Barbados and other Caribbean islands are being encouraged to focus on strategies that would promote sustainable tourism as the region continues to rebuild the sector post COVID-19.One regional academic also says that the successes of the industry in the past had not come without a cost and it is time to consider balance in the industry.Dr Acolla Cameron, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus told a Caribbean World Tourism Forum on Tuesday, “The region has had its fair share of drawbacks ranging from economic leakages to natural habitat loss, reduction in biodiversity, land and marine-based pollution, loss of access by locals to sites and attractions and disenfranchised residents due to limited access to the economic benefits of tourism,” she said.Nonetheless, she said that as the region transitioned into a post-pandemic period, it was important to consider “a more balanced approach to tourism development” by minimising the disadvantages and maximising the benefits.
