Sport Tourism and Local Sustainable Development in Small Island Territories: The Case of Kiribati

Sport can make an important contribution to the sustainable development goals. Sport can foster tolerance and respect. Sport can empower women and youth. Sport can promote healthy lifestyles and social inclusion. While small island developing states might see the benefits of sport for development including the encouragement of sport tourism, countries such as Kiribati are faced with numerous other challenges including the existential threat of climate change. This chapter outlines Kiribati’s journey to develop sports and sporting facilities that could be used by tourists and residents alike. This chapter investigates the use of sport to assist in achieving sustainable development and explores the ways sport and physical activities can contribute to tackling some of the pressing issues faced by this Pacific nation. It also identifies some of the impediments and challenges faced in developing more sports programs and facilities that might also motivate tourists to visit Kiribati. While Kiribati has ambitious national plans and policies for advancing sports development, competing priorities and a lack of political will have hampered their realization.