London; New York: Routledge, 2017. xxiv, 298 pp. (Tables, maps, B&W photos, illustrations.) US$59.95, paper. ISBN 978-1-138-77535-0.
The book, Tourism in Pacific Islands: Current Issues and Future Challenges, is one of the volumes in the series Contemporary Geographies of Leisure, Tourism, and Mobility. Editors Pratt and Harrison compiled research from a variety of scholars with emphasis on: (1) drivers of desire for tourism as an economic development strategy and (2) implications of generalizations of Pacific Island territories and countries (PICTs) in the context of tourism. The book is organized into four parts: background, images of the South Pacific, socio-economic impacts of tourism, and Pacific Island countries and the world outside.
In part 1, “Background,” Harrison and Pratt (chapter 1) and D’Hauteserre (chapter 2) clearly introduce topics of tourism in the Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) and the French Pacific. Harrison and Pratt cover the origins of tourism in the region and the growing use of tourism as “a passport to development” (17) while D’Hauteserre provides a background of tourism in the French Pacific. These authors delve into nation building, personal development, and national development as discourses for those working in the development context. Developing governments seek to build their economy while Indigenous peoples seek to decolonize, develop, and diversify their identities as well as foster understanding from the outside about local cultures. Harrison and Pratt and D’Hauteserre highlight aspects of tourism which can be island specific, such as tourist arrivals, economic impact, and sustainability. In some cases, arrivals fluctuate greatly for independent nations, whereas islands governed by colonial powers demonstrate stagnancy. In part, tourist arrivals can be connected to visitors’ imaging and imagining a place and its hosts; motivations for travel to the destination may be based upon images portraying an idyllic paradise steeped in colonialism.
Part 2, “Images of the South Pacific,” offers contrasting examples of colonial imaging, stereotypes, and self-perception. Harrison (chapter 3) addresses Pacific Island and islander stereotypes reflected in colonial imaging that continues to circulate about contemporary Fiji and throughout the South Pacific, and is intended for a European clientele. The term “Pacific Islands” tends to conjure ideas about the four S’s—sand, sea, sun, and sex—three of which the authors point out are regularly used to market Pacific Island destinations and tend to attract visitors seeking holiday vacations. Kanemasu (chapter 4) cites examples of locals not conforming to stereotypes; resentment stems from disconnections between how Indigenous people view themselves compared to how others portray them. Other resentment builds from perceived and realized differences in benefit from tourism such as low wages, poor representation of local people, and inequalities in pay related to land ownership. These issues have often led to decreased cooperation and economic benefits for the islanders and foreign investors. Cheer, Reeves, and Laing (chapter 5) discuss alternative examples to stereotypes, citing Vanuatu’s dark tourism as an example of “corrective” imaging of the island as a paradise location.
Part 3, “Socio-economic impacts of tourism,” brings together five chapters that delve deeper into the impacts of tourism on indigenous communities. Movono et al. (chapter 6) directs attention to tourism as a development strategy and its production of disparity as it applies to tourism benefits to locals and foreign investors. Gibson (chapter 7) highlights community-based tourism (CBT) initiatives, such as those involving local people acting more on their own terms, which has brought about more positive impacts. Scheyvens and Hughes (chapter 8) bring together approaches to tourism, highlighting the presence of more appropriate ideological differences in economic development approaches as well as benefits to larger and smaller-scale tourism. These authors address the roles larger companies may play, such as providing stability in pay, training, commoditization of culture and tradition, and at times social responsibility. Chand et al. (chapter 9) offer a case study on Fijian handicrafts based on a variety in the quality of pearls harvested in Fiji, which led to policies promoting Fijian-made products and identifying the need for more efficient production to meet tourist demands. Singh et al. (chapter 10) highlight the importance of communication between tourism and agriculture to better connect visitors with local communities, identify demands for efficient production, and provide adequate information to visitors.
Part 4, “Pacific island countries and the world outside,” discusses the local social, economic, and educational benefits of tourism. These five chapters are invaluable for their contribution of local perspectives on the benefits of tourism and sustainable tourism. Taumoepeau (chapter 11) highlights how a development strategy such as tourism is often employed in remote places to yield such benefits. For some PICTs where financial resources are too scarce to travel outside, tourism is viewed as an educational experience with visitors. In the case of Fiji (chapter 12), Kaufmann and Nakagawa discovered that tourism, for Fijians, was an opportunity to develop their identity for the outside and at home. Koth (chapter 13) broaches the topic of sustainable and local tourism through consideration of the lifestyle of boat travellers. Koth points to how the increased interest in this kind of travel can be linked to advances in and affordability of sailing technology. It also offers many of the same benefits as flying in to visit in terms of exposure and experience, as well as contributes to the local economy. Travel to PICTs raises concerns about sustainable tourism development as planes burn jet fuel to bring in droves of visitors, visitors’ tastes trend toward needs for imports, and both residents and visitors are vulnerable, albeit not in the same way, to the stronger storms on the rise. Jiang et al. (chapter 14) delve into the vulnerabilities of community-based tourism in Samoa. Tourism contributes to the climate changes experienced daily, but community-based tourism offers insight into the daily lives of local people and fosters understanding, for example, of traditional knowledge associated with islander resilience and adaptation. The desire for more tourism may bring increased revenues and additional interactions for education or identity development, but with those increases come more pollution, contributions to greenhouse gases, and potential to encounter stronger storms (Klint et al., chapter 15). As PICTs mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change, so too does climate change affect visitors as they realize their impacts.
The authors of this book collectively address local and visitor experiences, offering a picture of host-guest relationships. Research and statistics in and for developing countries offer unique challenges. The valuable contributions of each author offer practitioners a reliable source that can contribute to their understanding of tourism.
Ashley Meredith
Federated States of Micronesia Office of National Archives, Culture, and Historic Preservation, Kosrae