Tourism In A Small Place And On The Beach By Cynthia Enloe

As the dead of winter sets in, those who experience the harshest effects of it begin to dream of exotic places. White sandy beaches and an endless blue ocean replace the piles of murky brownish white snow and gloomy skies. To make these dreams a reality, they dust off their summer clothes, board a plane, and watch the gloomy skies fade into the cheery blue that promises warmth and relaxation. As they embark on their adventure to exotic places, these tourists do not consider the consequence, positive and negative, tourism has on the countries they visit. Although many believe that tourism is a beneficial industry, Jamaica Kincaid in A Small Place, and Cynthia Enloe in “On the Beach” tell a different story, one that expresses that the tourism

An example of this comes from A Small Place. Kincaid explains that Antigua does not have proper sewage management systems like we do in the United States. Because of this, all of the sewage ends up in the ocean that surrounds the island (Kincaid 14). Because they have a large number of tourists on the island, a large amount of human waste pollutes the ocean water. If more poor countries dispose of waste identically to Antigua, the ocean’s pollution will increase and have harsh effects on ocean life. Another environmental factor that is pronounced because of tourism is the lack of rain in Antigua, which results in an almost constant drought. Although the tourist are not responsible for the little rain in Antigua, they do not significantly help the economy of the drought-ridden country. Because of the influx of people, the country has to import food from the United States (Kincaid 14). These are just some examples of the negative effects that tourism has on the

Every year thousands of college students from all over the country go to the exotic beaches, in the southern parts of the country. For one week, these students partake in binge drinking and partying. Because of the excessive drinking and partying, the rate of crime and danger increases on the beaches during this week. The influx of student creates a drastic difference in the tourist to native ratio. According to an article in Exponent, “college students visiting PCB [Panama City Beach] outnumber residents 42 to one.” (Bartholomew). Because of the major difference between the tourists and residents, the police force does not have enough officers to keep everyone safe and monitor the tourists. The students enjoy the lack of enforcement because they have more freedom this way. Although the police want to crack down on the students, they fear cracking down on them because of the amount of money the spring breakers bring to the city (Bartholomew). This demonstrates the power that tourists have over the residents and even the law enforcement of the areas they are visiting. Panama City Beach is a current example of the power Enloe describes in her essay “On the Beach” (Enloe 392). This power is an adverse effect of the tourism