SUN, SAND, AND SUSTAINABILITY: Corporate Environmental and Social Practice in Caribbean Coastal Tourism
Prepared by: Emma Stewart July 2006
ABOUT THIS REPORT This report summarizes research conducted by Emma Stewart while at Stanford University, with the support of Environmental Defense and The International Ecotourism Society. The full report is available at wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations. Emma Stewart, Ph.D. is currently the Research Manager at Business for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit business membership organization that helps Fortune 500 companies improve their environmental and social performance in a profitable manner. Emma holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and B.A. from Oxford University, England. She can be contacted at emma10@gmail.com.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would first like to thank the governments of each country in the study, and particularly the ministries of tourism, environment, and investment, for allowing the research and fieldwork process. Also important allies were the industry associations, in Cuba the Grupos Hoteleros and in the Dominican Republic, the Asociaciones de Hoteles. The following organizations were crucial in providing organizational and financial support: Environmental Defense, The International Ecotourism Society, the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism, the Dominican President’s Fundacion Global de Democracia y Desarrollo, the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Stanford University. Perhaps most important were the hundreds of individuals who agreed to offer their views as participants in the study, from hotel managers, to government officials, to scientists, to community members. To you all, thank you.
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE Since 1967, Environmental Defense (ED), formerly the Environmental Defense Fund, has linked science and private-sector partnerships to craft solutions to the most serious environmental problems. With 400,000 members, a $50 million annual budget, and >250 professional staff, ED builds marketbased solutions within Program areas that include Oceans, Climate, Biodiversity, and Human Health. Website: www.environmentaldefense.org.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL ECOTOURISM SOCIETY Founded in 1990, TIES is the largest and oldest organization in the world dedicated to generating and disseminating information about sustainable tourism. Its members, located in more than 90 countries, includes academics, consultants, conservation professionals, government officials, architects, tour operators, lodge owners and managers, general development experts, visitor bureaus, and ecotourists. It also serves as the umbrella organization for some 40 national and regional ecotourism organizations. TIES provides guidelines and standards, training, technical assistance, research and publications to foster sound ecotourism and sustainable tourism development. Website: www.ecotourism.org. Photographic Credits: Emma Stewart Cover Images: Iberostar Daiquiri from above; Single-use hospitality amenities; Resort chlorine and pH chemical tanks; Resort refrigerator dump
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4.
TOURISM AS A DRIVER OF DEVELOPMENT................................................................................................ 1 A ‘NATURAL EXPERIMENT’ IN THE CARIBBEAN ....................................................................................... 2 THE STUDY ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 THE FINDINGS ............................................................................................................................................... 5 4.1 Findings at the National Level ........................................................................................................... 5 4.2 Findings at the Corporate Level......................................................................................................... 7 4.3 Findings at the Local Operations Level ............................................................................................ 9 5. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 10 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 ENDNOTES............................................................................................................................................................. 13
TABLES Table 1: Travel & Tourism Total Revenue ....................................................................................................... 2 Table 2: Travel & Tourism GDP ....................................................................................................................... 2
FIGURES Figure 1: Cuba Map................................................................................................................................................ 4 Figure 2: Dominican Republic Map..................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3: Average Environmental Performance of Management Companies Common to Both Countries ................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 4: Average Social Performance of Management Companies Common to Both Countries .................................................................................................................................. 6 Figure 5: Motivations for Environmental Management ................................................................................... 8
1. TOURISM AS A DRIVER OF DEVELOPMENT It is difficult to find a place in the world that tourism does not touch. In fact, the travel and tourism sector tops the list of the world’s largest industries and is considered the world’s largest employeri. Tourism has been a driving economic force for the development of many national economies. However, it also has major impacts on natural resources, creates an economy with drastic seasonality, and is increasingly monopolized by a small group of large international corporations. These effects are particularly relevant to the developing world, with its highly vulnerable economies and ecosystems. Here, the tourism rates of growth are highest and the capacity to deal with potential negative impacts lowest. We now see a growing effort to better manage the growth of tourism in order to minimize its negative impacts and maximize its positive ones. These attempts are evident in the proliferation of ‘green’ certification schemes aimed at differentiating and Beach overcrowding
highlighting sustainable tourism companies and brands. It is also evident in the rapid growth of ‘ecotourism’, considered
responsible travel to natural areas, which is proving to be an effective testing ground for environmental and social ‘best management practice’ii. In addition, under the banner of sustainable tourism, the principles and good practices of ecotourism are beginning to be applied by some traditional mass tourism hotels and resorts. These best practices are demonstrating that a focus on environmental and social management can create cost-savings or profit enhancement through:
• • • • •
Increased sales and customer loyalty Improved risk assessment and mitigation Premium pricing Access to new sources of equity Assistance with regulatory oversight
• • • • •
Product and quality innovation Resource efficiency and reduced operating costs Increased employee satisfaction and retention Increased employee morale and productivity Brand enhancement
And yet, mass tourism, which dominates the industry, is only recently, and in rare instances, capitalizing on these opportunities. Why is this the case? What factors at the national, corporate and operational level might stimulate the adoption of better environmental and social management, and the associated advantages? This report is drawn from an extensive quantitative study undertaken to explore these questions and make recommendations. This report provides a summary of the study and its findings. 1
2. A ‘NATURAL EXPERIMENT’ IN THE CARIBBEAN Together, the island nations of the Caribbean constitute the region most heavily affected by tourism in the worldiii. As islands, they are especially vulnerable to environmental impacts, such as coastal erosion, fresh water shortages, marine pollution and habitat lossiv. And as developing countries, they have become increasingly reliant on international tourism to bring muchneeded hard currency. The Caribbean is perhaps the most extreme example of a common pattern among developing regions: environmentally and socio-economically vulnerablev while reliant on tourism as a means to rapid developmentvi. Therefore, the Caribbean is an important region in which to examine the patterns of corporate environmental and social practice in the tourism sector. And in fact, it also provides a sort
Beach erosion
of ‘natural experiment’, comparing two Caribbean island nations, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, that have similar tourism markets but greatly different approaches towards managing them. Both countries’ tourism markets are quite similarvii in terms of arrival numbers, target markets, prices, and revenue. And in both of these countries, the growth and success of tourism has been a significant story throughout the region. The two countries together dominate the insular Caribbean tourism market, particularly in the all-inclusive sectors. Portions of their coasts are lined with all-inclusive coastal resorts, with most tourists originating in Europe and North America. Likewise, the foreign companies investing in both countries are mainly European or Canadian, and are direct competitors of one another. Table 1: Travel & Tourism Total Revenue
Table 2: Travel & Tourism GDP
Travel & Tourism Total Revenue (US$m, 2004)viii
Travel & Tourism GDP (US$m, 2004)
Dominican Republic Cuba Bahamas Jamaica Trinidad &Tobago Aruba Barbados Grenada Anguilla Dominica
5,187 4,830 3,613 3,300 1,834 1,632 1,621 170 94 87
Dominican Republic Cuba Bahamas Jamaica Barbados Aruba Trinidad & Tobago Grenada Anguilla Dominica
2
4,096 3,490 2,986 2,647 1,391 1,305 1,147 127 75 64
The similarity of these two countries’ tourism sectors is in contrast to their strikingly different approaches to its development. Since the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the consequential disappearance of preferential trade, Cuba has experienced an ‘about-face’ in its development strategy and attitude towards sustainable development. While the Cuban government has welcomed foreign investors to build and manage many of its resorts, it continues to play an active role, owning, running, and regulating much of the tourism industry, including resort hotels. A number of laws also protect the Cuban economy from the economic “leakage”ix so common in neighboring tourist destinations, and retain tight control over the process of tourism development. Simultaneously, intense scarcity throughout the 1990s spurred increased resource awareness. This awareness led to the creation of new protective environmental and health measures, including strikingly detailed legislation that refers specifically to the ‘Sustainable Development of Tourism’x. The new cabinet-level Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment conducts regular inspections and has recently launched a certification program for tourism enterprises to encourage compliancexi. Said one hotel manager, “the major difference between environmental protection here and in Spain, where I come from, is that the rules are regularly enforced and we are under constant scrutiny”. In contrast to Cuba, tourism in the Dominican Republic has been largely unregulated, relies heavily upon foreign investment, and lacks national coordination and supporting public servicesxii. The national government has been slow to support the sector in practical ways, leading many tourism companies to take voluntary and often costly measures to improve the infrastructure and product quality they can offer to exacting international touristsxiii. These include paying for traffic signals, road rehabilitation, anti-litter signs, and a private tourism police force. The government rarely considers environmental and social Voluntary hotel measures in the Dominican Republic
impacts when seeking foreign investorsxiv and the
newly-founded ministries dealing with such impacts lack authority and are usually trumped by the Ministry of Tourismxv. Said one general manager, “the environmental Secretariat may as well not exist”.
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3. THE STUDY The study selected two comparable regions in both Cuba and the Dominican Republic, all of which are dominated by four- and five-star all-inclusive resorts: Varadero, Cayos Coco & Guillermo, Puerto Plata
Source: CIA World Factbook 2006
and Punta Cana (marked on the maps below in that order).
Figure 1: Cuba Map
Figure 2: Dominican Republic Map
Six months of fieldwork permitted site visits to a randomized sample of 60 such resorts (see Appendix), including tours of the property and facilities, and extensive interviews with managers at multiple levels. These 60 resorts represent between 70 and 100 percent of the total number of resorts in each region. The purpose was to examine the extent of environmental and social practices within these resorts, compare and rank them, and identify characteristics associated with the leaders. Each resort was assessed based upon 50 indicators relating to different categories of environmental and social management: energy, water, land use, transport, materials, awareness raising, environmental policy and systems, relations with guests and employees, and the input of local populations. Responses, both quantitative and qualitative, were ranked on a scale of 1-5, which allowed quantitative analysis. These analyses then provided an objective portrait of the variation among different local operations, among different companies, and between the two countries. This ranking of 60 different facilities, split evenly between Cuba and the Dominican Republic, was used to help identify various characteristics associated with the best and worst performers and to hypothesize about what types of characteristics are important -- at the national, corporate, and local operations level -- to encourage optimal environmental and social management. To do this, extensive contextual information was collected about each resort in the sample and categorized as: the resort’s 4
location, its cost of utilities, its siting and land use, its age, its star category, its target market, its business success, its general manager’s background, its type of management company and the age of its management company. Before the study began, a prediction was made as to the link between these various pieces of contextual information and their relationship to environmental and social performance, at the national, corporate, and local operations level. At times, the quantitative analysis of a resort’s performance did not match its predicted performance, as discussed below. In all cases, however, the analysis was helpful in identifying characteristics that are, or are not, associated with high environmental and social performance. Those that are statistically proven to be associated with high performance can then be used by government agencies to save the time and effort of comprehensive inspections, by managers to see how their facility likely compares with competitors, and by investment ministries to give preference to the types of investments most likely to contribute to the environmental and social sustainability of the region.
4. THE FINDINGS The following section summarizes the relationships between the predictions and some of the most interesting findings and speculates briefly as to possible explanations.
4.1
Findings at the National Level
ž Prediction 1: While voluntary measures will differentiate some resorts from others in the Dominican Republic, on balance, the Cuban context will lead to better, and more uniform, environmental and social performance overall. The prediction that resorts located in Cuba, where government regulations are strict, would exhibit higher environmental and social performance than in the Dominican Republic appeared to be correct. Overall, the Cuban sample did perform significantly better than the Dominican sample. Of the management companies that were operating in both countries and represented in the sample, 80% perform better in Cuba than in the Dominican Republic. However, when performance was broken down into its two components, environmental and social performance, Cuba did not perform better on the social criteria, such as relationships with employees or the local community. Resorts in Cuba performed higher only in environmental management, while resorts in the Dominican Republic performed better in social management (see Figure 3 and Figure 4).
5
Average Social Performance for Management Companies Common to Both Countries
2.33
2.35
2.34 2.15
2 .0 0 1.50 1.0 0 0 .50
So l
M el ia
0 .0 0
3.73
3.393.54
3.21
3.623.72
3.85 3.67
3.443.36
ur
2.522.62
4.50 4.00 3.50 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00
Dominican Republic
H ot et
2 .50
2.36
2.84
ar
3 .0 0
3.38 2.86
st
3 .50
Cuba
Ib er o
4 .0 0
lo
Countries Dominican Republic Average Social Performance
Cuba
Ba rc e
Management Companies Common to Both
Su pe rC lu bs
Average Environmental Performance of
Management Companies
M a na ge m e nt C o m pa nie s
Figure 3: Average Environmental Performance of Management Companies Common to Both Countries
Figure 4: Average Social Performance of Management Companies Common to Both Countries
It may be that Cuba’s stringent regulation and monitoring, combined with a well-coordinated environmental infrastructure – such as waste and recycling – encourages and enables companies to exhibit high environmental performance. Meanwhile, it may be that the Dominican Republic’s strong hotel associations, an awareness of health and hygiene, and a generally positive relationship with local communities encourages and enables companies to exhibit high social performance. Said one general manager, “membership in the hotel association allows us to keep on top of best practice and maintain positive relationships with our community and peers”. This is an important and not necessarily intuitive finding which highlights the subtlety with which one must consider the broad concept of ‘sustainability’. Sustainability is obviously multidimensional, and optimizing its environmental and social dimensions may require different combinations of incentives. ¾ Prediction 2: High environmental and social performance will be associated with each of the following characteristics: location, cost of utilities, and siting and land use. Of these characteristics predicted to be related to environmental and social performance, two proved to be particularly significant: the cost of utilities, and siting and land use. Predictably, in both countries, when water prices were higher, wasteful consumption was lower. High costs of water tended to be associated with more sustainable land use management practices, such as using native plantings and drip irrigation. Interestingly, this was not the case for another utility, electricity, whose price was not
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related to the level of wasteful consumption. This implies that water, at least in the Caribbean, is a more important motivator when it comes to choices about how to manage resort properties. Supporting the relationship between water and good land use practices, siting and land use practices (e.g. maximal open space, water-efficient landscaping, minimal chemical treatment, etc.), were identified as being very closely tied to good environmental and social performance overall. This suggests that good land use from the earliest stages of project development is a key predictor of later performance.
4.2 Findings at the Corporate Level ¾ Prediction 1: High environmental and social performance will be associated with each of the following characteristics: the management company’s corporate status and years of operation, country of origin of the resort’s guests, and the resort’s business success. The sample included a wide mixture of management companies and target markets, and it was predicted that privately-managed foreign resorts with years of experience would outperform younger, domestic state-owned resorts on environmental and social criteria. Interestingly, not the nature of the management company, nor the number of years the company had been in operation, nor the country of origin of the guests had much relationship with environmental and social performance. Of the characteristics predicted to be related to environmental and social performance at the corporate level, only ‘business success’ appeared to have any relationship. Given that financial records could often not be obtained because they were not public, ‘business success’ was measured by occupancy rates. The results show that companies with high occupancy rates tend to also manage their environmental and social practices well. This suggests either that those companies that are doing well financially have the latitude to undertake environmental and social innovation more than those that are struggling, or that companies that manage their environmental and social practices well tend to attract more guests and have higher occupancy rates than competitors. While the causality is difficult to nail down, the relationship is a significant finding, and supports the idea that environmental and social best practice, in the worst-case scenario, is not detrimental to business, and in the best-case scenario, can create competitive advantages. The extensive interviews conducted regarding managers’ motivations for their environmental and social initiatives support the idea that such best practices do indeed bring competitive advantages. For example, the top motivations cited by managers for taking on environmental initiatives (see Figure 5), health of employees and guests, marketing, and destination
7
quality, suggest that environmental best practice is seen to avoid risk, attract and/or retain customers, and sustain business over the longer term. One manager explained that his company’s “strong environmental reputation means that they are allowed to enter new areas of the country before competitors”, reaping significant advantages through unique offerings to customers.
Motivations for Environmental Management 35 Frequency of mention
30 25 20 15 10 5
M ar D ke es tin tin g at io n Q ua lit y C os tS av Le Pr in ga ep gs lC ar om ef or pl ia N nc ew A e Re vo Re gu sp id on la Re tio d so to ns ur Pr ce es S ho su rta re fr ge om s Re Co sp r po on ra d .. to Pe rc ei ve O d th N er e ga Im tiv pr e ov R. e .. Lo ca lR el at io ns
H ea lth
of
Em pl o
ye es
&
G
ue st s
0
Motivation
Figure 5: Motivations for Environmental Management
¾ Prediction 2: Resorts with foreign investment or foreign management will be (relative) leaders in environmental and social performance. This prediction proved not to be true. The study revealed that whether or not a resort’s investors or management company comes from an industrialized country, such as Canada, Spain or France, did not seem to affect its environmental and social performance. For example, the management company SuperClubs outperformed all others in environmental performance, and hails from Jamaica, a developing country. One of the SuperClubs managers explained: “In Jamaica, the environmental standards are high, but there is more motivation to comply with the law in Cuba, whereas Jamaica is more lax about it. SuperClubs has its own standards but each installation is really influenced most by the country of operation”. Meanwhile, the worst performing management company on social criteria was Sol Melia, from Spain, an industrialized country.” We know that there is a certain level of resentment by locals towards our hotel”, admitted one Sol Melia manager.
8
This finding flags an area ripe for further examination, because it has often been assumed that foreign direct investment helps developing countries develop in a more sustainable manner through the diffusion of environmental and social best practices from industrialized countriesxvi. This study suggests that this assumption needs further exploration.
4.3 Findings at the Local Operations Level ¾ Prediction 1: High environmental and social performance will be associated with each of the following characteristics: the resort’s star category, its age, and the General Manager’s experience. Interestingly, a resort’s star category (in this study, either 4 or 5), did not show any significant relationship with environmental and social performance. It was predicted that five-star resorts would be more likely than fourstar resorts to exhibit high environmental and social performance, possibly due to stronger management capacity, better-educated clientele demanding high performance in all areas, or more financial flexibility. However, there were only two very slight differences: five-star hotels have marginally better water management, perhaps due to stronger management capacity, while four-star hotels were slightly better on transport, probably because they are more likely to offer more efficient communal transport options, as compared to the exclusive options at five-star resorts. Of characteristics at the local operations level, only the General Manager’s experience had a strong relationship to the resort’s environmental and social performance. What apparently matters here is not the General Manager’s previous experience in the Caribbean, but rather his or her educational background. Intriguingly, those General Manager’s with less hospitality-focused backgrounds, such as law or science, tended to run resorts with higher environmental and social performance. For example, the General Manager of Villa Cuba, one of the best performing resorts in the sample, has a degree in economics, and the General Manager of Amhsa Marina Grand Paradise, another top performer, is trained as a lawyer. The relationship between unconventional educational backgrounds and high environmental and social performance may be due to the General Manager’s ability to draw on experiences from other fields, or due to the narrow focus managers receive in hospitality training that emphasizes ‘quality’ and ‘service’ without appreciating that environmental and social practices affect both of these.
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5. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study are significant in that they 1) demonstrate the effect of national contexts on a company’s ability and willingness to undertake environmental and social innovations, 2) identify common characteristics of companies at the corporate and operational levels that are associated with high environmental and social performance, and 3) provide a glimpse into the motivational factors that drive managers to undertake environmental and social innovations. The significant differences in performance between companies operating in both Cuba and the Dominican Republic demonstrate that environmental and social performance varies with national context. In this case, a proactive regulatory regime in Cuba appears to have played a large role in stimulating higher environmental performance among companies operating there, as compared to those same companies operating in the Dominican Republic. However, the prescriptive nature of Cuban regulation may hinder innovation, encouraging managers at the local operations level to focus on compliance alone, and leave the rest to the state. “The hotel as an institution does not decide how to help the local community,” remarked one general manager in Cuba, “this is dictated by the state in Cuba. Through the sindicato (union), the state tells us what to do”. This could well explain why resorts in Cuba do not perform highly on social criteria relative to Dominican resorts, which take the initiative themselves. Thus, the Cuban preference for prescriptive regulations succeeds in encouraging compliance but rarely beyond-compliance behavior. In contrast, the beyond-compliance social performance of operations in the Dominican Republic demonstrates that, when necessary, companies may take on responsibilities they view as unfilled by national institutions, sometimes at great expense (e.g. investments in public infrastructure, voluntary hygiene standards, or unique benefits for employees). Such voluntary practices may create positive benefits for the country in the short term, but in the long term Dominican society may suffer as companies find such unilateral investments there too costly. These two countries represent the need for a complementary set of regulations and market incentives that ensure compliance but also promote beyond-compliance innovation. The findings of the study also indicate that certain variables are essential to environmental and social performance. Appropriate siting and land use practices are evidently closely associated with optimal performance, as are business success -- as measured by Hotel Reception Manager
occupancy rates -- and the General Manager’s educational background. Companies seeking the competitive advantages associated with environmental and social performance
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can use these variables as priorities in their business development decision-making. Similarly, developing regions interested in achieving sustainable development through tourism must pay close attention to the nature of their private sector, and create environments in which companies can optimize these two variables. Broadly, this study demonstrates that the contexts for corporate behavior at the national, corporate, and local operations levels must complement one another in order to attain high environmental and social performance, but to a certain extent, each can compensate for the other’s failings. The results indicate a need for new exploration into the ways in which regulation and incentive structures at the national level can work in concert with corporate strategists at the corporate and operational levels in order to attain improved environmental and social performance. Contributions such as these will allow us to develop a better grasp of how societies can advance towards a more sustainable form of tourism development.
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APPENDIX Resort Name
Region
Stars Owner
Sol Club Palmeras Paradisus Varadero Tryp Peninsula Melia Varadero Arenas Doradas Iberostar Tainos Club Amigo Varadero Coralia Club Playa de Oro Brisas del Caribe Club Kawama Iberostar Bella Costa SuperClubs Breezes Varadero Barcelo Sol y Mar Iberostar Barlovento Arenas Blancas Sandals Royal Hicacos Hotetur Palma Real Villa Cuba Varadero Internacional Sol Club Cayo Coco Melia Cayo Coco
Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Varadero, Cuba Cayeria, Cuba Cayeria, Cuba
4 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 5
Tryp Cayo Coco
Cayeria, Cuba
4
Villa Cojimar El Senador Melia Cayo Guillermo Sol Cayo Guillermo Iberostar Daiquiri Paradisus Punta Cana Melia Caribe Tropical Superclubs Breezes Punta Cana Amhsa Marina Grand Paradise Iberostar Punta Cana/Dominicana/Bavaro Princess Bavaro Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort Barcelo Villas Bavaro Beach Resort/Village Fiesta Bavaro complex Club Med Punta Cana Occidental Allegro Punta Cana Occidental Grand Flamenco Punta Cana Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Golf & Casino Punta Cana Resort and Club Sosua Bay Hotel Amhsa Marina Casa Marina Beach/Reef EMI Sun Village Beach Resort Superclubs Breezes Puerto Plata Occidental Grand Flamenco Puerto Plata Amhsa Marina Camino del Sol/Paraiso Hotetur Dorada Club Iberostar Costa Dorada Occidental Allegro Jack Tar Puerto Plata Amhsa Casa Marina Paradise Victoria Hotel Gran Ventana Fun Royale-Tropicale Caribbean Village
Cayeria, Cuba Cayeria, Cuba Cayeria, Cuba Cayeria, Cuba Cayeria, Cuba Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Punta Cana, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR Puerto Plata, DR
3+ 4+ 5 4 4 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 4 4.5 5 4 4.5 5 5 5 4 4.5 4 4 4 3.5 5 4 4 4 4 3.5/4
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Canarias S.A. State State Cubacan/CIHSA Gran Caribe/Spanish State State State State State State State State State State State Horizontes/Hotetur State State State Gran Caribe/ Cien Amigos Cubanacan/ Empresa Mixta Paraiso State Cubanacan/TMSA State State State Sol Melia Sol Melia NA (Dominican) Amhsa Marina Iberostar Princess Barcelo Inversion IFT Fiesta Ferrari, Fiat families Occidental Occidental Catalonia Rainieri family Starz Amhsa Marina EMI Resorts Inc. Sol de Plata Occidental Amhsa Marina Dominican Iberostar Occidental Hotelera Atlantica Isidro Garcia family Isidro Garcia family NA (Dominican)
Management
Environmental & Social Rank
Sol Melia Sol Melia Sol Melia Sol Melia Hoteles C Iberostar Cubanacan Accor Cubanacan Gran Caribe Iberostar SuperClubs Barcelo Iberostar Gran Caribe Sandals Hotetur Gran Caribe Gran Caribe Sol Melia Sol Melia
Best Worst Good Best Middling Poor Middling Worst Good Good Middling Best Good Poor Best Poor Poor Best Poor Poor Best
Sol Melia
Middling
Gran Caribe TMSA Sol Melia Sol Melia Iberostar Sol Melia Sol Melia Superclubs Amhsa Marina Iberostar Princess Barcelo Barcelo Fiesta Club Med Occidental Occidental Catalonia Grupo Punta Cana Starz Amhsa Marina EMI Superclubs Occidental Amhsa Marina Hotetur Iberostar Occidental Amhsa Marina Victoria Victoria Fun-Royale
Good Poor Good Good Best Worst Good Worst Best Good Good Middling Middling Worst Best Poor Worst Worst Best Worst Middling Worst Middling Worst Good Worst Poor Poor Middling Worst Poor Middling
ENDNOTES
i
World Tourism Organization (2004) “Tourism Highlights; Edition 2004”, WTO Facts and Figures
The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ‘ecotourism’ as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”. Source: www.ecotourism.org
ii
World Travel & Tourism Commission (2004) “Cuba; Travel and Tourism Forging Ahead” and “Dominican Republic; Travel and Tourism Forging Ahead”, The 2004 Travel and Tourism Economic Research, London; World Travel and Tourism Council
iii
iv
Mieczkowski, Z. (1995) Environmental Issues of Tourism and Recreation, University Press of America
v Spadoni, P. (2002) “Foreign Investment in Cuba: Recent Developments and Role in the Economy”, Cuba in Transition: Papers and Proceedings of the 12th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, Vol 12, Miami vi
Padilla, A., & McElroy, J. (2003) “Tourism Development in the Dominican Republic: An Application of the Tourism Penetration Index”, 28th Annual Caribbean Studies Conference; Belize City
vii
Ibid ii
viii
In the Dominican Republic, most tourists come from the United Status. In contrast, Cuba has been subject, for more than three decades, to a US travel ban which has made it difficult for Americans to legally vacation in Cuba. However, the U.S. market in Cuba has been growing, despite the ban, and is estimated to have reached approximately 200,000 Americans per year who visited legally or illegally, the third most common nationality after Canadians and Germans. The Bush administration sought to counter these trends with increased restrictions on travel to Cuba in 2005. Sources: Ibid ii
ix
“Leakage” refers to the large scale transfer of tourism revenues out of the host country and away from local economies. In most all inclusive package tours, about 80% of tourists' expenditures go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies (often located in the tourist's home country), and not to local businesses or workers. Sources: Honey, M., and Stewart, E. (2002) “The Evolution of Green Standards for Tourism”, in M. Honey (ed.) Ecotourism and Certification; Setting Standards in Practice, Washington, D.C.: Island Press, and Schembri-Sant, I. (2004) Executive President, Starz Resorts, interview with Emma Stewart, Sosua, Dominican Republic, and UN & NOAA (2004) “Recreation and Tourism Negative impacts: Leakage” in UN Atlas of the Oceans, United Nations and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) x
Garrido, R.J. (2003) “Estudio de Caso: Cuba. Aplicación de instrumentos económicos en la política y la gestión ambiental”, Serie Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, División de Desarrollo Sostenible y Asentamientos Humanos, United Nations and CEPAL, Santiago de Chile
xi
Lindeman, K. C., Tripp, J. T. B., Whittle, D.J., Moulaert-Quiros, A. & E. Stewart (2003) “Sustainable Coastal Tourism in Cuba: Roles of Environmental Assessments, Certification Programs, and Protection Fees”, Tulane Environmental Law Journal, 16:591-618 xii
Ibid v
xiii High levels of corruption in relevant Dominican Republic government ministries, particularly under former President Hipolito Mejía, as well as the frequent changes in politically-appointed agency personnel, prevent continuity in policy implementation. Source: Beltrán, F. (2004) Environmental Engineer, Ingeniería Turística y Medioambiental CxA, interview with Emma Stewart, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic xiv
Gil, L. (2004) Executive Director, Asociación Hoteles La Romana Bayahibe, interview with Emma Stewart, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic xv
Dannenburg, H. (2004) Ex-President, Asociación de Hoteles y Restaurantes de Puerto Plata, interviews with Emma Stewart, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
xvi
Zarsky, L. (1999) “Havens, Halos and Spaghetti: Untangling the Evidence about Foreign Direct Investment and the Environment”, Conference on Foreign Direct Investment and the Environment; The Hague, Netherlands
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