To the University of Wyoming: The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Morgan Armstrong presented on 5/2/2017. David Messenger, Chairperson Andrew Garner, Outside Member Zoe Pearson APPROVED: David Messenger, Department Chair, Global and Area Studies. Paula Lutz, Dean College of Arts and Sciences. Armstrong, Morgan, L, Behind ‘Touristville’: The Impacts of Tourism on the Bahamian Community, MA, Global and Area Studies, May, 2017. Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries across the world. It can bring different people together from all around the globe and touch all areas of the planet. However, what about the places and people being toured? How do they feel about this expanding industry? The researcher traveled to the Bahamas in order to investigate the impact of tourism on the community and what perceptions the local Bahamians have of the tourism industry. Through field research to the Bahamas this researcher answered the question: what are the Bahamians perspectives on tourism and how does tourism impact their lives and community? 1 BEHIND ‘TOURISTVILLE’: THE IMPACT OF TOURISM ON THE BAHAMIAN COMMUNITY By Morgan Armstrong A thesis submitted to the Global and Area Studies Department and the University of Wyoming in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Laramie, Wyoming May, 2017 ProQuest Number:10279474 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10279474 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 COPYRIGHT PAGE 2017, Morgan Armstrong ii DEDICATION PAGE I dedicate this thesis to my family. Especially my mom and dad without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. They instilled in me the drive and compassion necessary to undertake in this research and with their support have guided me through my education. iii ACNOWLEDGEMENTS Here I would like to thank my thesis committee Zoe Pearson and Andrew Garner for all their help and support throughout this process. I would especially like to thank my advisor David Messenger for all his continued support and encouragement to push myself to finish this thesis and for staying with me the many changing ideas I had. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Copyrights ................................................................................................................................ ii Dedications ............................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... v List of Table/Figures ............................................................................................................. vii Chapter One: The Research Foundation .............................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Regional Context .................................................................................................................... 4 Literature Review.................................................................................................................... 8 I Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8 II Tourism and its Theories ................................................................................................. 9 III Tourism in the Caribbean ............................................................................................. 16 IV Tourism and the Community ....................................................................................... 20 V Local Perceptions of Tourism ....................................................................................... 23 VI Tourism and the Environment ..................................................................................... 27 VII Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 32 Research and Methodology................................................................................................... 33 Research and Significance ................................................................................................ 33 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 35 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 37 Chapter Two: The Local Perspective ................................................................................... 38 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 38 The People ............................................................................................................................ 38 The Perceptions ..................................................................................................................... 44 Perceptions about the Tourist ............................................................................................ 44 Perceptions about Tourism ................................................................................................ 47 v Reactions to Tourism ............................................................................................................ 52 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter Three: The Impact of Tourism and the Community .......................................... 55 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 55 Environmental Impacts ......................................................................................................... 56 Sociocultural Impacts ........................................................................................................... 66 Economic Impacts ................................................................................................................ 73 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 81 Final Conclusions and Analysis ........................................................................................... 82 References .............................................................................................................................. 94 vi LIST OF TABLE/FIGURES Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 87 Appendix A: Bahamas Map ................................................................................................ 87 Appendix B: Interview Guide ............................................................................................ 88 Appendix C: Picture of Paradise Island .............................................................................. 89 Appendix D: Picture of Freeport ........................................................................................ 90 Appendix E: Flags .............................................................................................................. 91 Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 92 Table A: Interviewees ......................................................................................................... 92 vii CHAPTER ONE: THE RESEARCH FOUNDATION INTRODUCTION Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries across the globe which has expansive effects that have been analyzed by many different disciplines. The thought-provoking aspect to tourism, is its invasive ability to permeate into the farthest reaches and corners of the earth and bring cultures together that otherwise might never meet. Although plenty of research focuses on the tourism industry itself, there is less research devoted to studying the effects of tourism on a population and even less on the local populations perceptions of tourism. In the Bahamas, studying the Bahamian local’s reactions to, perceptions about and how they’re affected by tourism is particularly important since tourism is their number one industry and source of revenue. Although I could discover comparable research in other countries in the Caribbean region and around the world, there seems to be a significant gap in the research on studying the perceptions of the locals on tourism