Small Island Destinations and International Tourism: Market Concentration and Distance Vulnerabilities

Abstract

Many countries and regions could be susceptible to several types of vulnerabilities. This study investigates the vulnerability of small island destinations with a view to international tourism. Specifically, the study assesses the vulnerability of these regions for international tourist markets and the travel distance of these visitors, considering the importance of tourism for the economies of these destinations. Our results show that tourism in many small islands is often determined by one or a few markets, and that the travel distance may be considerable. Also, despite that small island destinations show similar vulnerability symptoms with respect to tourists’ market of origin, the degree of vulnerability varies among such island destinations. The results may be useful to managers and policy makers in delineating strategies to reduce the tourism market vulnerability and to build resilience to cope with crises, conflicts, epidemics, and other types of factors that could actually cause these vulnerabilities to materialize.