“…Due to over-tourism, tourism sustainability is becoming a significant topic. Mohan [3] drew attention to several factors, such as economic growth, improved quality of life, protection of the environment, and diverse cultural heritage. Environmental sustainability in tourism is based on preserving natural resources, ecosystems, and cultural heritage for the future, thriving biodiversity and well-being.…”

Interaction between islands and special economic zones: Spatial processes of containment and exclusion

“…As a result of such geographical perceptions of island distinction, islands tend to experience decolonisation, globalisation and power distributions differently from other geographies (Baldacchino, 2010). Islands with small land areas or populations tend toward economic specialisation, for example in primary resource extraction, tourism, financial services, real estate speculation and/or strategic services (Ezel & Arasli, 2021; Hastrup & Brichet, 2022; Mohan, 2022). Islands have also long been used as sites for policy experimentation by local and external political actors: island spatiality creates convenient containers for implementing exceptional political or economic systems (Gugganig & Klimburg‐Witjes, 2021; Simpson & Sheller, 2022).…”

A Multidimensional Analysis of the Municipalities of the Italian Small Islands

“…Of particular interest to the scope of this research are early studies on the role of social capital in subnational island jurisdictions [16], on the comparative analysis of the MIRAB vs. PROFIT-SITE model of island development [17], and on the epistemological and methodological challenges of studying islands on their own terms [18]. Recent research on island studies that may be of interest to this analysis focuses on island mobilities and archipelagic diasporas [19], the relationship between "natives" and "foreigners" [20], and the role of tourism in the sustainable development of islands [21], smallness [22], and remoteness [23].…”

“…In general, there seems to be a research gap concerning the multidimensional analysis of insular subnational jurisdictions; consequently, this research may be of particular interest, as the approach adopted could be replicated in other subnational (insular) contexts and provide a general framework for evaluating the effectiveness of public policies in the localities. Recent international research on the multidimensional analysis of small insular states includes, as an example, that developed by Scandurra et al [9] for the Small Insular Developing States or, more qualitatively, that developed by Mohan [21] on sustainable islands tourism in Tobago. However, in the first study, the subnational dimension was not considered in the analysis, whereas, in the second study, multidimensional analysis was only qualitative.…”