Tourism- Jamaica

Location: Island in the Caribbean Sea.

- 1.9 million visitors in 2011.

Why people visit:

- Beautiful beaches; Montego Bay.

- Blue Mountains national park.

- Activities; Montego Bay water sports, golf courses, caving.

- History and culture; Bob Marley museum in Kingston town.

Positive Impacts: 

- Tourism brings in lots of money (20% of the GDP), this can be spent on improving services, such as healthcare and education.

- Employs lots of people (220,000), in areas such as construction, cleaning, catering etc.

- Taxes collected from hotels and businesses, which contribute to national projects.

- Money from toruism used to conserve National parks; Blue Mountains.

Negative Impacts: - Foreign companies (e.g. Thomas Cook) make most of the money.

- Local empolyees paid much less compared to managers.

- Most jobs are seasonal, leading to umemployment during low season.

- Cultural pollution; Jamacia suffers from sex and drug tourism.

- Tourism increases prices for locals, making facilities hard to afford.

- Water sports damage coral reefs, damaging fragile habitats.

- Coastal vegetation (e.g. Mangroves) removed to make developments, damaging wildlife.

- Sewage and non-biodegradable waste pollutes surrounding waters, killing wildlife.

- Long flights produce lots of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming.

- The Negril coast is seeking to become a protected area.

- Locals and toruists educated on the importance of coral reefs.

- Tourists encouraged to stay in less populated inland areas, such as the Blue Mountains.

- Ecolodges along the coastline, which have zero waste, solar energy and water recycling; Great Huts Resort near Boston beach.

- Ecotourism means money made goes directly to locals.