Sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean is inhibited by several challenges, such as diseconomies of scale and scope and other structural and resource constraints. These challenges are further exacerbated by the heavy prominence of transnational conglomerates. As a result, many Caribbean islands do not appropriate the full value from tourism with the majority of the revenues and profits accruing to companies based outside the region. Many tourists who visit these islands do not venture into the local communities as they are encouraged to stay in the all-inclusive enclaves. Researchers have long recognised that indigenous sports tourism can be a tool that would allow marginalised communities to achieve greater control of their livelihoods. This chapter will focus on sports and games that are deeply rooted in Barbadian culture and history. Using a case study approach, the authors will show how they can be monetised and fused with other aspects of community culture to attract a different type of tourists who will venture into the local communities and spend their money there.
TopIntroduction/Background
Barbados is located at the southern end of the archipelago that makes up the islands of the eastern Caribbean. Since the island's independence in 1966, the economy of Barbados has been transformed from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production into an upper middle-income economy based on tourism and the offshore sector. With an estimated population of 287,375 individuals in 2020, Barbados traditionally promotes itself as an upmarket tourist destination with a ‘snob appeal’ which demands a premium price. Its comparative advantage is derived from the 3-Ss of Sea, Sun and Sand but the island’s distinctiveness is enhanced by an array of attractions including several historical sites, cultural activities, beautiful beaches, friendly citizens, special events and a vibrant folk culture. However, over the years the character and appeal of the destination has changed with all-inclusive resorts making up a significant portion of hotel rooms.
Tourism has been the major earner of foreign exchange for Barbados but, Covid -19 has generated the worst tourism demand shock in history. Real GDP grew by just 1.4% in 2021 following a 14.0% decline in 2020. Tourism GDP shrank further in 2021 and accounted for 73% of lost output relative to 2019 levels (https://crisis24.garda.com/insights-intelligence/intelligence/country-reports/barbados).bn. As of 2017, the national debt of Barbados stood at US$7.92 billion (Chase 2019. Chase (2019) attributes this to Barbados’ neo-colonial economy. The Covid-19 crisis has exposed these economic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and lack of diversity. This has certainly forced policy makers into crisis management about the recovery of tourism in the short and long term. There is urgent need for a more sustainable model of tourism development for Barbados. However, Barbados’ problems started long before the Covid-19 pandemic and will continue thereafter if the structure of ownership, management and control of the tourism industry does not change. Barbados suffers from a lack of coordination of indigenous driven policies, and the habit of short-term, rather than long-term tourism planning (Sealy, 2017). Successive governments favour foreign investment for tourism development and would grant generous tax concessions to foreign companies to set up tourism businesses. According to Chase (2019), these transnational corporations have benefited greatly from tax breaks and contracts but claims that ‘the government’s frivolous actions of giving away money to many non-Bajan private and corporate investors ……has ultimately hurt the economy and the citizens of Barbados’.
Many tourist destinations in the Caribbean are not receiving their fair share of the value generated by tourism. Transnational ownership of Caribbean hotels, attractions and tour operators ensure that consumer behaviour, product development and price is controlled by entities outside the region. Foreign entities have contributed to substantial leakage of foreign exchange revenues, social polarization, social exclusion, structural social inequalities, and environmental degradation (Bhola-Paul, 2015). 37 to 90% of tourism expenditure generated by Caribbean tourism accrues to the foreign countries where the transnationals are based (Pattullo, 2006; Sealy, 2017). In Cuba, only 30-38% of tourist expenditure remain on the island (Simpson, 2014). This neo-colonial economic structure has resulted in many indigenous tourism businesses closing or significantly reducing their business activity. Barbadian historian, Hilary Beckles, once referred to tourism as the ‘new plantocracy’ (Beckles, 1990); likewise, Weaver (1989), called it ‘plantation tourism’ or ‘apartheid tourism’ as it was recently called by Elliott & Neitotti, (2008). This rhetoric is due to tourism’s structural similarities to the plantation economies of the 17th and 18th centuries (Beckles, 1990; Brohman, 1996; Chase, 2019; Lewis, 2002; Pattulo, 2006; Strachan, 2002; Weaver, 1989). These similarities include the dominant role of expatriate capital, management, control, profit repatriation, labor exploitation and social inequalities.