Rader, D. (2015, March 3). Ecotourism in Cuba: A model for sustainable economic development. Retrieved August 22,2015, from https://www.edf.org/blog/2015/03/03/ecotourism-cuba-model-sustainable-economic-development
Cuba has maintained a small sustainable environment by limiting the number of tourists that come. In the Gardens of the Queen, the government has put a limit on the number of people who visit which was protected endangered species. The Gardens of the Queen still has tourism, which allows the local businesses to profit and grow. The Garden of the Queens is only sustainable because of the limited number of people. It would be hard to expand and grow the Gardens of the Queens because it is so small.
It is important to protect animals and the coral reefs in Cuba and to not risk losing them due to wanting more money. Putting a limit on how many visitors can come helps to reduce the risk of endangering a species. However, it is important to have a flow of tourists so the economy of Cuba doesn’t decrease. Also because there are only a certain number of tourists it means you can raise the price because it is something special and unique.
I think this is an excellent example of successful regulation. With the amount of tourists limited, Cuban tourism becomes more exclusive, and people are willing to pay more. I hope that similar environmental protection measures will be as successful worldwide.
The regulation of tourists in Cuba should be a model for the rest of the world to follow. Without tourists, Cuba’s economy would tank and there would also be no exposure to the unique wildlife that live there and no one would be interested in helping the cause to protect it. This is why limiting the amount of tourists and raising the price of travel would be so successful, because there would be exposure to the unique wildlife and it would be economically beneficial.
It is interesting how ecotourism causes a bit of a paradox with regards to actually saving the environment. You can fund restoration projects but also create more traffic into the area.
This article is very interesting because we usually think of Cuba as a developing communist country who we are better than. The government’s decision to limit tourists and destruction of nature shows that this is not necessarily true.