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This chapter approaches overtourism as a means to analyse the impacts and limits of late capitalistic tourism development in and around the wilderness protected areas of the Galápagos Islands. Qualitative content analysis points towards three emergent themes: (i) rapid diversification of the land-based tourism economy of the Galápagos; (ii) political ambivalence towards the governance of tourism growth and conservation rationale; and (iii) radical shifts in online representation patterns of the Galápagos as a tourist destination occurring through branding and advertisements. Finally, a discussion is opened over the foreseeable outcomes of tourism saturation narratives implanted far beyond metropolitan localities and European urban tourism hotspots.

This manual was compiled to provide a comprehensive reference document on traditional and non-traditional careers in tourism and where education/training can be obtained within the Caribbean region.

This report presents tools and structures that can help to reduce poverty and inequities, provide high quality local livelihoods, facilitate civic engagement, protect and enhance the environment and natural capital, and strengthen responsible tourism as an important and dynamic economic sector.

Los vendedores ambulantes constituyen uno de los rasgos más característicos y posiblemente son los prestadores de servicios turísticos más numerosos en ciertas playas del Ecuador, sin embargo éstos han sido ignorados en las políticas y planes de manejo costero. A través del análisis cualitativo de entrevistas semi-estructuradas a ocho vendedores ambulantes, se identifica las condiciones sociales estructurales que afectan la práctica diaria del trabajo ambulante en cuatro playas turísticas de la costa Ecuatoriana. El análisis revela cómo la relación entre los vendedores y las entidades de gobierno facilitan procesos de asociación, auto organización y acción con los cuales los vendedores hacen frente a la incertidumbre e inestabilidad ocasionada por la falta de propuestas claras para el manejo de zonas de playa. El estudio además identifica tres aspectos clave que distinguen al ambulantaje en playas turísticas, del ambulantaje en otros espacios: la estacionalidad del trabajo, el conflicto que el turismo ha traído por la privatización del recurso playa, y las distinciones borrosas entre visitantes y residentes cuando los turistas se convierten en vendedores ambulantes para financiarse. Esta investigación aporta a la comprensión del ambulantaje en un contexto del manejo de playas turísticas y proporciona directrices para la política pública.

The understanding of the different conditions that shape the recreational use of sandy beaches is key for their management. This article explores visitors' and residents' recreational use of four sandy beaches in Ecuador in relation to the physical and socioeconomic context in which this use takes place, including beach morphodynamics, level of urban development, as well as the type and quality of tourism services available. Results show that visitors and residents use the beach for the same recreational activities (i.e., walking and swimming) on beaches with different morphologies and socioeconomic conditions. However, respondents also indicated that physical characteristics (e.g., beach size and swell) are important aspects for choosing a beach. Visitors to rural beaches are more likely to consume informal catering services located within the beach area than formal ones located outside. This particular emerging theme should be taken into consideration for further research on management initiatives in the context of developing countries.

This report offers best practices and case studies for concessions in protected areas in Latin America.

This IUCN guide helps owners and managers of small and large hotels in the Caribbean to conserve nature through day-to-day hotel operations. This guide is meant to complement the many tools that are already available to help reduce environmental impacts in hotels, by using appropriate siting, design and construction practices, and by improving management of energy and water consumption, and disposal of wastewater and solid wastes.

The Nature Conservancy’s Blue Bonds for Conservation model helps governments unlock funding for conservation—and could benefit millions of people in coastal regions. Demonstrated by successful projects in Barbados, Belize and the Seychelles. The Blue Bonds strategy combines conservation finance with TNC’s science and marine planning expertise to help governments unlock funds at a scale that delivers against their conservation goals while also supporting the well-being of their communities and economies. The strategy is aligned with global goals to protect 30% of the world’s ocean, lands and freshwater by 2030.

Following the global shutdown of tourism at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, small island developing states such as The Bahamas had their economies immobilized due to their heavy dependence on the industry. Beyond economic recovery in a post COVID-19 paradigm, the blue economy, blue growth, and associated activities offer pathways for a more resilient economy and is well-suited for The Bahamas. This paper suggests conduits for economic development using a traditional strength, coastal and marine tourism, in conjunction with the emerging fields of ocean renewable energy, offshore aquaculture, marine biotechnology, and bioprospecting. The interlinkages between each activity are discussed. Knowledge gaps in offshore aquaculture, ocean renewable energy, marine biotechnology, and marine environment monitoring are identified. In each sector case, strategic and tactical decision-making can be achieved through the exploitation of ocean numerical modeling and observations, and consequently should be invested in and developed alongside the requisite computational resources. Blue growth is encouraged, but instances of blue injustice are also highlighted. Crucially, pursuing blue economy activities should be given top national priority for economic recovery and prosperity.

This report intends to understand and define better the environmental and social footprint of coastal and maritime tourism in major global marine regions such as the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the North East Atlantic, the South Pacific Ocean, and the Western Indian Ocean. It aims to identify and disseminate field learnings and innovative practices to propose management, policy and governance recommendations for decision-makers, tourism industry and other relevant stakeholders, with the final goal to accelerate the transition of blue tourism towards environmental and social sustainability.