Mass tourism (land based)

In 1990, 135 million tourists stayed in the Mediterranean coastal regions, including 75 million from abroad - mostly from European countries - representing around 16 per cent of all international tourism. Tourism in these regions, especially in countries such as Tunisia and Turkey have seen very rapid growth thanks to tourism revenue generation. Tourism has also allowed for the creation of new jobs, halting emigration. However, tourism has also led to changes in local communities, introducing them to new consumption models and lifestyles often undermining local traditions and social frameworks.

At present tourism is one of the main drivers of environmental degradation in the Mediterranean. Land based mass tourism as witnessed in the Mediterranean region has had dramatic environmental consequences. Development of hotels, and related facilities has induced changes in geomorphology and hydrology, increased strain on water resources and food supply, led to the destruction of fragile habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves, increased pressure on a variety of species, and introduced serious pollution problems through the production of sewage and solid waste.

The Caribbean islands are facing many development dilemmas often due to political upheavals, poor infrastructure and poverty (e.g. Cuba and Haiti). In islands where economic development options may be further hindered by size and location, tourism can be a significant source of earnings, foreign exchange, investment, and employment. And indeed: development for most island economies in the Caribbean continues to be synonymous with tourism - the promise of greater levels of growth than what can be extracted from primary commodities. Visitor expenditures average 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) among the top 10 destinations.

Yet, as a low-skilled service sector industry the longterm growth implications of building an economy on the base of tourism can be precarious. High-volume mass tourism dominates the tourist industry in the Caribbean. Although over 40% of tourists in the Caribbean's top nine destinations are now embarking on cruise ship tourism, a number of islands have invested into 'keeping tourists on the islands'. The solution has been to build large-scale infrastructure and resorts with intensely developed shorelines such as in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Michael Manley, the late Jamaican prime minister, describes it best in his foreword to Patty Pattullo's Last Resorts: "The Caribbean needs tourism...Yet if its underlying dynamics are not understood, it can be an engine of short-term cash enhancement and long-term disaster. The danger lies in an industry increasingly based on the all inclusive resort, walled off from the surrounding countryside and importing its food and furniture, its designs and designers, its fabrics and fashions from the U.S. mainland...".