"......Because of inequities in the spread and ownership of
resorts, the way tourists have been discouraged from visiting inhabited
islands, and political decisions about how tourism revenue will be
spent, tourism has exaggerated existing inequalities between Maldivians:
20% of those living in the outer islands lived on less than US$1.17 per
day in 2005, which is three times the rate of poverty of Malé residents
(Asian Development Bank, 2007: 2). Disturbingly, income disparities
between Malé and the other atolls are increasing over time. The policy
of developing enclave tourism on uninhabited islands means that most
tourists learn little about Maldivian culture during their stay, and
these arrangements also ‘insulate most village residents from tourism’
(Buckley, 2003: 199). This led Richter (1989: 165) to refer to the
‘quarantine’ of tourists on resort islands.
Yahya et al. (2005: 37) emphasise the core periphery trend, whereby
tourism has entrenched development of the center and exaggerated
inequalities, compounding the underdevelopment of the far spread outer
atolls.
Despite the millions of dollars tourism brings into the economy
every year, service delivery to outer islands is poor, with 40% of the
population living on islands without access to health care (UN, 2002).
Around one quarter of atoll populations receive electricity for less
than 6 hours a day, and 12% of the population do not have access to
potable water (UN, 2002: 2; 8).
Most Maldivians cannot grow fresh fruit
and vegetables due to the
lack of suitable soils. Thus, for example, while tourists feast on a
wide range of largely imported fruits and vegetables at resort buffets,
one quarter of Maldivian children under the age of 5 suffer stunted
growth because of malnutrition (International Bureau for Children’s
Rights, 2006: 4–5).
THIS IS THE BASIS OF THE CLAIM THAT 'MALDIVES FACES A NUTRITIONAL
SITUATION MORE ACUTE THAN THAT OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA' (UN, 2002: 21). read more
Excerpt from: The challenge of sustainable tourism development in
the Maldives:
Understanding the social and political dimensions of
sustainability by Regina Scheyvens (2011)
Institute of Development Studies, School of People, Environment and
Planning, Massey University, PB11222, Palmerston
North, New Zealand.
Email: r.a.scheyvens@massey.ac.nz
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