Roatan Honduras and Perceptions of Divers' Location Choices in The
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-2013 Roatan Honduras and Perceptions of Divers’ Location Choices in the Caribbean Juli Dawn Tripicchio Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Tripicchio, Juli Dawn, "Roatan Honduras and Perceptions of Divers’ Location Choices in the Caribbean" (2013). Master's Theses. 449. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/449 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ROATAN HONDURAS AND PERCEPTIONS OF DIVERS’ LOCATION CHOICES IN THE CARIBBEAN by Juli Dawn Tripicchio A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Geography Western Michigan University December 2013 Thesis Committee David Lemberg, Ph.D. Chair Lucius Hallett IV, Ph.D. James Lewis, Ph.D. ii ROATAN HONDURAS AND PERCEPTIONS OF DIVERS’ LOCATION CHOICES IN THE CARIBBEAN Juli Dawn Tripicchio, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2013 The purpose of this study is to determine the hierarchy of location choices that divers make for destinations in the Caribbean; to identify where Roatan, Honduras fits into this hierarchy; and to determine strategies to increase the volume of dive tourists to Roatan. This research may provide resorts on Roatan, along with other Caribbean dive destinations, with data to incorporate into their own planning and marketing processes so they can better accommodate dive customers and their families. In order to get a better understanding of dive customers, a survey was given to customers of a survey was conducted at a successful resort in Roatan, Honduras, Anthony’s Key Resort with an aim to collect data on diver’s experiences in the Caribbean and specifically Roatan. On-site field observations as well as interviews also constituted part of the research for this project. The analysis of 97 Surveys, along with the interviews, identified a series of attributes that were used to develop a Diver Destination Decision Model that lays out the order in which decisions are made by scuba divers. The findings in this research point towards the importance of the condition of coral reefs and the value of word of mouth concerning reef condition as a source of information for many divers. Copyright by Juli Dawn Tripicchio 2013 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to begin by thanking my family and especially my husband for his continuous support throughout this process. The role he took on was huge as we had two babies during the duration of the writing of this thesis, and without his patience, help and support, I would’ve never been able to finish it. Secondly, I would like to acknowledge the influence of Dr. David Lemberg of Western Michigan University. His enthusiasm for and support of academic work in Scuba Diving research as well as personal interest in this sport inspired me to pursue this subject, and ultimately led to the work contained in this thesis. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Lucious Hallet and Dr. James Lewis for their time and commitment to helping this thesis come to fruition. Dr. Greg Veeck and Dr. Li Yang were also influential professors who provided assistance and guidance throughout my Master’s degree program. I would also like to thank Samir Galindo, owner of Anthony’s Key Resort in Roatan, Honduras who was influential in my research for allowing me to interview guests and employees and collect data at his resort and for the hospitality he provided during my stay on Roatan. Finally I would like to thank my parents Richard and Pamela Swenor for teaching me to be strong, independent, to explore the world around me, and to follow my heart. Juli Dawn Tripicchio ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 Scuba Diving ............................................................................................................................. 1 Spread of Tourists .................................................................................................................... 3 Caribbean Scuba Diving Motivations ....................................................................................... 6 Anthony’s Key Dive Resort ....................................................................................................... 7 Aim of Study ............................................................................................................................. 9 2. TOURISM DESTINATION MODELS .......................................................................................... 12 Previous Research Models ..................................................................................................... 13 The Role of Personal Preferences .......................................................................................... 18 Social Exchange Theory .......................................................................................................... 21 Tourism Destination Competiveness ..................................................................................... 22 Place Attachment ................................................................................................................... 25 Sequential Choice .................................................................................................................. 26 Location ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Diving in the Caribbean .......................................................................................................... 27 Physical Characteristics of Roatan ......................................................................................... 30 Climate ................................................................................................................................... 37 Flora and Fauna ...................................................................................................................... 39 Background Information: Roatan, Honduras ......................................................................... 41 Roatan’s Cultural History ....................................................................................................... 44 3. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................................. 48 Tourism in Central America and the Caribbean ..................................................................... 48 Tourism in Roatan .................................................................................................................. 48 Scuba Diving ........................................................................................................................... 51 iii Table of Contents - Continued Dive Tourism .......................................................................................................................... 55 Dive Tourism in the Caribbean ............................................................................................... 57 Dive Tourism in Roatan .......................................................................................................... 58 Importance of Reef Systems ...................................................................................................... 60 Key services of Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems ................................................................ 60 Caribbean Marine Protected Areas ....................................................................................... 67 The Role of Participation in Managing Protected Areas ........................................................ 74 Roatan Marine Park Challenges ............................................................................................. 77 Roatan Marine Park Successes .............................................................................................. 80 4. RESEARCH PROCEDURES ........................................................................................................ 85 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 85 Resort Survey Design ............................................................................................................. 86 Subject Recruitment .............................................................................................................. 89 Instrumentation ....................................................................................................................