The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism - Scholarly Commons ...
The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism - Scholarly Commons ...
The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism - Scholarly Commons ...
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local culture, built heritage, and the natural environment” which presents as a powerful<br />
motivation to protect and preserve those positive features (p. 262).<br />
At the same time, tourism is blamed for foster<strong>in</strong>g unbalanced dependency and the<br />
spread <strong>of</strong> unequal socio-economic development (Milne, 1997). While tourism provides<br />
much needed employment and revenue for SIDS, its overall contribution to a country’s<br />
national <strong>in</strong>come and any tourism multiplier effects are significantly dim<strong>in</strong>ished due to<br />
the high leakage <strong>of</strong> tourism benefits (Ashe, 2005). A considerable dra<strong>in</strong> on tourism<br />
earn<strong>in</strong>gs from SIDS comes from the high rate <strong>of</strong> imports <strong>in</strong> comparison to domestic<br />
production. One <strong>of</strong> the largest areas <strong>of</strong> foreign currency leakage is food imports. With<br />
low levels <strong>of</strong> local production <strong>in</strong> SIDS, most <strong>of</strong> the food requirements for the tourism<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry are met from imports (Ashe, 2005). Moreover, the higher-end the tourists are,<br />
the more will be the cost <strong>of</strong> food imports (Torres, 2003). Hull (1998) with reference to<br />
Milne and Wenzel (1991) also stated that the impacts <strong>of</strong> tourism on a dest<strong>in</strong>ation are<br />
dependent on the types <strong>of</strong> tourists that the dest<strong>in</strong>ation attracts.<br />
Belisle (1983) identified several reasons for the tourism <strong>in</strong>dustry’s reliance on imported<br />
food products. Among them are that imported foods are <strong>of</strong>ten cheaper than locally<br />
produced goods, imports <strong>of</strong>ten provide a higher level <strong>of</strong> guaranteed quality and supply,<br />
and tourists prefer familiar food. In addition, lack <strong>of</strong> communication between local<br />
producers and the tourism <strong>in</strong>dustry means that suppliers are <strong>of</strong>ten ignorant <strong>of</strong> the<br />
requirements <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry, while operators are unaware <strong>of</strong> what is available locally<br />
(Telfer & Wall, 1996).<br />
MNCs play a dom<strong>in</strong>ant role <strong>in</strong> the tourism <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>of</strong> many SIDS. Waters (2001)<br />
portrayed the prom<strong>in</strong>ence <strong>of</strong> MNC’s role <strong>in</strong> SIDS by stat<strong>in</strong>g that, “it is impossible to<br />
deny that multi-national or trans-national corporations are frequently more powerful<br />
than the states whose societies they operate <strong>in</strong>” (p. 106). For this reason the presence <strong>of</strong><br />
MNCs <strong>in</strong> SIDS are regarded by some as an exploitative form <strong>of</strong> neo-colonialism (Ayers,<br />
2002).<strong>The</strong> small economies <strong>of</strong> most SIDS, compris<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> only a few export sectors and<br />
tourism, limit economies <strong>of</strong> scale while, at the same time, small populations restrict a<br />
domestic market. Thus, unable to generate sufficient domestic <strong>in</strong>vestment for tourism<br />
development, these countries turn to foreign <strong>in</strong>vestors and MNCs for the development<br />
and establishment <strong>of</strong> tourism. In addition, SIDS rely on the “management skills,<br />
technological know-how and access to <strong>in</strong>ternational markets” from MNCs for the<br />
successful development <strong>of</strong> tourism (Bende-Nabende, 2002, p. 82). This is one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
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