Using Indigenous Sport and Games for Sustainable Community Tourism in Barbados

Abstract

Sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean is inhibited by several challenges, such as diseconomies of scale and scope and other structural and resource constraints. These challenges are further exacerbated by the heavy prominence of transnational conglomerates. As a result, many Caribbean islands do not appropriate the full value from tourism with the majority of the revenues and profits accruing to companies based outside the region. Many tourists who visit these islands do not venture into the local communities as they are encouraged to stay in the all-inclusive enclaves. Researchers have long recognised that indigenous sports tourism can be a tool that would allow marginalised communities to achieve greater control of their livelihoods. This chapter will focus on sports and games that are deeply rooted in Barbadian culture and history. Using a case study approach, the authors will show how they can be monetised and fused with other aspects of community culture to attract a different type of tourists who will venture into the local communities and spend their money there.