Commonwealth Funds Kent Business School Research

Dr Mark Hampton has been awarded a £7,200 research grant by the Commonwealth Secretariat to examine how cruise ships and the local supply chains affect tourism in small states and islands. Prof. Andrew Fearne and Julia Jeyacheya, the research associate of the Centre for Tourism in Islands and Coastal Areas are also involved in the project.

Most small states in the Commonwealth are islands and most of these depend heavily on tourism.  This desk study will result in a set of practical recommendations for Commonwealth tourism planners and policy-makers around the world.

Cruise ships are one of fastest growing tourism sectors but little is known about their economic impact on small states and islands. This project uses literature and official reports to identify the benefits and costs of cruise tourism for these countries.  Key questions include whether tourist spend benefits local communities or the cruise operators themselves and how the sector might be best regulated.

The project also investigates how the local supply chain works within the tourism sector.  This includes issues such as links between local food producers and hotels.  This part of the study will identify bottlenecks in the supply chain and examples of best practice.  As with the cruise ship section of the project it will be used as the basis for a set of practical recommendations.

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