Core–periphery relationships and the sustainability paradox of small island tourism

ABSTRACT

Since the mid-twentieth century, small islands have emerged as important tourist destinations, whether as island-states (Barbados, Fiji), island dependencies (Guadeloupe, Jersey) or state-islands (Okinawa, Cozumel). A longstanding core–periphery narrative holds that small islands are geographically and economically marginal entities fated to spawn homogeneous tourism monocultures within contexts of persistent external dependency. However, further investigation reveals several attendant and pervasive paradoxes which challenge this conventional thinking. This paper outlines these as the juxtaposition of (a) geographic peripherality and experiential core, (b) economic marginality and tourism centrality, (c) tourism monocultures and opportunistic innovation, (d) geopolitical dependency and optimal autonomy and (e) tourism homogeneity and cultural/ecological distinctiveness. A resultant ‘virtuous periphery syndrome’, the product of both necessity and endowment, positions small islands as sites of impressive resilience and innovation capable of providing peak experiences that support robust tourism sectors within contexts of balanced autonomy and cultural distinctiveness. Resolution-based dialectics allow the positive elements of both core and periphery to be identified and combined towards achieving the ideal of enlightened mass tourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Small islands
• core–periphery
• destination resilience
• sustainability
• innovation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

David Bruce Weaver has published more than 140 journal articles, book chapters and books. His specialities include sustainable destination management, ecotourism and resident perceptions of tourism. He is a Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism and has delivered numerous invited international keynote addresses on innovative tourism topics.