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Across the Caribbean Sea, the regional International Standard Book Number (ISBN) agency headquartered at the Documentation Centre at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana manages the distribution of ISBNs in the Caribbean Area. The purpose of this paper is to look at the role of the Documentation Centre and the benefits of the regional ISBN agency in managing the group code, 976, to the Caribbean region. This paper will illustrate book publishing challenges in the region, explain the use of ISBNs, describe the role of the regional agency in administering ISBNs in the region and as such, note the benefits of this role in making Caribbean information internationally accessible.

The paper takes a detailed look at the purpose of the ISBN number and the role of the Documentation Centre at CARICOM in serving the needs of members of the book‐publishing industry of the Caribbean through a view of the work of the Documentation Centre and a review of the literature.

The paper enumerates the benefits of having a regional ISBN agency in the Caribbean area at a library thereby improving access to Caribbean titles by decision makers; the paper illustrates that the regional ISBN agency at CARICOM is ensuring that ISBN publishing standards are adhered to in the region thereby speaking an international language that facilitates information sharing via standardized book numbering.

The paper reports on the role of the Documentation Centre in managing ISBNs in the Caribbean region, and as such should be of interest to the ISBN community both locally and internationally.

The work of the Documentation Centre has not been publicised within the region or even internationally, this research paper provides an opportunity to highlight this service.

This conceptual paper examines the Caribbean tourism sector, its growth, performance, importance and its vulnerability to climate change. The purpose of this paper is to serve as an introduction to the on-going conversation around climate change and the socioeconomic impacts likely to be experienced in tourism-dependent Caribbean territories.

The Caribbean is used as the context of this work. A broad perspective was adopted to paint a picture of the wider implications. The region is represented by a multiplicity of country profiles, both in physical and socio-economic characteristics; this warrants a broad assessment of the issues examined here.

This work shows that the Caribbean tourism sectors face significant future threats related to both competitiveness and climate change impacts. For a region so heavily dependent on coastal- and marine-related tourism attractions, adaptation and resilience are critical issues facing Caribbean tourism. An effective approach to building resilience to climate change requires extensive regional cooperation.

While there is much published on the matter of climate change implications in the general global context, there is considerably less published work specifically examining the likely effects climate change will have on the special socio-economic features of the Caribbean and on the tourism industry in particular.

The lack of extensive and ongoing research dedicated to climate change implications for Caribbean tourism, while limiting the scope of this work, does highlight a gap and open the door for future work that examines, in greater detail both collectively and on an individual country basis, the climate change implications for tourism industries throughout the region.

Climate change vulnerabilities in the region present a significant threat to economic development, employment and food security among others. Coastal flooding, infrastructural damage and the potential displacement of coastal communities present significant impediments to the quality of life of Caribbean nationals. The social implications necessitate further in-depth study to inform the development of adaptation strategies that may secure the tourism industry and the livelihoods and lifestyles of the people.

This work is original in its evaluation of the viewpoints of climate change vulnerability specific to the Caribbean tourism sector.

This paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of sustainable tourism development across the Anglophone Caribbean region from the post-independence period of 1962 to the 2020s. The perspective explores the implications of insularity, tourism investment and the pace of technology adoption on the potential realisation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the islands of Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean States.

The viewpoint uses secondary data from grey literature such as government policy documents, academic literature, newspapers and consultancy reports to explore the central themes and provide a conceptual framework for the paper.

The findings reveal that Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are nearer to the light-green single-sector approach to sustainable tourism development. The overarching findings reveal that the region’s heavy focus on economic priorities results in less attention to competitiveness challenges such as environmental management, social equity and technological innovations.

The research presents a comprehensive overview of the tourism development trajectory of other tourism-dependent island-states. The research offers lessons and cross-learning opportunities that may be useful to decision-makers within SIDS. The main limitation is that the findings may only be transferable and generalised to the extent that other jurisdictions bear similar macroeconomic governance structures and cultural characteristics to Caribbean SIDS.

This paper provides a meaningful discussion and contributes to the body of knowledge on the history of Caribbean tourism development, the challenges and future potential of sustainability and lends itself to opportunities for future research in the Caribbean and other SIDS.

The study outlines the social implications for inclusive, responsible and sustainable tourism that can potentially take Caribbean SIDS from slow growth to efficiency in developing the tourism product, including the technological environment. This can reduce inequalities, contribute to socio-economic development and improve the region’s human capital.

This paper provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of Caribbean tourism development specific to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States. No previous work has been done to compare tourism development within this grouping. Hence, this paper is essential in informing decision-makers and providing the foundation for continuing research in this area.

这篇观点性论文对英语加勒比地区从1962年独立后到本世纪20年代的可持续旅游发展进行了比较分析。该研究前瞻性探讨了牙买加、巴巴多斯、特立尼达和多巴哥以及东加勒比国家的保守性、旅游投资和技术采用速度对潜在实现可持续发展目标的启示。

该研究利用灰色文献中的二手数据, 如政府政策文件、学术文献、报纸和咨询报告, 进行中心主题探索, 并为论文提供概念性框架。

研究结果显示, 加勒比小岛屿发展中国家(SIDS)更接近于以轻绿的单一部门方式实现可持续旅游发展。总体研究结果显示, 该地区过于关注经济优先事项, 导致对环境管理、社会公平和技术创新等竞争力挑战的关注较少。

本研究全面展现了一些依赖旅游发展的岛屿国家的旅游发展路径概览。这项研究为小岛屿发展中国家的决策者提供了可能有用的经验和交叉学习机会。本文研究局限在于, 只有在与加勒比小岛屿发展中国家类似的宏观经济管理结构和文化特征的行政区, 研究结果才可能转移和推广。

这篇论文提供了有意义的讨论, 有助于认知加勒比旅游发展史、可持续发展的挑战和未来潜力, 并为加勒比和其他小岛屿发展中国家的未来研究提供了机会。

该研究概述了包容性、负责任和可持续的旅游发展的社会启示, 这些启示可能使加勒比小岛屿发展中国家从缓慢发展转变为开发旅游产品(包括技术环境)的效率。这有助于减少不平等现象, 促进社会经济发展, 并改善该地区的人力资本。

本文提供了加勒比旅游发展的综合比较分析, 具体到牙买加、特立尼达和多巴哥、巴巴多斯和东加勒比国家。此前没有研究对这些国家的旅游业发展进行比较。因此, 这篇论文为决策者提供必要信息和为这一领域的继续研究建立了基础。

Este trabajo ofrece un análisis comparativo del desarrollo del turismo sostenible en toda la región del Caribe anglófono desde el período posterior a la independencia de 1962 hasta la década de 2020. Se explora las implicaciones de la insularidad, la inversión turística y el ritmo de adopción de la tecnología en la posible realización de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en las islas de Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad y Tobago y los Estados del Caribe Oriental.

El análisis se basa en datos secundarios bibliográficos a partir de documentos de política gubernamental, literatura académica, periódicos e informes de consultoría para explorar los temas centrales y proporcionar un marco conceptual en este documento.

Las conclusiones revelan que los pequeños estados insulares en desarrollo (Caribbean Small Island Developing States, SIDS) están más próximos del enfoque del turismo como único sector económico o sostenibilidad débil para el desarrollo del turismo sostenible. Las conclusiones generales revelan que la fuerte concentración de la región en las prioridades económicas hace que se preste menos atención a los retos de la competitividad, como la gestión medioambiental, la equidad social y las innovaciones tecnológicas.

La investigación presenta una visión global de la trayectoria de desarrollo turístico de otros Estados insulares dependientes del turismo. La investigación ofrece lecciones y oportunidades de aprendizaje que pueden ser útiles para los responsables de la toma de decisiones en los SIDS. La principal limitación es que las conclusiones sólo pueden ser transferibles y generalizadas en la medida en que otras jurisdicciones tengan estructuras de gobernanza macroeconómica y características culturales similares a las de los SIDS del Caribe.

Este documento ofrece un análisis significativo y contribuye al conjunto de conocimientos sobre la historia del desarrollo del turismo en el Caribe, los retos y el potencial futuro de la sostenibilidad, y se presta a oportunidades para futuras investigaciones en el Caribe y otros SIDS.

El estudio esboza las implicaciones sociales del turismo inclusivo, responsable y sostenible que puede llevar a los SIDS del Caribe de un crecimiento lento a la eficiencia en el desarrollo del producto turístico, incluyendo el entorno tecnológico. Esto puede reducir las desigualdades, contribuir al desarrollo socioeconómico y mejorar el capital humano de la región.

Este trabajo proporciona un análisis comparativo exhaustivo del desarrollo del turismo en el Caribe, específico para Jamaica, Trinidad y Tobago, Barbados y los Estados del Caribe Oriental. No se ha realizado ningún trabajo anterior para comparar el desarrollo del turismo dentro de esta agrupación. Por ello, este trabajo es esencial para informar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones y sentar las bases para continuar la investigación en este ámbito.

Accounting for over 90% of goods traded globally, Maritime Transport is undeniably the main mode of international transport for goods throughout the world. Despite the global financial crisis in 2008, growth in international seaborne trade continued, albeit at a slower rate of 3.6% in 2008 as compared with 4.5% in 2007. The volume of global sea‐borne trade for 2008 totaled 8.17 billion tons as estimated by UNCTAD (2009). Maritime transport is more critical to the development of the small Caribbean states than for most other regions because they exist as islands in the Caribbean Sea, and consequently are heavily reliant on foreign trade. However, despite the advancement in the area of maritime transport globally, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continue to be plagued with high transport costs, inadequate port and transport infrastructure and a lack of coordinated maritime transport policies among others. It can, therefore, be widely appreciated that in order for LAC to achieve sustained economic development there is need for improved maritime transport cooperation in the region. This paper seeks to use the examples of Trinidad and Tobago from the Caribbean and Venezuela from Latin America to examine the ways in which Maritime Transport Cooperation can be enhanced in order to encourage development and growth in the Greater Caribbean region

One of the most pressing questions facing small‐island development states (SIDS) is the appropriate way in which to operate and manage their infrastructure industries. After all SIDS are faced with high cost of infrastructure due to the narrow markets and diseconomies of scale and remoteness.

For small‐island utilities in the Caribbean region, a benchmark has been performed to demonstrate objectively how utilities cost, as well as their service quality, compare over time and with other utilities. About 15 utilities of 17 Caribbean countries were included in the benchmark. Based on these outcomes, the current efficiency and possible efficiency gains were determined (which may differ significantly from the current “best‐practice” of utilities in developed countries) which provide a basis to set targets that are achievable.

In this paper, the conducted Caribbean benchmark studies will be further elaborated and the applicability as management tool and regulatory tool to compare performance within the region will be assessed. One of the preliminary conclusions of the study is that the incentive‐based approaches adopted in many countries do not necessarily work within the context of SIDS (and their specific characteristics and limitations), so that a different regulatory model needs to be developed.

The analysis was performed based on data of one year. Analysis based on multi‐year data can provide trends in efficiency and will identify the development of the utilities' performance. Cost data was not used in this analysis due to lack of availability. Also, inclusion of reliability data representing frequency of interruptions and duration of interruption in the analysis would provide a more holistic indication of efficiency.

The paper offers insight into the current restructuring of the electricity supply in the Caribbean region.

The paper aims to use the Caribbean as a backdrop in understanding the importance of tourism safety, security and surety.

The paper examines several Caribbean nations and these forms of tourism security enhance the visitor experience.

Good tourism security not only enhances the value of the product but also can be a major motivator to increase tourism.

This paper provides an overview on the importance and major security challenges in tourism oriented economies.

This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of the Panama Canal expansion (PCE) on the economies of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, particularly in light of the emergence of larger container ships such as neo-Panamax and post-Panamax vessels.

This study uses the Bayesian structural time Series (BSTS) model to evaluate the economic effects of the PCE on 21 countries within the LAC region. It utilized the World Bank's gross domestic product (GDP) figures between 2000 and 2019 as the primary variable, alongside the human development index (HDI) (X1), container throughput (TEU) (X2) and unemployment rates (UNEMPL) (X3) covariates. This allowed a precise and robust approach to analyzing time series data while accounting for uncertainties and allowing the inclusion of various components and external factors.

The findings revealed that the PCE has a positive and statistically significant impact on most countries within the Caribbean Transshipment Triangle, ranging from 9.2% in Belize to 46% in Cuba. This suggests that the causal effect of the PCE on regional economies was not confined to any specific type of economy or geographical location within the LAC region. Where the growth rates were statistically insignificant, primarily in some Latin American countries, it coincided with countries that are primarily driven by exports and service industries, where bulk and oil tanker vessels are likely to be the main carriers for exports rather than container vessels.

The practical implications of this research are crucial for various stakeholders in the maritime industry and economic planning. The factors influencing economic growth resulting from investing in maritime activities are vital for decision-makers to create policies that lead to positive outcomes and sustainable development in regions and countries with flourishing maritime industries. The methodology and findings have significant implications for governments, managers, professionals, policy-makers and investors.

This paper aims to critically review the contribution made by this theme issue in responding to the strategic question: “How can Caribbean tourism investment, business and operations align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals?”

A critical content analysis of the papers selected for the theme issue was undertaken to learn about the best practices and experiences from countries in the Caribbean. The rationale for the issue was explored using a set of questions to determine the selected material.

This summary paper highlights the most significant outcomes from the theme issue in terms of the contributions to knowledge and/or professional practice and also the implications for management action and applied research arising from the outcomes and best practices in some of the countries in the Caribbean. Case studies discussed include relevant experiences derived from application of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize Grenada, Cuba, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.

This paper outlines the challenges and new approaches that are needed to manage tourism investment, business and operations in line with the UN’s SDGs that are now well established in other countries and regions.

The paper explores the extent to which the lessons and innovative approaches discussed in this theme issue could be replicated and applied in small island developing states that are trying to comply with the UN SDG 2030 target.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of key actors in the Caribbean’s hotel industry on the development of business models that are inclusive of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and resilient to climate change challenges. The objectives are to gain a better understanding of the central actors’ perspective and to explore the potential of scenario thinking as a pragmatic tool to provoke deep and practical reflections on business model innovation.

The research is based on a questionnaire survey conducted via email to senior personnel in the hotel industry across the region as well as to national and regional tourism and hospitality associations/agencies and government ministries. The questionnaire used a mix of close- and open-ended questions, as well as fictional scenarios to gain insight about perceptions from key actors in the tourism sector, including respondents’ personal beliefs about the reality of climate science and the need for action at the levels of individuals, governments, local, regional and multinational institutions.

The study found that while the awareness of climate change and willingness to action is high, respondents perceive that hotels are not prepared for the climate crisis. Respondents had an overall view that the hotel sector in the Caribbean was unprepared for the negative impacts of climate change. Recommendations from the study include the need for immediate action on the part of all to both raise awareness and implement focused climate action to secure the future of tourism in the Caribbean.

The use of a survey has considerable challenges, including low response rates and the limitations of using perceptions to understand a phenomenon. The survey was conducted across the Caribbean from The Bahamas to Belize and down to Trinidad and Tobago so that views from across the similar, yet diverse, regions could be gathered, included and compared for a comprehensive view of perceptions and possible ideas for climate smart action.

The 2030 Agenda for SDGs is based on policy and academic debates. This study helps to bridge the academic and policy discussion with the needs of the industry.

This study contributes a consideration for climate-resilient business models for hotels in the tourism industry as a definitive action toward achieving SDG 13. This combined with the use of fictional climate change scenarios to access perceptions about the future of the hotel industry in the light of climate change, adds originality to the study.

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey regarding undergraduate students’ mobile phone usage patterns and its implication for teaching and learning in the Caribbean higher education academic environment.

A total of 144 students participated in the survey. The survey method utilized a structured questionnaire design comprising 24 items which was completed by students. A quantitative research methodology was used to analyze the data on student mobile phone usage patterns in an educational setting.

The results indicate that students find mobile phones to be an indispensable tool inside and outside the classroom environment. More interestingly, it revealed that despite unique socio-economic factors, students’ mobile phone adoption, usage and perception patterns in a developing country mirror those of their counterparts in developed states. This has profound implications for education policy in the region.

Little research has been done on students’ mobile phone use in the developing world context. Even less work has been done exploring mobile phone usage patterns of university students in the Caribbean region. Given the similarities with developed states, this paper shares ideas with university management and administration how they can incorporate mobile phone technology into their teaching methods, to enhance the learning experience in the Caribbean and the wider developing world context.