International Tourism and Culture Change in the Western Caribbean: Temporary and Non-Acculturative Systems (original) (raw)

Pathways in the periphery: tourism to indigenous communities in Panama 1

Objective. Indigenous peoples are the poorest of the poor in Latin America, and tourism offers them a chance to make some badly needed money. Yet, little is known about the circumstances that allow visitors' dollars to assist indigenous communities most effectively and those that can make tourists a destructive presence. Methods. A comparative analysis of tourism to two indigenous nations in Panama, the Kuna and the Emberá-Wounaan, effectively illuminates these issues. The central data upon which the paper is based consist of 42 interviews with Indians, conducted at 12 different tourist locations in Panama, and 16 interviews with all 10 firms offering tours to indigenous communities in 1996-1997. Other data include published and non-published materials from the Kuna and Emberá-Wounaan Congresses, and publications of various Panamanian government ministries. Results. The paper finds that where indigenous culture is stronger (i.e., less influenced by non-Indian society), tourism tends to cause its decay; where it is weaker, tourism can give incentives for its regeneration. Conclusions. While there are some unavoidable negative effects associated with tourism, indigenous communities can ameliorate some problems by formulating a clear plan and educating the members of their communities as to its contents. It is perhaps the best of an unattractive and problematic set of options for indigenous peoples. Tourism offers indigenous peoples a chance to make some badly needed money. Yet, little is known about the circumstances that allow visitors' dollars to assist indigenous communities most effectively and those that can make tourists a destructive presence. A comparative analysis of tourism to two indigenous nations in Panama, the Kuna and the Emberá/Wounaan, effectively illuminates these issues, and allows for some conclusions regarding ethnic tourism that can be usefully applied more generally. In short, while there are some unavoidable negative effects associated with tourism, indigenous communities can ameliorate some problems by formulating a clear plan and educating the members of their

International tourism in the Caribbean area: current status and future prospects

In the past the Caribbean was restricted to offering elitist tourist activities, but over the last three decades it has to a large extent opened its doors to international tourism. The advent of mass tourism has been accompanied by a redistribution of the tourism functions and flows within the region. The significant growth in tourism, although essential to the economies of the Caribbean islands, has given rise to a number of issues, the first being the necessity to examine the multiplier effect from tourism revenue within these externally-dependent economies. Next there is both the question of access to resources and the closing of tourist sites in a context where local communities are focusing on coastlines to develop their own numerous tourism and recreational activities. These developments will inevitably require us to consider environmental issues and the sustainability of today’s predominant tourism activities.

International Tourism in the Caribbean. Its Contribution over the last 25 years: 1980 – 2005

2008

espanolDesde hace anos el turismo internacional se ha convertido en una especializacion de la region del Caribe. La pregunta sobre si la contribucion de las ganancias del turismo internacional ha repercutido en las rentas de la poblacion del Caribe, ha generado un ambito de estudio tanto teorico como practico. Estructurando el concepto de contribucion alrededor de las nociones de causalidad y elasticidad, este articulo presenta varios datos resumidos y aplicables a todo el conjunto del Caribe, por lo que mira mas alla de la diversidad que caracteriza la region. La econometria del panel de datos proporciona el marco para las observaciones siguientes y las regresiones que de ellas pueden ser estimadas nos proporcionan informacion sobre la contribucion dinamica del turismo internacional a los ingresos de la region. EnglishOver many years international tourism has become a specialisation of the Caribbean region. The question as to whether the contribution from International Tourism Earn...

THE THREE Cs OF CARIBBEAN TOURISM: CONTEXTS, CHARACTERISTICS, AND CONSEQUENCES

Tourism has come to occupy, relatively suddenly, a central place in the economies of Caribbean nations previously reserved only for sugar and tobacco, and to a lesser extent, for coffee. It is now the primary source of foreign currency at each of the 30 or so Caribbean destinations, excepting the case of Cuba, where until recently the monetary remissions that Cuban-Americans send to their families in Cuba ar- guably exceed the net revenues from tourism on that island. This recent Caribbean explosion in mass tour- ism has not been studied very comprehensively in terms of its effects writ large—on society, on culture, on business, and on politics. Part of the challenge in understanding the impacts of tourism involves the multi-disciplinary nature of tourism itself; single dis- ciplines can contribute to an understanding of these impacts but only from the isolated perspective of par- ticular disciplines. So there appears to be a notable dissonance between policy conclusions and recom- ...

Colonization, Transformations, and Indigenous Cultural Persistence in the Caribbean

Colonization, Transformations, and Indigenous Cultural Persistence in the Caribbean, 2020

It is the second chapter of the relevant book about the global expansion of the Spanish colonial empire in diverse regions of the world. This chapter is focused on the Caribbean region including many aspects of this process and the persistence of indigenous cultural expression in some of the current local communities of the Caribbean region. The analysis included in the chapter takes as a base some case studies and systematizations of archaeological research and historical records

James, Conrad Y John Perivolaris, Eds. the Cultures of the Hispanic Caribbean

2002

Gainesville: UP of Florida, 2000. 280 pp. ISBN 0-8130-794-7 La idea de que los paises que conforman el Caribe hispano tienen una serie de rasgos culturales comunes no es nueva; sin ir mas lejos, es una de las bases, entre otros, del estudio de Antonio Benitez Rojo La isla que se repite (1989). Esta idea es tambien el punto de partida de The Cultures of the Hispanic Caribbean, la obra que aqui nos ocupa. Esta coleccion de ensayos parte de la misma idea del texto de Benitez Rojo (a quien se menciona ya en la introduccion), con un enfasis especial en la heterogeneidad de culturas que existen esa region. En este espiritu de heterogeneidad el libro habla tanto del Caribe hispano insular como del continental: Cuba, Puerto Rico y la Republica Dominicana aparecen al lado de Venezuela y Colombia e incluso de los Estados Unidos a traves de la diaspora caribena en dicho pais. La heterogeneidad pasa tambien a los generos (de la narrativa al cine, pasando por la poesia y el ensayo) y a los criti...

On Tourism and the Constructions of ‘Paradise Islands’ in Central America and the Caribbean

A comparative perspective of the tourism industry in the islands of Colón, Panama and Carriacou, Grenada is presented in this article. The islands have long histories of association with colonial powers, coupled with more recent histories of 'discovery' as tourist destinations. The historical constructions of 'paradise islands' and the appropriation of tourism for nation-building purposes in these territories are analysed. The discussion assesses the underlying reasons for the differing responses by African Caribbean populations toward tourism development, in spite of similar colonial and postcolonial histories.