ognizant Communication Corporation

The following excerpts are from a book review by Chris Cooper, Bournemouth University, appearing in Economic Geography:

Tourism Policy and Planning: Case Studies from the Commonwealth Caribbean. By Paul F. Wilkinson. New York: Cognizant Communication Corporation, 1997.

    Paul Wilkinson's book reviewing tourism policy in the Commonwealth Caribbean was the result of a research grant, which allowed the author to undertake the field research necessary for such a project.

    The author states his aim clearly on page 6: "To encourage island states to examine their tourism sector in a clearer perspective, to understand how past tourism policy and planning have resulted in current patterns of tourism development, to assess how policy and planning can be used in future to secure a more sustainable form of development and to recognize the potential for sharing experiences with other similar states." The resultant volume provides an interesting commentary on the state of the art of policy analysis in the tourism field.

    The strengths of the book mirror the state of the art in tourism research, particularly in two areas. First, the volume provides detailed information and reviews of the tourism background and policy in each of the islands. The regional chapters have a consistent structure and together provide a valuable resource for researchers interested in Caribbean tourism. Second, the volume uses a consistent approach, based on the tourism area life cycle (TALC), to act as a framework for comparing and explaining the findings, and also for the selection of the case studies. This framework works particularly well in the final chapter, which is both thorough and well structured, providing an excellent summary of the book and drawing out useful generalizations.

    Tourism Policy and Planning reflects the approach of tourism research in the mid to late 1990s, focusing upon idiographic case study material, attempting to draw generalizations, but often failing to take into account contributions from other subjects and disciplines.

    Nonetheless, the book is well produced, with adequate maps, a good Caribbean bibliography, and a range of tables. It will be a useful volume for researchers in the Caribbean tourism field, providing excellent country-by-country reviews.

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Introduction

• The Importance of Tourism
• Tourism in the Caribbean
• Goals and Objectives
• Outline
• On Studying Islands

• Introduction
• Tourism and Tourist
• Current Research on Tourism
• Research on Tourism Policy and Planning
• The Nature of Tourism Policy
• The Nature of Tourism Planning
• The Nature of Development
• Government Involvement in Tourism
• Summary

• Introduction
• Evaluations of Caribbean Tourism Policy and Planning
• The Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution and the Choice of Case Studies

• Introduction
• The Economy
• The Tourism Sector
• Tourism Policy and Planning
• Conclusion

• Introduction
• The Economy
• The Tourism Sector
• Tourism Policy and Planning
• Conclusion

• Introduction
• The Economy
• The Tourism Sector
• Tourism Policy and Planning
• Conclusion

• Introduction
• The Economy
• The Tourist Sector
• Tourism Policy and Planning
• Conclusion

• Introduction
• The Economy
• The Tourist Sector
• Tourism Policy and Planning
• Conclusion

• Tinsley's Contention
• Government Involvement in the Tourism Sector
• Alternative Models of Tourism Development
• From Unique Case Studies to Generalizations
• Normative Proposals
• A Time for Reflection

Bibliography

1.1. The Caribbean
4.1. Dominica
5.1. St. Lucia
6.1. The Cayman Islands
7.1. Barbados
8.1. The Bahamas

3.1. Caribbean small-island tourism stages and styles
9.1. Significant recent tourism policy and planning developments
9.2. Summary

4.1. Dominica: Tourism statistics
5.1. St. Lucia: Tourism statistics
6.1. Cayman Islands: Tourism statistics
7.1. Barbados: Tourism statistics
8.1. The Bahamas: Tourism statistics