Ecotourism, in Dominica: Studying the Potential for Economic Development, Environmental Protection and Cultural Conservation

Abstract

Over the last 20 years, the government of the small Caribbean island nation of Dominica has pursued the development of ecotourism on the island. The hope is that this industry will promote dispersed economic development while providing environmental protection and cultural conservation. However, not enough has been done to determine whether or not the industry is achieving the desired results. To this end, this study explores the growth of the tourism industry on Dominica and shows that, while not perfect, ecotourism is providing some definite benefits to the island in this regard.

Keywords

• Caribs
• cultural conservation
• Dominica
• economic development
• ecotourism
• environmental protection
• islands