RECONCILING THE IMPACTS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT WITHIN COMMUNITIES

The growth and further development of the tourism industry at the community level often leads to more impacts than just the often-acknowledged jobs, wages, and tax revenues. Socio-cultural impacts such as crime and congestion are felt within the destination community. Similarly, environmental impacts such as erosion and the destruction of precious coral reefs also felt within the community. All of these impacts resulting from tourism influence the quality of life within tourism communities as well as influencing the quality of experiences gained by tourists to that community. Tourism plays an important role in the economy of Block Island. It is becoming increasingly popular and, as a result, conflicts between residents and tourists is increasing in frequency. Indeed, congestion levels on the Great Salt Pond have reached the point where many residents want to put a limit on the number of recreational boaters allowed. This study develops and then applies a community-based tourism computable general equilibrium model to Block Island in order to sort out the windfall of information already available about the impacts which tourism development has recently brought. In essence, this study assesses who wins, who loses, and by now how much from tourism development