Characterizing the sustainable tourism development of small islands in the Visayas, Philippines

Small islands are important contributors to global and local tourism markets. Compared to the mainlands, resource-poor small islands experience diseconomies of scale because of their limited space and connectivity. Planning for their tourism development remains challenging because of land conflicts, especially from traditional land ownerships and business sectors. This paper draws from the need for understanding differing stakeholders, by examining tourism development of four small islands in the Philippines using the five key sustainability elements: tourism policy and governance; economic performance, investment and competitiveness; decent work; poverty reduction and social inclusion; and natural and cultural environment. All experienced political, environmental, and socio-economic issues, including closure threats due to violations of environmental standards, overcrowding, and transportation-related problems. Data were collected from eight focus groups, 36 experts, 385 tourists, and 672 residents. Our findings show that small islands find themselves at a difficult situation across sustainability goals: 1) ineffective implementation of policies and regulations; 2) residents felt that they are blindsided in the decision-making process, especially those who are poor and vulnerable; 4) tourism workers faced problems relating to workload, just compensation, and work-life balance; 5) tourists felt that there should be improvements in the areas of safety and security, tourism attractions, environmental integrity, accommodation and food, and cultural aspects; and 6) there are evidence of negative impacts to environment and host communities. Taken together, The research findings provide key inputs to planning land uses and related strategies for sustainable tourism development of these small islands.