Scholarly Publication Explores Pandemics, Disasters, Sustainability and Tourism

Scholarly Publication Explores Pandemics, Disasters, Sustainability and Tourism

30th September 2022

Nassau, THE BAHAMAS — For more than a decade, academicians and researchers Dr. Ian Bethell Bennett, Dr. Sophia Rolle and Jessica Minnis have watched as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean region have grappled with numerous disasters and economic crises.

Now the trio has released a second compelling, edited, scholarly volume that examines the vulnerabilities faced by SIDS, and lays out a blueprint for resiliency and a more sustainable paradigm for these nations. The publication entitled, “Pandemics, Disasters, Sustainability, and Tourism: An Examination of Impact on and Resilience in Caribbean Small Island Developing States,” is critical to the discourse about implementing initiatives for environmentally sound policies for sustainable tourism and hospitality and national development.

“Our publication is a body of work that brings together academics from around the region to address some of the most vexing issues in Small Island Developing States’ (SIDS) socio-economic and political development, from spatial injustice to inequality and climate change and natural disasters,” explained Ms. Minnis, professor in the School of Social Sciences at University of The Bahamas (UB). “All of the chapters are viewed through the lenses of sustainability.”

The new publication demystifies the experiences of Caribbean SIDS that have been able to rebound from the perspectives of culture, economy, environment, politics, psychology, social justice, given their socio-historical context that facilitates public health crises. It is about economic, political, social, and ethnic equity and survival for future ‘indigenous’ generations in SID’S.  Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Dorian demonstrated how unequal space and development can be and how these, much like the COVID-19 pandemic, severely impacted women, especially older and rural women, working-class and non-mainstream populations, and children.

“The themes of natural disasters, pandemics, and sustainability are extremely pertinent to an archipelagic Bahamas as well as other intra-regional destinations throughout the Caribbean that are all ultimately impacted by globalization,” noted Dr. Bethell Bennett, associate professor in the School of English Studies at UB.

As tourism is the region’s number one employer and economic driver, despite the presence of oil in places like Cuba, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, we all continue to suffer from the vestiges of a colonial and an oppressive past that highlight inequalities and structural problems resulting from neo-colonial paradigms.

“These issues are very important for students, scholars and the general public who need to see the important interconnections between sustainability, tourism, natural disasters and most recently, the global pandemic and their impact on our very existence,” Dr. Bethell Bennett said.

The publication is the second produced by the trio in the last two years. In 2020, they published “Tourism, Development, Governance and Sustainability in The Bahamas” which examined the complexities of mass tourism development through a social, economic and environmental lens and the impacts of climate change and innovative alternative tourism offerings.

Dr. Rolle noted that both books highlight just how much more sustainability and resiliency need to be incorporated into the fabric of the existence of SIDS at all levels, and how SIDS stand to suffer if this is not done.

“In both of our textbooks, we recognize that we must be resilient and practice sustainability to combat the external shocks of pandemics and natural disasters,” explained Dr. Rolle. “So far, The Bahamas and other regional destinations have shown the ability to mitigate these shocks with prudent national policies, technological advancements, and good governance.

“The pandemic sparked a different way of seeing things as tourism and all forms of public travel came to a halt and so shocked the economy.  Many Caribbean and global islands emerged more determined to be sustainable,” said Dr. Rolle.

“The editors are proud of these two bodies of edited work,” said Professor Minnis. “We are passionate about the context of each book because we are living these challenges. We are also proud to know that we have contributed to these timely conversations about climate change, natural disasters, pandemics and other environmental and social issues and we hope that it inspires other researchers to dig even deeper into these areas and continue to contribute to the literature and dialogue about these topics.”

Both books are available on Amazon, Routledge Publication, Emerald Publications, and will shortly be available in local bookstores.

 

 

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