Environmental Impacts of Cruise Tourism in Belize CityPresented by: Mylyn PouMerissa GillettArlene BogleAndrea UsherChris Banner

Introduction What are the levels of Environmental

impact on Cruise Tourism in Belize City? Rapidly emerging in the Caribbean as

well as in Belize. Impacts usually outweighs the benefits. Areas mostly affected

Background to the problem Rapid growth of tourist in recent years Miss-management of resources Heavy investment by government and

public sectors.

Statement of the Problem Environmental impacts caused by Cruise

tourism have been occurring over some time in the Belize City but attracts minimal attention due to the long term effects.

Purpose of the Study To determine the major environmental

impacts caused by cruise tourism in Belize City.

Significance of the study Individuals will become better aware of

the environmental impacts caused by cruise tourism

Make better decisions to mitigate the environment.

Serve to understand cruise tourism and its environmental impacts.

Limitations Lack of Finance. Lack in Education on the environment. High demand of tourist. Lack of involvement of stakeholders and

local people Lack of accessibility and availability

Research Question What are the levels of Environmental

impact on Cruise Tourism in Belize City? How the impacts affect tourism in Belize

City?

Literature Review The growth of the industry can be

measured from different sides says Bull (1996). There are several impacts that come with such growth, for instance economic, social and environmental impacts.

As stated by Klein (2003), many of these impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and of tourism facilities, including hotels, restaurants, shops and marinas.

Bull, A. (1996). The Economics of Cruising: An application to the short ocean cruise market. Journal of Tourism Studies, 7 (2), 28-35.Klein, R. (2003). The Industry's dark side . Retrieved September 19, 2011, from Cruise Ships : http:/consciouschoice.com/ 2003/cc1602/cruiseblues1602.html

Literature Review Cont’d In areas with high concentrations of

tourist activities and appealing natural attractions, waste disposal is a serious problem and improper disposal can be a major despoiler of the natural environment .

MethodologySurvey

Procedure

Non- Probability - Purposive Sampling Method Sample size 50

Sample

Handout Questionnaires to the employees Returned in envelops provided

Data Analysis Aid of SPSS Program-Statistical Package

for the Social Sciences

Data Presentation and Analysis

Belize Tourism Board BTB and The Belize Audubon Society (BAS)

42 Surveys were collected Evenly distributed between males and

females

Figure 1 shows that 61.9% believe that transportation of tourist is the main factor contributing to the negative impact of the environment, followed closely behind with docking the second factor on the list.

Figure 2 is describing that 81% of the 42 respondent believe that the economy is affected by Cruise Tourism positively, followed by 14.3 % that believe culture is the main factor positively affected by Cruise Tourism. The remaining 4.8% is equally divided between social and environmental. 

Factors Frequency Percentage

Cultural 3 7.1

Social 2 4.8

Environmental 37 88.1

Total 42 100

The data represented in Table 1 show that 88.1% believe that the environment is affected mostly negatively, while 7.1% believe that the cultural factor is the main factor affected negatively and 4.8% believe that social factors are affected negatively. 

Figure 3 is displaying some other contributing factors to the environment. As we can see traffic congestion is definitely another form to contributing factor to the environment which has a 66.7% of respondents agreed; followed by solid waste increase by tourist with a total of 50%, Noise Pollution with 54.8%and solid waste increased by tour operators is 42.9%. All these factors are telling the researcher that they help in the contribution of the environmental impact from cruise tourism. 

ConclusionIt has been established that most of the environmental impacts are done to the

marine environment; however the actions of engaging in cruise tourism related

activities cause noise pollution inland, as well as terrestrial environmental impact such as traffic congestion. Therefore we conclude with the findings and research

that cruise tourism is the leading contribution factor towards the

environmental impacts in Belize City.

Recommendation

Research: Conduct a qualitative study Conduct a study to determine what is

some types of waste causing harm to the environment.

Practice: Create proper management Enforcement of laws relating to tourism Create proper infrastructure

Thank YouQuestions?