Tourism: From the Land to the Sea

Tourism has long been valuable, even crucial, in most SIDS economies, especially in the Caribbean, where it is often a monoculture. After a collapse during the peak of COVID-19, it rebounded beyond earlier levels and structures, but remained centred on resorts, many overseas owned, rather than on a more sustainable tourism base linked to local agriculture and fisheries. High proportions of most workforces, and especially women, are engaged in tourism, which has also contributed to a significant informal economy, centred on transport and marketing. Cruise tourism has become a large part of the industry, generating less local employment and income but still posing environmental pressures, especially in coastal areas, emphasising uneven development.