Climate Change and the 2030 Corporate Agenda for Sustainable Development by Gonzalez-Perez Maria-Alejandra;Leonard Liam;

Author:Gonzalez-Perez, Maria-Alejandra;Leonard, Liam;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Published: 2016-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

MALDIVIAN ECONOMY AND THE ROLE OF TOURISM SECTOR

The Maldivian economy relies on fisheries, agriculture, and industry among others. Nonetheless, tourism is the main source of income for the islanders. The tourism industry accounts for 325 million USD – the third part of the Gross Domestic Product, 30% of the GNP (Arnall & Kothari, 2015), and approximately 74% of the foreign exchange receipts since 1994 (Nurse, 1996) and, as explained by the First National communication of the Republic of Maldives to the UNFCCC (Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing, & Environment, 2001), the sector has a direct influence in all sectors of the local economy, meaning its contributions are directly linked to the 18% associated to transport and communications and the 14% of construction, manufacturing, electricity, and water. Tourists comprise a steady rate of 85% of Western Europeans since 1994 (Carlsen & Hughes, 2008; Nurse, 1996) and Asian tourists (mainly from Japan and, increasingly, China) are the second most significant. Indeed, the International Ibrahim Nasir Airport in Malé experiences yearly arrivals of 1 million visitors, an amount that far surpasses the local population (Carlsen, 2006). Notably, only in 1970 was the first resort with a capacity of 280 beds built, and by 1985, the number of resorts had increased to 55, and by 2001 the tourism infrastructure had a capacity of 20,000 beds in 97 resorts (Scheyvens, 2011).

Although Maldivian natural resources and tourism infrastructure are noteworthy, this also responds to an international trend. During the past few years, there has been an increase in tourism participation in the international economy. Due to the improvements in terms of the possibility of expansion and diversification, this sector has become one of the largest and fastest growing around the world. In terms of sustainable development, tourism is considered a key sector, and a strategic export industry. The employment generation, the increase in consumption, and the investment attraction are economic and social indicators that governments seek when promoting tourism both at the national and international level. This has been the case for emerging markets, where the share increased from 30% to 47% between 1980 and 2012 (Pop, 2014). Consequently, tourism is the preeminent reason the Maldivian income has multiplied fivefold between 1990 and 2011 (International Monetary Fund – International Monetary Fund, 2015).

The literature available about tourism in the Maldives proves that foreigners opt to visit the islands due to their coral reefs, pristine beaches, clear waters for professional and scuba diving, and exclusive resorts (Moran, 2013). As reported by IPCC, Watson, Zinyowera, and Moss (1997), 40% of the arriving visitors favored the archipelago to practise diving by reason of its unique watery depths. Decisively, the demand for tourism in the archipelago is significantly dependent on natural resources – that can be affected by weather conditions and, more specifically, climate change. What is more, Emerton, Baig, and Saleem (2009) state that the Maldivian economy is the epitome of a “stock of natural assets;” this is why the author declares that the optimal condition of these natural goods (e.

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