Research Proposal: Implications of Overtourism in the South Pacific Island Region

Implications of Overtourism in the South Pacific Island Region

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Implications of Overtourism in the South Pacific Island Region

Introduction

In recent years, overtourism has emerged as a global epidemic, especially in popular attraction sites such as the South Pacific Islands. Although most countries aspire to increase income through tourism, there exists a situation where too much tourism becomes detrimental to the nation and its citizens. In essence, overtourism should be defined as the excessive growth of tourist visits in a country leading to congestion and other negative implications (Jacobsen, Iversen, & Hem, 2019). Overtourism can affect a country’s income as well as the sociocultural tendencies of its citizens. In a nutshell, it will be discerned that the risks associated with overtourism outweigh the benefits. Countries in the South Pacific Island region like Fiji need to mitigate the adverse effects of tourism otherwise the negative consequences of excessive tourism will significantly escalate.

Summary of Literature

The South Pacific Islands are renowned for having the most beautiful beaches in the world. This region has been a tourist hotspot for many years yet there is little development in the respective countries. For instance, citizens of Vanatua have a saying that states “Turism blong yu blong yumi” which when translated means “Tourism belongs to you and me” (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). Nonetheless, there is little evidence supporting this statement in a majority of the South Pacific islands. Most Pacific Island Countries are characterized by insufficient land for economic activities, low labor mobility, low agricultural income levels, and high economic leakages (Scheyvens & Momsen, 2012). For that reason, most of the South Pacific Islands turned to tourism as the most optimal means for increasing revenues. In summary, the question that should be asked is whether countries in the South Pacific Islands are prepared for overtourism.

Fiji is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South Pacific Island region. According to recent surveys, Fiji has the largest tourism industry in the South Pacific such that it accounts for 14.5% of the country’s employment and 27.8% of its GDP (Scheyvens & Momsen, 2012). The decline of the country’s agricultural industry through traditional exports such as sugar has compelled the nation to rely on tourism. On top of that, it will be realized that the country’s economic growth remains muted. In spite of the many years that Fiji has been a favored tourist destination, developmental impacts from the tourism industry have been at a standstill (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). In simple words, the growth of tourism has not brought a corresponding growth in the economy. Even though there are many causes for this predicament, overtourism remains the main root cause.

            One of the biggest problems facing Fiji’s tourism industry pertains to the increase of Chinese visitors in the country. A study carried out in 2015 indicated that there were over 100 million international trips taken by Chinese tourists and it was estimated that 140,000 of those Chinese tourists visited the Pacific Islands. Additionally, a third of those visitors traveled to Fiji and this accounts for 0.14% of the country’s outbound tourism rates (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). Luring and sustaining the Chinese outbound tourism market results in the drain of long-term investment capital and infrastructure development funds (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). With that said native Fiji citizens have depicted mixed feelings concerning whether they should embrace or reject the country’s inclination towards Chinese visitors. Therefore, it is clear that the trade-off for tailoring tourism initiatives to suit Chinese tourists is extremely costly.

Discussion

Numerous countries in the South Pacific Islands region rely on post-industrial and industrializing countries for tourism. By turning to tourism, countries like Fiji prioritize resources for developing the tourism industry thereby neglecting other crucial sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. This hypothesis explains why Fiji’s ability to produce and export sugar has been gradually waning in the last decade (Scheyvens & Momsen, 2012). When resources such as land, labor, and capital are entirely dedicated to tourism, it contributes to the deterioration of other parts of the economy that are just as vital. Furthermore, intensive competition for beach space is detrimental to the fishing industry since tourists are often given preference instead of fishermen (Scheyvens & Momsen, 2008). Likewise, competition for labor can be harmful to the economy, especially when the season for agriculture coincides with the high season for tourism. All in all, if overtourism is not promptly handled, it will likely cause the decline of the economy.

Overtourism has left several South Pacific Island countries susceptible to economic and environmental vulnerabilities. As aforementioned, small island countries are often characterized by small economies which makes it difficult for native enterprises to raise funds (Scheyvens & Momsen, 2008). In such cases, foreign entities tend to take an active role in raising capital for establishing tourism ventures. Countries that experience this problem become overdependent on organizations based overseas. For instance, the growth of China’s power over the Pacific Islands has sparked concern on the basis that projects favoring Chinese tourists often disregard environmental sustainability, and community engagement and are deficient in providing transparency (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). In brief, overtourism is a problem that leaves the country vulnerable to exploitation by foreign nations.

The South Pacific Islands became overdependent on the hotel industry owing to its lack of a manufacturing sector. In addition to that, the small geographic size and modest populations indicate that there is limited labor and natural resources. Furthermore, a high proportion of consumer goods and capital goods are imported which exacerbates the low production levels of domestic industries (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). In the end, small businesses in the South Pacific islands are often unable to effectively leverage their goods and services in the international market. In response, foreign investors have taken advantage of this market opportunity by establishing expatriate-owned businesses that provide a range of benefits for tourists as well as for the local communities. In some cases, indigenous communities are compelled to sell their land to establish grand resorts on local land. Based on these findings, it is apparent that overtourism has had severe effects on the South Pacific Islands.

The intensification of tourism in the South Pacific Islands resulted in serious implications for the South Pacific Islands. For instance, tourists were congested in all-inclusive resorts based in Fiji, the Cook Islands, Palau, and Vanuatu. With that said the communities in the aforementioned hotspots suffered the economic and social challenges of the predicament. In 2007, the South Pacific Islands hosted approximately 1.34 million arriving tourists who were primarily “business tourists” and “leisure tourists” (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). Consequently, tourism has grown in those islands by 4.9% since the previous decade. Therefore, it is clear that the Pacific Islands are accommodating more tourists than can be comfortably sustained by the infrastructure.

            The growth of the tourism industry in the region of the South Pacific Islands has raised questions about land and environmental sustainability. Information from reliable articles indicates that approximately 89% of land in Fiji is listed under customary land tenure which is owned and governed by traditional leadership structures (Scheyvens & Momsen, 2012). With that said, overtourism places constant pressure on Indigenous landowners who dislike the erosion of traditional values and abhor pollution. Tourists are often associated with the contamination of the natural ecosystem due to their propensity for carrying foreign contaminants (Gutierrez-Tano, Garau-Vadell, & Diaz-Armas, 2019). Among the Pacific Islands, Fiji is recognized as the country with the highest exposure to pollution per cubic meter of air (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). It can be argued that overtourism has far-reaching effects on native land and environmental sustainability efforts.

            On another note, overtourism results in the erosion of a country’s traditional values. The rapid growth of tourism has encouraged native citizens of the South Pacific Islands to turn to resort work rather than continuing with traditional activities such as fishing, hunting, and foraging. In this case, Fijians are known to be seamlessly connected to their land on account of it being considered a natural inheritance (Cheer, Pratt, & Movono, 2018). In other words, overtourism is a problem that undermines native customs. The cross-cultural effect of overtourism encourages native citizens to pursue tourism under the assumption that tourists are superior due to their diverse behavior and textile designs (Martín, Martínez, & Salinas, 2018). If this continues, natives of the South Pacific Islands will stop adhering to traditional customs and practices.

Conclusion and Future Implications

Overtourism is a global pandemic that affects several countries in the South Pacific Islands region. The end result is a situation where the number of tourists in popular destinations exceeds the capacity that can be comfortably accommodated. Countries like Fiji have been experiencing this predicament where the growth of tourism does not lead to a corresponding increase in development. The escalation of this condition compels such nations to become overdependent on foreign agencies like the People’s Republic of China. Moreover, it leaves native citizens susceptible to economic and environmental vulnerabilities. In extreme cases, overtourism can completely erode the cultural value of traditional practices and rituals. To sum up, overtourism is a problem that ensures that the pros of tourism are overshadowed by the cons.

The future implications of this investigation are based on the ideology that tourism will continue to be an integral industry for South Pacific Island countries. Based on recent studies of Fiji, there is a need to address the implications of overtourism to the social, economic, and environmental hemispheres. In this case, tourism initiatives were not properly aligned with the intended targets who would benefit from tourist activities. As such, countries like Fiji are necessitated to introduce policies that mitigate the detrimental implications of overtourism. With that done, overtourism in the South Pacific Islands region will be converted from a threat to an advantage.

References

Cheer, J. M., Pratt, S., & Movono, A. (2018). Tourism in Pacific Island countries: A Status

Quo round‐up. Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, 5(3), 442-461.

Gutierrez-Tano, D., Garau-Vadell, J. B., & Diaz-Armas, R. J. (2019). The Influence of

Knowledge of Residents’ Perceptions of the Impacts of Overtourism in P2P Accommodation Rental. Sustainability, 11(4), 1043.

Jacobsen, J. K. S., Iversen, N. M., & Hem, L. E. (2019). Hotspot crowding and overtourism:

Antecedents of destination attractiveness. Annals of Tourism Research, 76, 53-66.

Martín Martín, J., Guaita Martínez, J., & Salinas Fernández, J. (2018). An analysis of the

Factors behind the citizen’s attitude of rejection towards tourism in the context of overtourism and economic dependence on this activity. Sustainability, 10(8), 2851.

Scheyvens, R., & Momsen, J. H. (2008). Tourism and poverty reduction: Issues for small

Island states. Tourism Geographies, 10(1), 22-41.

Scheyvens, R., & Russell, M. (2012). Tourism and poverty alleviation in Fiji: Comparing the

Impacts of small-and large-scale tourism enterprises. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(3), 417-436.