Based on the articles you have read for Week 5, please discuss the links/interrelationships between technology and sustainable tourism (elaborate on at le

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F. Yaw).

vier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 117–134

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Cleaner technologies for sustainable tourism: Caribbean case studies

Fitzgerald Yaw Jr. �

International Development Program, College of Business and Economic Development, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Received 27 June 2003; accepted 4 December 2003

Abstract

Tourists are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their selection of tourism destination. A major factor that has been gaining importance in their choice set is the environmental quality of their preferred destination. Tourism planners need to recognize that the sustainability of their destination and its various offerings necessitates the consideration of environmental protection and con- servation-related issues. This paper undertakes the case study methodology to explore the link between implementing cleaner technologies, a major environmental issue, and sustainable tourism.

The analysis of the case studies indicates that cleaner technologies are playing a role in enhancing the sustainability of the Caribbean tourism industry. It was also found that there is a Caribbean tourism cluster focused on developing an environmentally sound tourism product. # 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Caribbean; Case studies; Cleaner technology; Cluster theory; Diffusion of innovations; Environmentally friendly; Sustainable

development; Tourism

1. Introduction

Tourists are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their choice of tourism destination [42,53]. In this regard, a major factor in the choice set of tourists is the environmental quality of their preferred destination. As Bhat puts it ‘‘[c]ustomers are demanding environmen- tally benign products’’ [6]. Planners of tourism destina- tions also understand that the sustainability of their product necessitates consideration of issues of environ- mental protection and conservation. This paper uses case studies to explore the link between implementing cleaner technologies (which improves environmental quality), and sustainable tourism. It does this by seek- ing to answer the following question: To what extent have Caribbean hotels/resorts implemented the use of cleaner technologies?

The hypothesis that the use of cleaner technologies can contribute to the sustainability of the tourism sys- tem is tested using the lodgings/facilities sector in the Caribbean. The tourism system is a critical component

of the well being of many Caribbean nations, and thus needs to be sustained to ensure that it continues to sup- port the Caribbean economy for generations to come. Table 1 illustrates some of the impacts of tourism, and other important social data for selected Caribbean countries.

In this paper, an overview of the concepts of tour- ism, cleaner technology, cluster theory, and diffusion of innovations is presented. The linkage among these con- cepts is established. This sets the stage for discussion of the results of case studies conducted using the Caribbean islands of Antigua, Barbados, The Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St. Lucia. Concluding thoughts on the results and importance of this research are pre- sented.

1.1. Delimitations

Sustainable tourism is here defined as a process that allows ‘‘tourism growth while at the same time prevent- ing degradation of the environment, as this may have important consequences for future quality of life’’ [38: p. 127]. It is appropriate to state that even though this paper focuses on cleaner technology and the

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118 F. Yaw / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 117–134

F. Yaw / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 117–134 119

environmental sustainability of tourism, it is understood that there are other factors which impact on the sustain- ability of the tourism product, such as effective market- ing, air access at competitive prices, the security of tourists, and public acceptance (see e.g. [31]). These factors are not examined here. In addition, cruise tour- ism is excluded from the analysis in this paper.

Furthermore, this paper focuses on the facilities/ser- vices sector of the tourism industry. The tourism indus- try has other sectors, such as attractions, information/ promotion, and transportation [28]. These sectors are interrelated, and therefore, the sustainability of a desti- nation’s tourism industry depends on sustainable prac- tices in each sector.

2. Why study cleaner technologies and sustainable

tourism?

Sustainable tourism is an important issue given the limits imposed on the human economy by the ecologi- cal system. This paper attempts to show to what extent, if any, has man’s ingenuity, resulting in the development and diffusion of cleaner technologies, increased the viability and sustainability of the Caribbean model of the tourism industry (see Fig. 1).

In summary, this paper seeks to test this statement: ‘‘the use of cleaner technologies impacts positively on maintaining a sustainable tourism industry’’. This analysis of the use of clean technology in the tourism sector is much needed. Caribbean tourism needs to be sustained to ensure the economic survival of the region. Here, it is proposed to show that the use of cleaner technologies is contributing, or can contribute to the sustainability of this industry. This will encourage efforts to promote the use of these technologies.

3. Cleaner technology

Mankind’s capability to extract useful services from the ecosystem can be extended through using what are called ‘‘cleaner technologies’’. Cleaner technologies are technologies that allow production with little or no waste through total recycling of by-products. In other

words, these are technologies that contribute to the closure of the production-process life cycle, see [2,56]. Examples of cleaner technology related to the tourism sector include:

1. Tertiary treated sewage used for irrigation; 2. Metals, glass, and plastics recycled; 3. Compost from organic solid waste; 4. Use of renewable energy sources; 5. Smart building design to reduce energy demand for

lighting and cooling systems.

4. Implementing cleaner technology

The operationalization of sustainable development in the Caribbean requires changing the parameters within which economic activities are currently organized in the region. In other words, operationalizing sustainable development requires new technology as well as funda- mental social, political, and economic transformation. Brown et al. [10] have an interesting vision of how an economy that is developing would sustainably evolve:

In a sustainable economy, the fish catch does not exceed the sustainable yield of fisheries, the amount of water pumped from underground aqui- fers does not exceed aquifer recharge, soil erosion does not exceed the natural rate of new soil forma- tion, tree cutting does not exceed tree planting, carbon emissions do not exceed the capacity of nature to fix atmospheric CO2, and plant and ani- mal species are not destroyed faster than new ones evolve. [10: pp. 15–16]

Given the paragraph above, the sustainable economy is one that shifts from the one-time depletion of natu- ral resources to one that is based on renewable energy and that continually reuses and recycles materials. It is a solar-powered, bicycle/rail centered, reuse/recycle economy, one that uses energy, water, land, and mate- rials, much more efficiently and wisely than we gener- ally do today.

The thesis is that cleaner technologies contribute to the closure of the production-process life cycle. This is part of what is involved in the operationalizing of the concept of sustainable development. Following Rendan et al. [47] and Clayton et al. [15], the author sees the use of cleaner technology as a conceptual and pro- cedural approach to the development, purchase, and use of processes and products that prevents and redu- ces internal and external environmental problems throughout a product’s life cycle. The use of cleaner technology would lead to results such as:

Fig. 1. Linkage between cleaner technology and the tourism sector.

Source: author.

120 F. Yaw / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 117–134

. minimization of the volumes and hazards of gas- eous, liquid and solid wastes;

. minimization of the risk of accidents involving che- micals and processes;

. minimization of the consumption of raw materials, water, and energy; and

. use of substitute chemicals and processes less haz- ardous to human and ecological health [15: p. 14].

These results come about because the underlying tenet of the use of cleaner technology is improved over- all energy- and resource-use efficiency by minimizing or eliminating wastes at source or by using them as inputs into other processes [15: p. 12].

In addition, by reducing or eliminating waste streams, another powerful effect of utilizing cleaner technology is that it reduces costs. The adoption of cleaner technology can also lead firms to generate rev- enues from what were previously classified as waste streams, by diverting these ‘‘waste’’ streams to other firms/sectors, where the supplying sector’s ‘‘waste’’ is the receiving firm/sector’s input. This scenario, which reduces environmental impact of economic activities system wide, can be regarded as win–win, and has been concretely argued by Porter and van der Linde [44,45], Boyle [9], Reinhardt [46], and El-Kholy [20].

5. Diffusion of cleaner technology

Technology as a concept is usefully defined as a means of solving problems. Rogers [48] postulated that ‘‘[a] technology usually has two components: (1) a hardware aspect, consisting of the tool that embodies the technology as a material or physical object, and (2) a software aspect, consisting of the information base for the tool’’ [48: p. 12]. The use of solar panels for heating water and energy is a good example of tech- nology in the context of this discussion. Cleaner tech- nology in tourism involves ‘‘sustainable resource use, which includes increasing efficiency of resource use, minimization of waste and reduction of over consump- tion, the substitution of environmentally-benign inputs and equipment wherever possible, and the safe disposal of waste where the latter is unavoidable. . .’’ [23: p. 31].

The adoption of cleaner technology depends on the factors influencing the rate of diffusion. Diffusion in relation to cleaner technology involves ‘‘the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social sys- tem. It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerned with new ideas’’ [48: p. 5].

Government policies, which can affect the rate of dif- fusion of technology, reflect the power structure that in turn reflects who controls the information flow. Govern- ment policies also speak to the social construction of

technology and links to the point that the pursuit of sustainable development is not a process that will pro- gress only because of its logic, but also by the socio- political strength of the key decision-makers within any given society.

Pubic policy is important and directly impacts on the diffusion of technology because it is public policy that establishes the climate in which businesses operate, sig- nalling by executive orders, tax policies, research and development policies, industrial policies, education policies, policies on infrastructure, on accounting rules and incentive regimes what is seen by the government concerned as the desired direction. In this case, the desired direction with regard to the use of cleaner tech- nology. The foregoing implies that there is a dialectic tension within government decision making here, as on the one hand, the government desires to facilitate econ- omic development. On the other hand, the government has the role of guarding the environment from the possible excesses of the economic development process.

Hjalager [29] and Stoneman and Diederen [52] dis- cussed the necessity for detailed analysis of the role of government in the diffusion of cleaner technology. The latter authors aptly observed:

‘‘that diffusion policy merits as much emphasis as R&D policy (if not more), but that diffusion policy should not proceed upon a presumption that faster is always better nor that only an information pro- viding policy is required. The tapestry of the econ- omic and social environment within which technological change takes place is rich and varied and it is necessary that any policy adequately reflects the diversity and heterogeneity of markets, environments, and objectives’’. [52: p. 929]

Gold [22] looked more closely at the diffusion of technology from the perspective of business, viewing rates of diffusion of technology as being determined essentially by managerial decisions at the level of indi- vidual firms. The framework for these decisions is termed ‘‘the pre-decision environment’’ [22: p. 254]. Irwin and Hooper [33] also argued that the business environment was critical to the diffusion of technology, highlighting the importance of corporate culture and availability of capital as determinants of innovation.

This ‘‘pre-decision environment’’ for firms in the tourism sector, especially in relation to how the issues of sustainable development are ranked, would impact significantly on the diffusion of cleaner technology. Ele- ments of this ‘‘pre-decision environment’’ within which cleaner technology would be diffused ‘‘include: the spe- cific nature and the relative urgency of the major needs to be dealt with over the period covered by the firm’s capital planning horizon; the availability and relative

F. Yaw / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 117–134 121

advantages of non-technological as well as technologi- cal means of meeting such needs; and the extent of technical, managerial and financial resources available for allocation to such efforts’’ [22: p. 255].

Managerial evaluation also includes some other important elements that speak directly to a firm’s pos- ition in its industry, the nature of its clients and so forth. For example, Gold [22] observed that technical decisions would also involve ‘‘the firm’s market pro- spects, its effective capacity and the modernity of its facilities, which would jointly determine whether the adoption decision involved expanding capacity or rep- lacing already depreciated equipment, or displacing more recent and only partly depreciated capital goods’’ [22: p. 255].

5.1. Industrial clusters

Another factor that might have an influence on the decision-making within firms in the Caribbean tourism sector with regard to the adoption or non-adoption of cleaner technology is the factor of industrial clusters. These clusters consist of a geographically close group of companies that ‘‘have a strong emphasis on research, learning and development and high levels of inter-company information exchange’’ [14: p. 16]. This area of analysis was first used in Europe, but has been applied to scenarios in developing countries with useful results. Schmitz reported that with regard to small and medium sized firms from developing countries breaking into international markets ‘‘[e]xplanations of the success stories have emphasized in particular the importance of co-operation amongst the clustering enterprises’’ [50].

Looking at the possible impact of cluster analysis on the decision-making of firms in the Caribbean tourism sector is appropriate, because clustering is seen by those who champion this approach as a means for firms to increase their individual competitiveness through cooperation with each other. This cooperation can lead to benefits, such as optimization of infrastruc- ture investment, scale economies for training programs, and a stronger platform for lobbying for incentives [37].

Currently, in the Caribbean tourism industry, there is embedded cooperation among the operators, ranging from joint marketing, to membership of trade groups that provide technical support services to members. This working together may well influence the decision- making in hotels/resorts with regard to the use of clea- ner technology. It has been suggested that a sustainable Caribbean tourism product depends on a combined (or clustered) regional force to create a competitive edge in the tourism market [32].

Competitors working together in clusters might seem counter-intuitive to the competition that spurs the

capitalist economy. However, the literature on the theory of industrial clusters implies that competitors do not have to cooperate with each other all the time. It is only necessary for them to cooperate with each other so as to respond successfully to significant opportu- nities and crises [43,50]. In fact, in successful clusters, ‘‘there is usually both competition and cooperation’’ [14: p. 20]. With regard to sustainable tourism develop- ment that implies a process of balance with nature: ‘‘Close cooperation between tourism enterprises at the destination level is regarded as essential for harmonic development’’ [11: p. 17].

Adoption of cleaner technology also depends on financial and technical resources. Of special relevance to the highly competitive tourism sector is firm level ‘‘assessment of the potential advantages and disadvant- ages of adoption at this time as over against delaying such action—considering the possibilities of further improvements in the innovation and the costs of lag- ging behind pioneering competitors, as well as expected changes in the availability to the firm of needed resour- ces’’ [22: pp. 255–256]. These factors influencing firm level decisions about the use of cleaner technology are ‘‘consistent with the three categories of stimuli behind corporate environmental responsiveness distilled from the World Resources Institute’s major study. Their categories are: public pressure, economic concerns, and corporate values’’ [18: p. 95].

6. Technological innovation in the Caribbean

tourism sector

The economic factor of profitability shapes the tech- nological innovations that are diffused to consumers, in this case, managers of tourism enterprises. In the Caribbean, these managers do innovate. As observed by Poon ‘‘[t]he record of innovation in the Caribbean hotel sector is excellent. However this record is by no means consistent or inclusive’’ [41: p. 139]. One example of innovation by Caribbean tourism enterprise mangers is the all-inclusive concept. The development of this concept illustrates that Caribbean tourism man- agers can control their own destiny, if they are willing to be innovative.

Innovation activity by managers of tourism enter- prises is captured within the framework of endogenous technological change. This factor in the diffusion of technology was explored by Romer [49]. He developed a model for technological change that saw new technol- ogies being deployed because profit-maximizing firms saw the possibilities of higher revenues through obtain- ing quasi-rents, or prices above marginal cost for pro- ducts using new technologies.

In the framework advanced by Romer, the goods produced incorporating the new technologies only had

122 F. Yaw / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 117–134

to be non-rival and partially excludable in consump- tion for the quasi-rents to be earned which justified their diffusion in the market. This follows because of how non-rival and excludable goods are defined. A non-rival good ‘‘has the property that its use by one firm or person in no way limits its use by another. Excludability is a function of both the technology and the legal system. A good is excludable if the owner can prevent others from using it’’ [49: p. S74]. This model therefore allows for intentional private investment in research and development in Caribbean tourism. Porter and van der Linde [44,45] also discussed the ability to earn rents for green products.

As referred to earlier, consumer demand for envir- onmentally sound vacation experiences is one of the drivers of the use of cleaner technology in the Car- ibbean tourism sector. Hjalager [30] also sees the dynamic innovation that use of cleaner technology represents as being a response to environmental dis- equilibrium and policy regulations. However, in look- ing at technological innovation in the tourism industry, one of the challenges is ‘‘that regular innovations may be almost invisible, yet they have a dramatic cumulat- ive effect on product costs and performance’’ [29: p

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