The economy of Clipper Bay

Instructions:-

Question

Develop a Plan to Describe and Explain how you would revitalise the economy of Clipper Bay

Read the following information about the town Clipper Bay, and refer to the questions on the next page to guide your assignment

Clipper Bay is a small settlement of 5000 people located on the tip of a peninsular. Being situated by the sea and at an area with particularly abundant marine life, the economy of the town has always revolved around fishing and other businesses that support this industry.
Physical Geography: The town is located at the foot of a series of hills and within easy access and view of a beautiful beach. Further along the beach are also a cluster of unique limestone caves with numerous rock pool formations within. As the town has a small population, the built up area only occupies a small portion of the land just off the beach, with a stretch of forest bordering the town. The land around the town is unfertile for any form of agriculture. Also, geographically, the land is rather flat and would be easy to develop. The town is also served by 2 roads; a narrow, 2 way coastal road and a second less developed road that comes over the nearby hills. A new highway is being built further inland, presenting an opportunity for increased accessibility.
Human Geography: The population of Clipper Bay consists of families with multiple generations. First generation settlers started up the town and were the original fishermen. They have had a generation of children who carried on this business. Those children have now birthed a third generation who
are reaching adulthood, and who are starting to get involved in the livelihood of fishing. The town is also well known for fresh and tasty seafood, cooked by the women folk, who are also highly skilled in weaving. Each summer, the town hosts a festival to mark the beginning of the
fishing season. The festival is characterised by customary and heritage linked religious and cultural rites and a week-long feast.
Present developments: As the rest of the country modernizes and diversifies the scope of economic activity, the local government at Clipper Bay are considering their options. The town has been granted a budget of $50m to invest in the revitalisation of the local economy.
You have been appointed as the ‘Chief Planner’ of Clipper Bay. Your objectives are to develop the economy of the town in a ‘sustainable’ manner, taking into account socio-cultural and environmental elements as well. Develop a plan to describe and explain how you would revitalise the economy of Clipper Bay.
Your plan must include:

• A description of how you would approach determining the best way to revitalize the economy by consultation with the relevant parties
• The use of comparative advantage, CBA or ROI analyses to clearly identify an industry to support economic revitalisation of the town
• Assume that tourism has been selected as the preferred industry to be developed. Explain a sustainable approach to tourism that you would adopt
• Describe examples of infrastructure, superstructure and each component of the suppliers in the tourism stakeholder model that fit the sustainable approach to tourism that you have adopted.
• Discuss potential economic advantages and disadvantages of developing tourism at Clipper Bay.
• Discuss potential socio-cultural advantages and disadvantages of developing tourism at Clipper Bay.
• Discuss potential environmental advantages and disadvantages of developing tourism at Clipper Bay.

Ensure that your answers make reference to the theory that you have learnt in this programme. Pay attention to the information given about
Clipper Bay; facts about the place and the people residing there. Your answer should reflect a good level of understanding and analysis
of the information given.
The essay should follow good academic writing by having a structure; you should have an introduction, a main body containing your arguments, followed by a conclusion.
You are required to consult and fully reference a MINIMUM of 8
references e.g., book; www; journal article from the full-text databases; current affairs magazine; newspaper etc.)

Answer

Economic Revitalization Plan: Clipper Bay

As an area with a settlement of 5000 people located on the tip of the peninsular, Clipper Bay’s economy is highly supported by the fishing industry including fishing and related businesses. A plan for revitalizing the economy requires a consideration of other viable and sustainable economic activities. The activities must be supported by the geography, location, demographics, and other fundamental factors that will ensure sustainability of the plan. The town is located at the foot of a series of hills within easy access and a beautiful scenery including the beach. Additionally, the cluster of unique limestone caves with numerous rock pool formations within, a stretch of forest, and the flat land offer a wide range of options for the development of the tourism industry in the area for the revitalization of the economy. The infertility of the land around the town supports the idea of developing the region sustainably. The traditional cultural and economic activities such as fishing, exquisite cuisine including fresh and tasty seafood, weaving practices, and annual festivals including customary and heritage-linked religious and cultural rites and week-long feasts are important for supporting and promoting the tourism industry.

Determining the best way to revitalize the economy should include extensive consultation with relevant parties including the local authorities, town leaders, environmental experts and agencies, marine experts, and public participation. As the chief planner, there is a need for involving the local authorities and applying for the necessary permits to hold meetings, survey the area, involve the public, and develop the economic revitalization plan. Involving environmental experts and agencies is important for ensuring the development of the town and the implementation of the plan ensures sustainability by protecting the forests, marine life, and ensuring the safety of tourists and the residents. Sustainable development is key in ensuring the effectiveness of the plan. The sustainability should consider the socioeconomic and cultural aspects of the society and developing a plan that acknowledges the aspects of life within the town. The protection, preservation, and the conservation of the environment should include designing a development plan that considers elements such as pollution of land, air, and water to prevent unsustainable operations. Importantly, there is a need to engage the public in discussions surrounding the development and incorporate any concerns into the development. Such a process should consider the sociocultural, religious, and economic aspects of the community and its values, beliefs, practices, and norms. The public participation is critical because the revitalization plan will directly impact the community. Applying the stakeholder theory shows the need for allowing the local authorities to lead other parties in the development of the plan to ensure sustainable tourism development including the preservation of heritage building dating back generations, the cultural and religious heritage, forests, and other scenic and important environmental features (Agüera, 2013; Byrd, Cárdenas, & Greenwood, 2008; Poudel, Nyaupane, & Budruk, 2016).

The development of the plan should consider Butler’s theoretical model that discusses the evolution of tourism. In the case of Clipper Bay, the model is essential for determining the potential the area holds and possibility of success. Developing tourist attraction facilities and promoting the area will result in the growth of tourism in the region because of the existing attraction sites, developed sites, and hospitality services. Apart from the caves, the mountains (activities such as mountain climbing, zip-lining, and camping among others), beach activities, and cultural events, the development of a marine park, and heritage sites, the expansion of roads, transportation, and communication networks, and improvement of hospitality services will improve the economy of the area through tourism. However, there is a need for a cost-benefit analysis and the involvement of the people through participation, education, training programs, and awareness creation to ensure the success of the plan. The tourism sector will promote the fishing industry, weaving sectors, and support local businesses significantly. Additionally, there will be need for training the residents for new employment opportunities that will further support the economy (Sundriyal, Shridhar, Madhwal, Pandey, & Sharma, 2018; Liu, Nie, Wang, & Nies, 2015).

The cost-benefit analysis of the plan will consider the potential benefits in comparison to the cost of its implementation. A budget of $50 million for the revitalization of the economy must show significant positive economic growth. Most of the budget will go into the development of essential infrastructure that will serve the local area for years to come. For instance, the expansion of roads, the development of the hospitality industry, and investment in sustainable projects such as a marine park, heritage sites, and cultural programs will prove important to the current and future generations. The economic, sociocultural, and environmental benefits that will accompany the implementation of the plan will be outlined (Sundriyal, Shridhar, Madhwal, Pandey, & Sharma, 2018; Poudel, Nyaupane, & Budruk, 2016).

The implementation of the economic revitalization plan will result in numerous economic advantages and some disadvantages. The Clipper Bay economy will improve significantly with efforts to develop tourism. The geographical and demographic aspects of the area offers a conducive environment for the development of tourism. The implementation of the plan will result in improved economic activity from tourists who will support local businesses, increase income average, and enhance the socioeconomic status of the people. Importantly, new businesses, income from tourists as entry fees to different attraction sites, and increased spending in the area will promote the economy significantly. Moreover, jobs at new hotels/restaurants, tourist activities, shops, bars, and others will improve the economy significantly. However, some advantages may include the possibility of attracting investors who will dominate the fishing sector by investing in technologically-advanced and improved efficiency fishing equipment and increased competition for new opportunities between residents and incoming job seekers (Liu, Nie, Wang, & Nies, 2015; Leigh, Webster, & Ivanov, 2013).

Further, sociocultural advantages and disadvantages of tourism development at Clipper Bay will be numerous. Sociocultural benefits will include the protection of the sociocultural practices and heritage sites through sustainable tourism development. The implementation of the plan will further promote the cultural practices, values, and ways of life of the Clipper Bay community to people from different parts of the country and world. Additionally, tourism development will promote diversity, encourage cross-cultural interactions, and enhance cultural collaborations resulting in increased cultural awareness and greater understanding between people from different cultures. However, a disadvantage is that there is a likely possibility of the erosion of the community’s culture, its practices, religions, and values due to interaction with people from different sociocultural backgrounds (Leigh, Webster, & Ivanov, 2013).

In conclusion, the implementation of the economic revitalization plan will result in environmental advantages and disadvantages. Creating tourist attraction sites such as a marine park, heritage sites, and setting guidelines for development will contribute to increase protection of the environment. The plan will provide incentives for the preservation and conservation of the environment through sustainable development proposals. Additionally, a project such as the marine park will encourage the protection of marine life, encourage sustainable fishing and utilization of sea resources, and create awareness. On the other hand, infrastructural development may result in the exploitation of the environment for construction of roads, hospitality services, and tourist attraction spaces (Sundriyal, Shridhar, Madhwal, Pandey, & Sharma, 2018; Leigh, Webster, & Ivanov, 2013).

References

Agüera, F. O. (2013). Stakeholder theory as a model for sustainable development in ecotourism. TURyDES, 6(15), 1-7.

Byrd, E. T., Cárdenas, D. A., & Greenwood, J. B. (2008). Factors of stakeholder understanding of tourism: The case of Eastern North Carolina. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(3), 192-204.

Leigh, J., Webster, C., & Ivanov, S. (2013). Future tourism: political, social and economic challenges. London: Routledge.

Liu, Y., Nie, L., Wang, F., & Nies, Z. (2015). The impact of tourism development on local residents in Bama, Guangxi, China. Tourism Economics, 21(6), 1133–1148. doi:https://doi.org/10.5367/te.2015.0518

Poudel, S., Nyaupane, G. P., & Budruk, M. (2016). Stakeholders’ perspectives of sustainable tourism development: a new approach to measuring outcomes. Journal of Travel Research, 55(4), 465–480. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287514563166

Sundriyal, S., Shridhar, V., Madhwal, S., Pandey, K., & Sharma, V. (2018). Impacts of tourism development on the physical environment of Mussoorie, a hill station in the lower Himalayan range of India. Journal of Mountain Science, 15(10), 2276–2291.

The economy of Clipper Bay