ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a snapshot of current regulatory and policy environments relevant to the development and maintenance of built, natural, and cultural heritage in the Caribbean (Figure 11.1). For clarity, the Caribbean is defined geographically as the string of small island states from Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago, including Guyana and Venezuela in South America. These South American countries are often included in discussions of Caribbean issues owing to their location, physical geography, and physiographic connections to the Caribbean Basin, and their cultural and colonial similarities. Thus, while Chapter 12 addresses issues in Latin America, including some that span all of South America, Guyana is discussed in greater detail in this chapter. In this sense, some of the more common designations of “the Caribbean” as including Central American countries such as Belize or Honduras have been omitted. The scene of conquest, colonialism, and variable development throughout its history, the Caribbean offers an excellent laboratory within which issues such as government cooperation, supranational oversight, and international policy linkages can be viewed in the context of tourism development initiatives (Hall 2000; Timothy 2004). Geographically, it is immense, yet it features numerous independent states, which in some cases operate coherently and in concert with one another on some issues, yet independent of one another in others. The intent is not to provide a road map of government or even regional policy issues, but rather to highlight salient efforts to bring heritage and tourism together (Figure 11.1). Tourism has emerged as one of the world’s leading industries and the most
important industry to the majority of the Caribbean countries (WTTC 2004). According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC 2004), tourism accounts for 15 percent of total Caribbean gross domestic product (GDP) and employment and about 20 percent of exports and investment. In 2005, the Caribbean received about 42.3 million visitors, of which 19.8 million were cruise ship visitors (CTO 2006). The region remains the premier cruising destination, accounting for roughly 48 percent of global cruise bed days over the last five years (WTTC 2004). In 2002, the Caribbean Tourism Organization
F ig ur e 11 .1
