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32. Tourism
- University of Hawai'i Press
- Chapter
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392 Any attempt to understand the economic, cultural, and environmental dynamics of the Pacific region must take into account the role of tourism (ADB 1996, 2006; AusAID 2006). Governments throughout the Pacific have, almost without exception, turned to the industry as a source of potentially sustainable economic development (Fagence 1999; Harrison 2004; UNESCAP 2008). While the cultural and environmental resources upon which the industry depends are vulnerable to uncontrolled tourism development (Connell and Rugendyke 2008), they can also potentially benefit from tourism—sustained, and perhaps enhanced, by the money and awareness that the industry brings (SPTO 2003a, TRIP 2007). Tourism is a complex industry, an industry that not only links local communities to global economic systems, but also provides the additional dimension of direct interpersonal interaction between resident and tourist (Milne 1997; Milne and Ateljevic 2001). The challenge for the people of the Pacific is how to manage and develop this industry in such a way that it can be a sustainable source of livelihood for future generations and not degrade their quality of life and the natural and cultural resources upon which it depends (Craig-Smith and Fagence 1994; SPTO 2003a; TRIP 2007). The focus of this chapter is on identifying and discussing the key issues that presently prevent tourism in the region from reaching its potential as a tool to achieve local economic development. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the size and nature of the tourism industry in the Pacific—highlighting the important differences that exist between a range of nascent and developing industries and those that have reached more mature phases of development. A number of pressing issues that face the industry in the region are then highlighted: transport access; human resource development and availability; the use of, and potential for, information technology; the need for economic linkage development, especially with the agriculture sector; the impact of regional instability and tensions over land use and ownership; and global climate change and local environmental degradation. While this list is clearly not a comprehensive coverage of all the issues facing Pacific tourism, it certainly includes some of the most pressing. Pacific Island Tourism—An Overview While tourism is now a dominant feature in many of the Pacific economies discussed in this book, it is important to highlight the fact that tourist flows, and related benefits, are not spread evenly through the region. Fagence (1999), in an earlier edition of this volume, identifies tourism “honey pots” in the Pacific, including Hawai‘i, New Zealand, Guam, Fiji, and Tahiti. These are all tourism destinations that have grown considerably in the past two or three decades and now dominate tourist arrival statistics for the Pacific (Table 32.1). While it is always difficult to categorize “stages” of tourism development, regional tourism industries can be categorized in the following way (Milne 2006): • Large-scale: Hawai‘i, New Zealand, Guam • Advanced: Fiji, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, New Caledonia • Developing: Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia • Nascent: Kiribati, PNG, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Niue, the Marshall Islands Among the large-scale group, Guam benefits from its proximity to the large tourism market of Japan and other important markets such as Taiwan and Korea. Hawai‘i has a long association with inbound Japanese tourism and visitors from the mainland United States. New Zealand maintains its pattern of visitation from Australia , the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The advanced group includes the largest destination among the Melanesian nations—Fiji. The Fijian tourism industry is a key element of the national economy (Rao 2002). In the north of the country where dwindling European Union subsidies and expiring land leases have had a negative impact on agriculture (especially sugar cane), tourism can provide a particularly important source of economic development (ADB 2006: 75–78). The Cook Islands have grown their tourism industry from very small beginnings in the 1970s and 1980s; visitor numbers now far outstrip the resident population (Levinson and Milne 2004). French Polynesia continues to build on its North American, European, and Australasian 32 Tourism Simon Milne Tourism ■ 393 visitors. New Caledonia is far less dependent on tourism than its counterpart—with the industry coming a distant second behind mining, the industry relies heavily on the New Zealand and Australian markets (d’Hauteserre 2005; Treloar and Hall 2005c: 226). The developing group features some of the fastest-growing industries and others that show considerable, if unrealized, potential . Samoa stands out as the success story of the 1990s—with strong but controlled...