Small Island Developing States (SIDS): Tourism and Economic Development

Abstract

For several decades many small island developing states (SIDS) have come to rely on tourism as the primary agent of economic development. Although in many instances the industry has emerged as one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors, much of the anticipated developmental benefits that tourism was expected to deliver have failed to materialize. This has influenced several tourism researchers to question the presumed link between tourism and economic development. This article seeks to explore whether such a link exists and if so what is the extent of the industry's contribution among SIDS. To answer these questions the study will rely on evidence obtained from a simple cross-sectional regression model as well as on estimates of the tourism income multipliers that were generated for several of these island states.