RESOURCES
RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
Author : | Bonnie Lewtas & René Schmidpeter |
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School/Work Place : | Cologne Business School, Germany |
Contact : | bonnie.lewtas@gmail.com |
Year : | 2016 |
On December 11th, 2015 climate change negotiations came to a close after the COP21 – 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Across media channels and climate protests the event was referred to as “the last chance summit”, which is all too realistic for Small Island Destinations (SIDs) (The Guardian, 2015). While targets may be ambitious, they are not enough for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which campaigned to reduce the limit to 1.5 degrees (CTA Brussels, 2015). The special case of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was highlighted in an attempt to sensitize the international community to their specific vulnerabilities of unsustainable development (UN-OHRLLS, 2015). Tourism is one of the largest, fastest growing and most diverse economic sectors (UNWTO, 2015, p.1). Just as it has over the past six decades, it is predicted that the industry will expand in markets around the world (UNWTO, 2015, p.1). For many SIDs the sector has dominated (UNWTO, 2014, p.1). Since 2000, arrivals to SIDS have increased by around 46%, which in 2013 accounted for 41 million international visitors. Thus, resulting in export revenue of US$ 53 billion in 2013 (UNWTO, 2014, p.1). Sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without full commitment from the tourism industry (UNDSD, 2015). Therefore, the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway called for the development and implementation of policies that promote sustainable tourism (UNDSD, 2015). However, using the current economic model upon which progress is based solely on financial growth, this is easier said than done.