tourism case study igcse

On a mission to end educational inequality for young people everywhere.

ZNotes Education Limited is incorporated and registered in England and Wales, under Registration number: 12520980 whose Registered office is at: Docklands Lodge Business Centre, 244 Poplar High Street, London, E14 0BB. “ZNotes” and the ZNotes logo are trademarks of ZNotes Education Limited (registration UK00003478331).

• 0 Shopping Cart

How can the growth of tourism reduce the development gap?

Jamaica Case Study

Jamaica Case Study – How can the growth of tourism reduce the development gap?

Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. It has a tropical climate with high temperatures throughout the year. Jamaica is famed for its beautiful sandy beaches and rich cultural heritage. It has excellent communications and is a popular destination for cruise ships.  

A cruise ship in Jamaica

How has tourism in Jamaica grown?

Tourism has seen significant growth in Jamaica. The graph below illustrates this.

As you can see, there has been an almost exponential growth in the number of visitor arrivals to Jamaica between 1994 and 2016. However, although visitor arrivals continued to increase in 2009, the change was not in line with previous years due to the recession, which reduced many people’s disposable income.

Total visitor expenditure increased from US$128,706,000 in 1975 to US$3,400,000,000 in 2019.

How has Jamaica reduced the development gap?

Tourism is one of Jamaica’s top sources of revenue. The industry contributes over 50% of the country’s total foreign exchange earnings (approx. US$2b). Thousands of Jamaicans work directly or indirectly in tourism . Tourism employs the second largest number of Jamaicans (approximately 200,000) directly in hotels, transport and attractions and indirectly in trading, manufacturing and banking.  

Tourism in Jamaica benefits local farmers through the sale of produce to hotels. For example, Jamaica’s Sandals Resort Farmers Program grew from 10 farmers in 1996, supplying two hotels, to 80 farmers in 2004, supplying hotels island-wide. As a result, in 2018, the hotel chain provided more than $25 million in assistance, starting with the up-front purchase and distribution of $3.5 million of Irish potato seeds to five farmers in Manchester, Jamaica. Under the partnership, the five farmers will be the sole providers of Irish potatoes to the entire Sandals group, which comprises 11 resorts in Jamaica. The purpose is to enable the hotel chain to purchase potatoes locally rather than rely on imports.

There have been considerable investments in infrastructure to accommodate tourists. Port facilities have been expanded, as have airports and road infrastructure. However, the development of roads followed much later as catering for cruise ships was prioritised. Some hotel owners have not been happy with this.

Many people in key tourist areas, such as Montego Bay , have benefited from an improved quality of life due to tourism. However, pockets of poverty still exist.  

The environment has benefited from landscaping projects and the introduction of nature parks.  

Premium Resources

Please support internet geography.

If you've found the resources on this page useful please consider making a secure donation via PayPal to support the development of the site. The site is self-funded and your support is really appreciated.

Related Topics

Use the images below to explore related GeoTopics.

Strategies for reducing the development gap

Topic home, how can the growth of tourism reduce the development gap tunisia case study, share this:.

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)

If you've found the resources on this site useful please consider making a secure donation via PayPal to support the development of the site. The site is self-funded and your support is really appreciated.

Search Internet Geography

Top posts and pages.

Latest Blog Entries

Pin It on Pinterest

• Click to share
• Print Friendly

Cambridge IGCSE Geography Revision

A guide to the Cambridge IGCSE Geography Syllabus

Other Revision Websites

• IGCSE Biology
• IGCSE Chemistry

Thursday 21 July 2016

Case study: an area where tourism is important, 7 comments:.

I constantly like to read a top quality content having accurate info pertaining to the subject and the exact same thing I found in this article. Nice job. เรียน igcse

this was of great help, thank you sooo much.

your the biggest legend ever. doing gcse's in september and showing these to my friends. life saver

the best case study for gcse man keep itup

Harrah's Lake Tahoe Casino and Hotel - KTAR Harrah's Lake Tahoe Casino 전주 출장안마 and Hotel. All rights reserved. All 여수 출장마사지 rights reserved. No games. © 2020 Harrah's Lake Tahoe Casino 대구광역 출장샵 and 성남 출장안마 Hotel - 남원 출장마사지 Stateline.

nice case study. very detailed

IGCSE Travel and Tourism Past Papers

Complete igcse travel and tourism past papers.

Cambridge IGCSE Travel and Tourism (0471) is designed to help meet the need for skilled and knowledgeable individuals in this rapidly diversifying industry. The syllabus develops practical skills across a range of working roles, as well as providing a global and local perspective on travel and tourism. Learners gain an overview of the industry, and learn about popular destinations, customer care, working procedures, travel and tourism products and services, and marketing and promotion.

Through their studies, learners will gain an understanding of the concepts, models and theories used within the industry, and also enhance their skills of investigation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation.

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – Syllabus

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2007

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2008

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2009

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2010

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2011

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2012

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2013

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2014

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2015

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2016

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2017

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2018

Travel and Tourism – 0471 – IGCSE – 2019

Cambridge International IGCSE Geography Learner guide

Topic outline.

• Syllabus content - what you need to know about

You will have three assessments:

• Two theory papers:
• Paper 1 (Geographical Themes)

Paper 2 (Geographical Skills)

• One practical assessment
• either Component 3 (Coursework)
• or Paper 4 (Alternative to Coursework).

Your teacher will be able to tell you whether you are doing coursework (Component 3) or taking Paper 4.

• If you are doing coursework, you will complete one assignment and take Paper 1 and Paper 2 in the examination.
• if you are not doing coursework, you will take three papers in the examination, Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 4.

Make sure you always check the latest syllabus, which is available at  www.cambridgeinternational.org .

• How you will be assessed
• Please rotate your device
• What skills will be assessed?

We take account of the following skill areas in your examination papers:

• your knowledge (what you remember) and understanding (how you use what you know and apply it to new situations)
• how you interpret and analyse information, e.g. data, graphs, diagrams, photographs
• how you make judgements and decisions, including conclusions, based on information.

These skills are called assessment objectives. They are explained in the sections below. Your teacher will be able to give you more information about how each of these is tested in the examination papers.

What does the AO mean?

Remembering facts and applying these facts to new situations

What do you need to be able to do?

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the wide range of processes, including human actions, contributing to the development of a. physical, economic and social environments and their effects on the landscape b. spatial patterns and interactions which are important within these environments
• the relationships between human activity and the environment
• the importance of scale (whether local, regional or global)
• the changes which occur through time in places, landscapes and spatial distribution

How you select information and apply geographical understanding to explain the information

• Interpret and analyse geographical data
• Use and apply geographical knowledge and understanding to maps and in numerical, diagrammatic, pictorial, photographic and graphical form
• Use geographical data to recognise patterns in such data and to deduce relationships
• Select and show understanding of techniques for observing and collecting data
• Select and use techniques for organising and presenting data.

Being able to make judgements based on information and recognise possible decisions

Use your geographical training to:

• an appreciation of the attitudes, values and beliefs of others in issues which have a geographical dimension
• an awareness of the contrasting opportunities and constraints of people living in different places and under different physical and human conditions
• a willingness to review their own attitudes in the light of the views of others and new knowledge acquired
• the physical and human contexts in which decisions are made
• the values and perceptions of differing groups or individuals
• the choices available to decision makers
• the increasing level of global interdependence and the need for sustainable development.
• Command words
• The flipcards below include command words used in the assessment for this syllabus. The use of the command word will relate to the subject context.
• Example candidate response
• All information and advice in this section is specific to the example question and response being demonstrated. It should give you an idea of how your responses might be viewed by an examiner but it is not a list of what to do in all questions. In your own examination, you will need to pay careful attention to what each question is asking you to do.
• Question  The question used in this example is from Paper 1 and is an example of a structured-answer question. Now let’s look at the question to see what the ‘command words’ for this question mean for your answer. (c) For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by over population. Describe is the command word in this question. This means that you state the main features of the problems caused by overpopulation. Using examples is an excellent way of supporting your descriptions.

• Example candidate response and examiner comments
• (c) For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by over population. Name of country: Ghana Ghana is noted to be one of the top countries known to be overly populated. With this, we see that there is pressure on Ghana’s resources. The population of Ghana is very high and because of this water supply would reduce, there would be pressure on the electricity in Ghana because so many people in the country are using the power. Ghana’s government revenue would reduce. The government of Ghana would put in a bit of money to improve medication to new ones, rebuild hospitals, care homes, provide new and well trained doctors, re-construct roads bring more water from another place where there is no supply of water. Ghana has a high rate of crime due to overpopulation. When there is a crowded area people who are uneducated would want to cause a scene and steal and kill people. There is a high spread of so many diseases in Ghana. Diseases such as cholera due to the water we drink as a country and also people use dirty hands to eat. When there are crowded, immediately one person gets the disease it spreads to another person and moves on. The settlements in Ghana are congested. An example is Nima. Nima is very congested and the homes are all together and there is even no space for a car to park. Over-population brings about unemployment because there are a lot of people in the country. Over-population brings noise.
• Explore the advice below to help you revise and prepare for the examinations.  It is divided into general advice for all papers and more specific advice for Paper 1, Paper 2, and Paper 4.
• Find out when the examinations are and plan your revision so you have time to revise.
• Create a revision timetable and divide it into sections to cover each topic.
• Find out how long each paper is, how many questions you have to answer, how many marks there are for each question, and work out how long you have for each question.
• Find out the choices you have on each paper, make sure you know how many sections there are and which sections you should answer from.
• When there is a choice of questions in a section, make sure you revise enough to have a choice.
• Know the meaning of the command words used in questions and how to apply them to the information given.
• Look at past examination papers and highlight the command words and check what they mean.
• Make revision notes. Try different styles of notes.
• Work for short periods then have a break.
• Revise small sections of the syllabus at a time.
• Test yourself by writing out key points, redrawing diagrams, etc.
• Make sure you define geographical terms accurately, e.g. deforestation is not simply ‘cutting down trees’, it is ‘the total deliberate removal or clearance of forest/trees by cutting and/or burning at rates faster than natural regeneration or without replanting’.
• Definitions must not reuse the words to be defined. E.g. land pollution means the contamination (pollution) of the earth’s surface (land) by the unplanned or illegal disposal of waste substances.
• Make your own dictionary or draw up a glossary of key terms for each section of the syllabus. Look at maps, diagrams, tables, etc. to find out what they show; e.g., recognising landforms and settlement patterns on maps and photographs.
• Practise drawing clear, IGO, neat, fully-labelled diagrams and maps.
• Learn your case studies thoroughly. What do they show? How you might use them? Where in the world are they? Are they are local, regional, international or global scale?
• Make a list of case studies for each section of the syllabus.
• Look at past questions and decide which case study would be best to answer each one.
• Know your own local case studies, whenever possible.
• Learn to spell geographical terms correctly.
• Have a look at past questions so that you are clear of what to expect in an examination.
• Look at mark schemes to help you to understand how the marks are awarded for each question.
• Read the instructions carefully and answer the right number of questions from the right sections.
• Do not answer more questions than are needed, as this will not gain you more marks in the examination.
• Plan your time according to the marks for each question. For example, a question worth three marks requires less time and a shorter answer than one worth 10 marks.
• If a question has several parts, then the parts with more marks will need more time and more developed answers.
• Do not leave out questions or parts of questions.
• Remember, no answer means no mark.
• Identify the command words – you could underline or highlight them
• Identify the other key words and perhaps underline them too
• Try to put the question into your own words to understand what it is really asking.
• Read all parts of a question before starting your answer. Think carefully about what is needed for each part. You will not need to repeat material.
• Read the title, key, axes of graphs, etc. to find out exactly what it is showing you
• Look for dates, scale, and location
• Try using coloured pencils or pens to pick out anything that the question asks you about.
• Answer the question. This is very important! Use your knowledge and understanding. Do not just write all you know, only write what is needed to answer the question.
• Plan your answers. Clear, concise, well-ordered, well-argued, well-supported answers get more marks than long, rambling, muddled, repetitive ones. Quality is better than quantity.
• Use geographical terms in your answers as much as possible.
• Use the resource material given in the question to support your answer. Annotated maps, diagrams and graphs can help you, and be used to support your answer. Use them whenever possible but do not then repeat the information in words.
• Use case study material even when it is not required specifically by the question. Case studies and examples can come from your home area
• Make sure your writing is clear and easy to read. It is no good writing a brilliant answer if the examiner cannot read it.
• Look at the instructions on the front of the paper. You have to choose three out of the six questions, one out of two questions in each section so that you answer a question on each of the three themes.
• Do not try to answer all the questions, you will not have time to answer them properly.
• Write the answers to the questions in the spaces in the question and answer booklet provided, using this as a rough guide to the amount of detail and length of answer that is needed.
• If you run out of space continue the answer on the spare lined sheet at the back of the booklet. Make sure you number any continuation answers carefully and also indicate that your answer is continued on the extra page at the end of your partly-written answer.
• Look at the number of marks available for each part of a question. Do not spend too much time on one part if it is only worth one or two marks, or alternatively write only a short answer when a question is worth more marks.
• Timing is important, do not spend too much time on your first chosen question, otherwise you will have to rush the last question.
• Just in case you run out of time, if there is a question which you are not confident on, answer it last.
• Read the information given in the stem of the question carefully as well as the questions themselves.
• Wherever possible in your answers try to include relevant examples and case studies. There may be local examples which you could use in your answers.
• Where you are asked to complete an answer by labelling or drawing on a resource you must do this rather than writing an answer.
• If you use any extra sheets make sure that you put your name on them and attach them to your answer booklet before handing it in.
• When you are asked to use a written resource you will not be given marks for copying out sections from it.
• Look at the question you are being asked and try to show your understanding by answering in your own words.
• If you are asked to compare or describe the differences between two things it is no good just writing about one. You could use words like ‘bigger’ or ‘more’ to help you compare or a word like ‘whereas’ in the middle of your sentence, e.g. ‘a constructive wave deposits material on the coast whereas a destructive wave erodes material from it’.
• Try to be as precise as possible as vague statements are unlikely to get you many marks. e.g. ‘A Stevenson Screen is used to get accurate readings’ is far too vague. You need to give details explaining why readings are accurate when a Stevenson Screen is used (the louvers allow a free flow of air, the white surface reflects the sun’s rays, it allows you to take temperatures in the shade etc.).
• Make sure you know the differences between global environmental problems which you may have studied. Many people mix up global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain.
• You must also make sure you do not mix up causes and effects / consequences – you may be asked for one or the other so read the question carefully.
• This paper is testing a range of skills.
• Try to be as accurate as you can with measuring and plotting.
• Take your time, take care and always use a ruler to complete graphs and measure straight line distances.
• Many questions ask you to ‘use the evidence’ in the resources provided such as the maps, photographs and graphs.
• You must make sure that you do so rather than using your background knowledge, e.g. if you are asked to describe the features of an industry shown in a photograph there is no need to include general information about that industry and its location.
• If you are asked to describe features of a coastal area shown on a map there will be no credit for explaining how they were formed.
• If you are asked to use evidence from the map to explain why there are no settlements in some areas there is no point in referring to the climate as the map extract is unlikely to include information about it.
• Practise basic map skills, for example six-figure grid references. Candidates sometimes get the third and sixth figures confused.
• Make sure you give the reference for the position of the symbol rather than the name of the place.
• If you are asked to measure a distance it is worth using the linear scale below the map and a straight edged piece of paper. By doing this you will be less likely to make mistakes which are possible when using calculation to convert centimetres to kilometres and metres.
• Look carefully at what units you need to use, whether you should answer to the nearest kilometre or in metres.
• Make sure you always give the units in your answer rather than just writing down the number.
• You could be asked to give a direction or a compass bearing.
• Make sure you know the difference and check which of the features you are measuring from and to, by looking carefully at the wording of the question.
• If you are asked to draw a graph be as accurate as you can, measuring carefully and using a ruler.
• Take care to draw the type of graph that the question asks for rather than a different type of graph.
• Make sure you know how to draw and read a divided bar graph; it is used in a different way from a normal bar graph.
• This paper is an alternative to coursework and to prepare for it you need to be able to answer questions about collecting, presenting and analysing data like you would in a geographical investigation. There is nearly always a question that asks you to write a conclusion and an evaluation. You need to practise these skills.
• Many of these questions are based on a hypothesis. Make sure you are familiar with testing hypotheses.
• You will be given resources to use in the examination which you have not seen before, perhaps different types of graphs or diagrams. Look at the diagrams carefully and think carefully about what they are showing before you answer the questions. You may be asked to complete a diagram, in which case you need to complete it accurately and carefully.
• You will have to answer questions about data which has already been collected as part of an investigation. This could be a set of figures, graphs or maps. One of the things you will be asked to do is to recognise and describe patterns or trends, e.g. the distribution of rainfall over an area as shown on a map or over time as shown on a graph, the amount of erosion alongside a footpath as shown on a diagram. You should practise this skill, using data which you have collected yourself, or data from your teacher.
• If you are asked questions about the data in the resources you will be expected to use that data rather than simply listing or repeating the figures, e.g. you may be asked to compare two sets of data about different places, look for a relationship between two or more sets of data or recognise similarities and differences. However it is always useful to support your answer by referring back to the resource and quoting data from it.
• Learn about the different types of samples that can be used when collecting data – you may be asked to describe the advantages of using systematic or stratified sampling for example. Many candidates assume that the only sample that can be taken is a random sample.
• You may be asked to suggest practical ways in which something could be improved. This could be an actual investigation or something which has been investigated, e.g. the amount and distribution of pollution in a river. You will be expected to be realistic in your suggestions so always think about whether they are practical. For example to suggest that all the residents of a town should be interviewed rather than taking a sample is unrealistic. Similarly, to suggest that all factories alongside the river are shut down is not a suggestion which is practical.
• When asked to write a conclusion you need to look at the evidence and then say whether you think the hypothesis is correct or not. In a few cases it may be only partly correct. You must then give evidence to support your conclusion. This evidence must be based on the data provided in the question.

Theme 1: Population and settlement

• 1.1 Population dynamics 1.2 Migration 1.3 Population structure 1.4 Population density and distribution 1.5 Settlements and service provision 1.6 Urban settlements 1.7 Urbanisation

Theme 2: The natural environment

• 2.1 Earthquakes and volcanoes 2.2 Rivers 2.3 Coasts 2.4 Weather 2.5 Climate and natural vegetation

Theme 3: Economic development

• 3.1 Development 3.2 Food production 3.3 Industry 3.4 Tourism 3.5 Energy 3.6 Water
• Useful websites
• The websites listed below are useful resources to support your Cambridge IGCSE Geography studies

Programmes & Qualifications

Cambridge igcse travel and tourism (0471).

• Syllabus overview

Cambridge IGCSE Travel and Tourism is designed to help meet the need for skilled and knowledgeable individuals in this rapidly diversifying industry.

The syllabus:

• provides an understanding of the nature of travel and tourism globally, nationally and locally
• develops the concepts, models and theories used within the industry
• highlights the importance of sustainability, resilience, the customer, destinations and marketing in travel and tourism
• enhances learners' analysis, interpretation and evaluation skills.

The syllabus year refers to the year in which the examination will be taken.

• -->2023 Syllabus (PDF, 390KB)
• -->2024 - 2026 Syllabus update (PDF, 136KB)

Syllabus updates

We have updated this syllabus to make it clearer and more accessible for both teachers and learners and to make sure that it reflects current educational thinking.

What are the main changes to the syllabus?

To support teachers and learners we have:

• removed the coursework component to ensure a fair and valid qualification for all candidates
• updated the subject content to reflect current developments in travel and tourism by moving, updating and adding new topics such as sustainable and responsible tourism
• presented the content in a more logical way by no longer splitting the content into specific Paper 1 and Paper 2 content, meaning both papers may now draw from any section of the content
• increased the number of assessment objectives (AOs) from three to four to ensure a smoother progression for learners on to Cambridge International AS & A Level Travel & Tourism qualification, which uses the same set of AOs.

What are the main changes to the assessment?

• Paper 1 now covers the introductory key concepts, customer service and impacts of tourism at destinations, whereas Paper 2 has now widened its content and focuses on the management and marketing of destinations.
• We have reduced the number of marks in both papers to 80.
• The duration of both papers has decreased, Paper 1 is now 1 hour 30 minutes, and Paper 2 is now 2 hours.
• We have revised the mark schemes for both papers.

When do these changes take place?

The updated syllabus is for examination in from June 2024 onwards. Examinations are available in June and November. Please see the 2024-2026 syllabus above for full details.

Coming soon

We are developing a comprehensive range of resources to help teachers deliver this updated syllabus.

We aim to provide a scheme of work and other relevant classroom resources. Example Candidate Responses will be available following the first examination in 2024. Visit the School Support Hub from June 2022 onwards for details.

Endorsed resources

Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Travel & Tourism (Second edition) (Cambridge University Press)

Engage students with global case studies on topics such as domestic tourism, along with questions to develop their critical thinking skills. Includes key word definitions and opportunities for group/pair work. Digital Teacher’s Resource also available.

Read more on the Cambridge University Press website

School Support Hub

Teachers at registered Cambridge schools can unlock over 30 000 teaching and learning resources to help plan and deliver Cambridge programmes and qualifications, including Schemes of work, Example candidate responses, Past papers, Specimen paper answers, as well as digital and multimedia resources.

Schemes of work

Example responses, past papers, specimen paper answers.

Register your interest in becoming a Cambridge School

Stay up to date

Sign up for updates about changes to the syllabuses you teach

• Past papers, examiner reports and specimen papers
• Published resources

• TOP CATEGORIES
• AS and A Level
• University Degree
• International Baccalaureate
• Uncategorised
• 5 Star Essays
• Study Tools
• Study Guides
• Meet the Team
• Human Geography

Mass tourism & Tourism in Jamaica case study

Mass tourism & Tourism in Jamaica case study

Mass tourism

Mass tourism definition

Mass tourism involves a large number of tourists coming to a particular destination. For a destination to be so popular, there must be a particular purpose or type of attraction, examples of the types of attractions mass tourism resorts offer can be physical, such as mountains, beach and climate, or cultural, such as museums, castles and restaurants. Many countries want to develop mass tourism, as it is seen to have many advantages, which outweigh the disadvantages.  

Figure 1: Cultural and physical pulls of Italy, in the form of restaurants, castles, mountains and beaches. These pulls encourage mass tourism.

Mass tourism advantages & disadvantages

Figure 2: Locals visit Blackpool pleasure beach

Tourism brings jobs, with more, reliable and often larger wage. These jobs come in the form of construction workers, building infrastructure put in place for tourists or jobs in tourist services, working in restaurants, theme parks or museums etc.

New infrastructure (eg: airports, hotels, theme parks) or leisure facilities (eg: swimming pools, golf courses, theme parks) put in place for tourists benefit locals.

Disadvantages

Activities are often seasonal, so jobs are only available to locals for part of the year, people would become unemployed and earn nothing for the rest of the year. Skiing and Sun-bathing are seasonal.

Figure 3: Skiing and sunbathing in Italy are seasonal

Industry is dominated by large travel companies, who sell package holidays by brochure or internet.

Mass tourist destinations do not appeal to wealthier groups of people, rather to lower-income and middle-income tourists.

Higher-salary jobs are taken by people who developed the resort; few local employees are well paid, taking worse jobs.

Mass tourist countries are often in lesser stages of development, so most profits go to richer investing countries; these profits that go to the investing countries do not benefit the host country, making development difficult.

Local farmland is used instead for tourism. The increased demand for food accompanied by tourism cannot be provided by local produce, because the farmland has been bought, so the produce and profit is not local, this means the local economy does not benefit as much as it could. On top of this, the kinds of people attracted by mass tourist attractions often prefer familiar food, rather than local food, so food is imported, instead of bringing local profit.

Locals may not benefit from facilities and infrastructure designed for tourists, as it may be costly or unavailable to locals.

Tourism in Jamaica

Importance of tourism to Jamaican people and economy

Tourism is the country’s second biggest earner, raking in US$1.3 billion in 2001, this contributes 20% of the country’s GDP, with 1,322,690 tourist arrivals in 2001, this makes a tourist expenditure of US$931 per person. 220,000 Jamaicans (8% of the population) work directly in the tourist sector, many more benefit from it and rely on it, for example, if they produce food for visitors and hotel providers. The plantation houses show that Jamaica provides some of the food produce tourists need; this means it makes more profit.

Figure 4: Tourist attractions of Jamaica

Tourist attractions of Jamaica

This is a preview of the whole essay

Cruises sometimes stop in Jamaica, in 2002, there were 865 cruise ship arrivals. There is no shortage of facilities available to tourists; in 2002, there were 14,388 rooms available to tourists. Jamaica is famous for the large amount of water sports it offers. The wildlife sanctuaries are also popular. Golf is becoming increasingly popular and common in Jamaica. As you can see on Figure 4, there are many beaches and bathing areas, on the coast of the main tourist areas, and all around the coast, as you would expect in such a hot climate. Off the coast, there are many water sports areas, which are what makes Jamaica famous as a tourist attraction. Recently, community tourism and ecotourism have become more popular in Jamaica. The amazing coral reefs surrounding Jamaica are a huge attraction, as they encourage snorkelling, scuba diving and glass-bottom boating.

Figure 5: Jamaican community tourism

Community tourism

Community tourism involves local people directly, because visitors stay in homes and villages of Jamaicans, this means the families provide accommodation and food, and get the profit from what the tourists pay them. Local businesses, such as bars, restaurants and museums supply their other needs. Community tourism educates tourists about the way of life of locals, which makes it a form of cultural tourism, the benefits are that the tourists use fewer resources and support locals and local businesses, instead of most of the profit going to international businesses. The personal connection created between the tourists and locals makes the tourists more likely to spend and give money; especially if they know how hard life is for locals.

Figure 6: Eco-lodge in Jamaican national park – the Blue Mountains

Ecotourism is becoming more popular worldwide, as it maintains a country’s tourist resources. Ecotourism in Jamaica commonly utilises inland areas, which are often wasted compared to the coastline, which is often used for water-sports and sun-bathing. An example of a popular ecotourism attraction in Jamaica is the National park, called the Blue Mountains. The environment is protected by ecotourism, because nature reserves and eco-lodges are built, tourist numbers are also limited.

• Kingston, Montenegro Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio and Port Maria are Jamaica’s main tourist areas.
• Activities available in main tourist areas include bathing, observing botanic gardens, deep-sea fishing, Golf, looking at museums and playing water sports.
•   &          d)
•         I think tourism is beneficial to Jamaica’s people and economy, because it bring jobs, with more reliable and often larger wage. The jobs are always linked in some way to tourism and providing tourist services, whether the job is construction worker for tourist infrastructure, or waiter in a hotel. These jobs improve Jamaican economy, because workers are bringing money in, from foreign tourists this also benefits Jamaican people, because they are more likely to have jobs, with reasonable pay, decreasing redundancy and increasing pay. Leisure facilities and tourist services are beneficial to locals, as they improve their quality of life, as long as the facilities and services are available to locals. These facilities and services - that would not have been created if it were not for tourism - helped the development of Jamaica, making it a more developed nation than before. Statistics show the main economic benefit of tourism to Jamaica. Tourism contributed to 20% of the country’s GDP (US$1.3 billion) in 2001, it is the country’s second biggest earner. 220,000 Jamaicans (8% of population) work directly in the tourist sector, and 880,000 Jamaicans (32% of population) indirectly benefit from tourism, for example if their business provides hotels and supermarkets with food, not all their profit comes from tourism, but a significant amount does, or an engineering company, that builds various structures, as well as services and facilities for tourists. Ecotourism and community tourism offer profitable and sustainable tourism, which does not damage or harm the environment, so they have the positive impacts of tourism, without many of the negative impacts. Community tourism actually has more positive impacts, because the families get the money directly, without losing much of it to the holiday industry.

I think tourism is not beneficial to Jamaica’s people and economy, because beach holidays are seasonal, and only attractive in summer, this means that for the rest of the year, people who work in the tourist industry are likely to become redundant. Construction jobs are also temporary, so the seasonal and construction jobs result in redundant communities of squatters around the coast and tourist areas, these squatters cause sewage and environmental issues. Not only are the jobs short-term and unreliable, the salary is not as high as it could be, with high-salary jobs being taken by foreigner who developed and invested in Jamaican tourism, as well as most of the salary being taken by foreign investors, most of the profit is taken by foreign investors, as Jamaica pays off its loans. Tourism takes up much of the land and resources this land and resources cannot be used by locals for other uses, such as farmland, houses and public services and entertainment. Although locals may benefit from the facilities and infrastructure, they may be too costly for many people, or they may be so overrun with tourists in their peak, when they are most pleasant, that locals cannot use them. Because Jamaica agreed to take the loans from the holiday industry, it means the holiday industry has control over the direction and route Jamaica takes, because Jamaica owes the industry money, and the industry can do what it wants, because it is much larger, richer and more powerful. The environment of Jamaica is permanently damaged by industry, and future land uses are compromised. Many international tourism companies in Jamaica do not pay the true costs and compensation for damage caused to the environment for the activities, and the companies are so rich and powerful, that the Jamaican government cannot claim tax on their profits, all in all these international take about 80% of Jamaica’s profit from tourism and the tourist’s expenditure.

In conclusion, I think tourism is beneficial in the short term, as short-term advantages, such as jobs and profit outweigh short-term disadvantages, such as land and resource use. In the long term, however, I consider tourism damaging, as long-term disadvantages, such as temporary redundancy, unemployed or low-salary squatters, lack of control over direction of tourism and damage to environment, compromising land uses outweigh long-term advantages, such as development, infrastructure and services. Eco-tourism and community tourism, however are beneficial in short-term and long-term, because disadvantages, such as land and resource use and environmental damage are limited, there are also less honeypot sites, because tourists are dispersed throughout, this means there will not be communities of squatters concentrated around honeypot sites, and environmental damage and crowding concentrated in honeypot sites.

Document Details

• Author Type Student
• Word Count 2076
• Page Count 5
• Subject Geography
• Type of work Homework assignment

Related Essays

Leisure and Tourism + Case study: Tourism in the Seychelles

Case Study: Extreme Tourism in Antarctica

What impact has tourism had on the people and the environment of Jamaica?

Is Mass Tourism good for Kenya?