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on Tourism Economics |
| By: | Hepburn, Erecia |
| Abstract: | The Bahamas has depended on the dominance of one traditional sector, tourism combined with the lack of economic innovation and the inability to maintain domestic demand for food security. The connection between the local farming community and the hospitality industry has been identified as one of the best opportunities to ease the over reliance on foreign agricultural products. Additionally, this connection can provide innovation and address aspects of food security, such as stability and availability. Previous research has indicated that agri-tourism is one way to reduce dependence on foreign imports. This research seeks to determine if agri-tourism has the potential to assist with food security. This study is based on data from tourist’s surveys, who indicated they would like to do agri-tourism activities and interviews with persons in the agricultural sector. The investigation observed that barriers to food security were found on the supply side, coupled with issues of government support and lack of policies. While agri-tourism seemed to be touted as a benefit for agricultural production and food security, respondents indicated that without government support there would only be limited success. This research indicates a direct correlation between the potential to increase food security in the Bahamas by leveraging agritourism. |
| Keywords: | The Bahamas, Agriculture, Agri-tourism, Food Security, Tourism, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cars13:242079&r=tur |
| By: | Mathurin, Titus; Hutchinson, Sharon D.; Franklin, Martin; Pemberton, Carlisle |
| Abstract: | Tourism has been the second highest employment generator in Saint Lucia in the aftermath of the downturn of the Banana industry in 1999. Coastal livelihoods have now shifted from the Banana industry to the Tourism and Fishing industry. Fish Fry Events (FFEs) in the coastal communities of Anse-La-Raye (ALR), Dennery (DEN) and Gros-Islet (GI) provide economic opportunities and sustainable livelihoods to both the host regions and the regions where input factors are sourced. This paper defines a comprehensive set of monetary benefits and values derived from FFE in ALR. ALR’s total economic impact was measured to have been EC$11,904.30 and EC$10,811.25 per month for the summer and winter periods respectively with the summer being more elastic than the winter period. Results showed that the economic impact assessment multiplier coefficient for ALR were 1.34 and 1.49 for the summer and winter respectively. FFE is economically significant in ALR year round since it does influence the creation of downstream income and employment and its multiplier coefficients are greater than 1. Furthermore, the number and origin of patrons, resource availability, and length of stay are shown to be the most significant factors that influenced the total economic impact of FFE in ALR. |
| Keywords: | Saint Lucia, economic impact, agrotourism, coastal communities, sustainable livelihood, multiplier., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cars13:242087&r=tur |
| By: | Ford, JR Deep; Dorodnykh, Ekaterina |
| Abstract: | Tourism plays a vital role in the Caribbean region and it is one of the fastest growing industries globally. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council Report (2014), tourism's contribution to regional GDP of Caribbean is estimated at 14.2% in 2014 and it accounts for 11.4% of regional employment. As the two most common pillars of the region’s economy, sugar and bananas industries, have declined, tourism has increasingly become a major source of income for many of the Caribbean countries. For some countries tourism accounts for more than half of their GDP for example in the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda. With an increasing number of tourist arrivals and cruise ship visits per year, tourism continues to be an important opportunity for further promoting economic development in the Caribbean. Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) are very vulnerable open economies. This paper investigates how the tourism industry can contribute in a much greater manner to regional development through the development of competitive food value chains for all aspects of tourism food demand. The tourism industry mainly relies on food imports as opposed to accessing the local market. Despite numerous efforts over many years there has been little success in sustainably supplying tourism demand from domestic production and value-chains. This paper evaluates tourism, food and agricultural linkages and presents an approach to increase these linkages for greater economic and social impact. The main challenges for Caribbean farmers in meeting supply requirements have been related to their inability to compete (Beckford and Campbell, 2013; FAO, 2011, 2012; IICA, 2014). This inability results not only from low productivity but has also been related to quality and reliability of supply. The weak public policy and governmental support framework as well as private sector structural weaknesses have also contributed to the lack of inclusion of Caribbean farmers in tourism food markets. Based on a survey of tourism sector agricultural product buyers, the analysis of main food trade actors and requirements of the tourism industry carried out for two case studies countries – St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia. With this information and the experience of domestic producers, production and marketing processes, local commodities with the greatest potential for the tourism food market are identified. The lessons from case studies analysis lead to the design of new approaches to the development of food value chains for the tourism sector. Results of this analysis can be applied to other Caribbean countries that have similar agricultural characteristics and depend on the tourism industry. Main findings demonstrate that if Caribbean producers are able to develop competitive food value chains, a cost saving alternative food supply will be available to the tourism sector and this specific segment of the Caribbean agricultural sector can be sustainable. |
| Keywords: | Food Value Chains, Food Trade, Tourism Food Demand, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:cars15:243182&r=tur |
| By: | Longden, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Regular and irregular travel patterns coincide with different underlying purposes of travel and days of the week. Within this paper, it is shown that the balance between subsistence (i.e. work) and discretionary (i.e. leisure) activities is related to differences in travel patterns and explains consistency across years. Using eight years of time use diary entries this paper finds that travel time related to subsistence activities tends to be regular and stable. In contrast, travel time associated with discretionary activities tends to be more unpredictable and varies greatly between discretionary and non-discretionary days. These findings have consequences for the travel time budget literature as consistency of average travel time is found to be driven by work days, which are frequent and have stable travel times. This is offset by discretionary days as they tend to have longer travel times with greater variability but are fewer in number. |
| Keywords: | Travel Time Stability, Time Allocation, Discretionary Activities, Switching Model, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, R4, R41, |
| Date: | 2016–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemet:243150&r=tur |