Employment
The tourism industry is a major employer throughout the region, directly supporting nearly 700,000 jobs and another 2.2 million indirectly in 2011. However, many of these jobs are seasonal and very low-paid, while the money generated by internationally funded projects fails to reach locals. In fact, only 15 percent of the Chinese-funded Baha Mar construction project in the Bahamas found its way to local laborers. On many islands, a racial divide appears to exist, on the one hand, between the owners of tourist facilities, and, on the other hand, the workers at the tourist establishments, according to former Caribbean ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders.
Local Development
Tourism could have a tremendous beneficial impact on local economies, but many hotels source their food and cleaning products from abroad rather than purchasing them from local producers. An Oxfam study found that hotels in St. Lucia imported more than 70 percent of their produce every year. Local farmers cannot compete internationally and have suffered from a decline in the banana trade, but Oxfam and other organizations are encouraging hotels to source food from local farmers, and by doing so keeping the tourist income within the community and supporting farmer’s efforts to diversify their crops. For some hotels and restaurants, shopping locally adds a more authentic flavor to the products that they offer tourism and is a selling point in itself. For example, the Ocean Terrace Inn in St. Kitts prides itself on serving food made using locally sourced ingredients.
