Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Community-Based Research
Analyzing The Recent, Rapid Tourism Development In Panama's Bocas Del Toro Archipelago: Is Socioenvironmental Justice Attainable?, Olivia R. Bourque
Analyzing The Recent, Rapid Tourism Development In Panama's Bocas Del Toro Archipelago: Is Socioenvironmental Justice Attainable?, Olivia R. Bourque
International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)
The Bocas del Toro archipelago of Panama has seen a rapid growth in its tourism industry since the 1990s. From a neoliberal perspective, tourism development is beneficial for all. Alternatively, I analyze the recent, rapid tourism development in Bocas from a critical development theoretical perspective, identifying its positive and negative implications, as well as who they accrue to. While there are economic benefits to tourism in Bocas, only foreign investors, the Panamanian government and English-speaking residents appear to earn them. The Bocas residents, and indigenous Ngöbe residents in particular, suffer from a range of economic, sociocultural, environmental and land access …