Tourism's Impact on Vanuatu

This assignment examines the complex relationship between tourism and Vanuatu. It delves into both the positive economic contributions of tourism, such as revenue generation and job creation, as well as the potential negative impacts on local communities, culture, and environment. The document proposes solutions for fostering sustainable tourism that benefits both visitors and residents of Vanuatu.

Running head: HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
Hospitality and Tourism Market: Vanuatu’s Broken Dream
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1. Prime ethical and governing issues presented in the Vanuatu’s Broken Dream video
Vanuatu is a significant Pacific region tourism market for Australian cruise ship
organizations (Aph.gov.au 2014). Any organization follows the corporate social responsibilities
to gain the triple bottom line profit that are social, financial and environmental benefits. Most
companies follow the principles to achieve the sustainability of the profit. While performing a
business in a region outside its home state, it is not just the temporary profit that the company
aims, the responsibilities related to reputation building, taking care of the host nation and
communities and ethics become important. However the hospitality and tourism industry is far
behind from adapting the corporate social responsibilities more effectively as it is being
experienced in the Cruise ship tourism business in Vanuatu (Coles et al. 2013). In order to
maximize the profit they are engaging in ethical misconducts which are affecting the tourism and
hospitality market as a whole. The tourists and the local communities of similar business
scenario have been demanding more ethical practice in the tourism business (de Grosbois 2012).
There are many ethical issues that can be found in the Vanuatu’s Broken Heart video. The local
communities of the Islands like Espirito Santo, Efate, Pentacost and others have been
experiencing various ethical problems caused by the cruise ship tourism business in their area.
Gap between expectation and reality
The local communities were supposed to get great economic profits primarily from the
landing and anchorage fees. There are other secondary means that promised to help the growth of
the local economy, like from the local food or brew business or flyers, souvenirs or local crafts

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and accessories. However the reality that has been presented in the documentary speaks a
different story. The local people have been given fewer opportunities to earn money. As the local
businessman Flavio who runs a small shop with his wife at the beach when the cruise arrives
expresses his concerns about the lack of fortune provided by the tourism business (YouTube
2013). The Vanuatu Tourist Community did not publish any financial report from 2008 to 2012
so the financial and ethical misconducts can be proved (YouTube 2013).
Self regulation limits
The cruise ship company only prioritizes its self-profit and in the process it ignores the
community interest. The only time the community concern has been considered when the
company profit is related. The management invested 800000 dollars for improving the facility of
Vanuatu and it was used in well designed toilets and clean water facilities but the facilities are
for only the tourists (Sbs.com.au 2013). The documentary presents how the family of the village
leader lives with minimum facilities like any other families in the island.
Reaching the poor
The tourism company only cares for its stakeholders and the poor inhabitants of the
Vanuatu islands as non stakeholders and ignored. The company does not do anything to change
the societal structure of the community and helps the poor to stay poor only (Scheyvens et al.
2015). The tourism company is present here for more than 10 years and the development of the
water system is meant for the tourists only. The tourists also do not trust the locals with their
money as they feel the community’s lack of experience with cash flow makes them dishonest.

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2. Ethical practice of P&O cruises
P & O Australia was supposed to improve the destination community’s social and economic
well being. P & O Companies run the cruises with hundreds of tourists to the islands of Vanuatu
(Pocruises.com.au 2017). The P & O Cruises of Australia should have invested more on training
and guiding the community members developing their own craft and other businesses. However
in reality the company did little to nothing to improve the economic condition of the islanders.
There disbelief with the local community’s capability of handling money has fueled the
condition. Though their assumption is completely wrong as Mr. Barnabas has being successfully
involving local people in micro finance operations. The company feels that if the local people
become financially independent their tourism business might get affected but after 30 years of
independence and 10 years of P&O Australia the local people experienced no improvement as
the company promised prior to the business (Wittersheim 2011). The local people of Vanuatu,
under the leadership of Mr. Barnabas are trying to establish an economy that is no longer relies
in the foreigners. The ethical, economic or social responsibilities the P&O Australia was
supposed to fulfill but did not follow through.
3. The responsible people who can bring the changes successfully are as follows:
1) P&O Cruise Company:
The cruise company can still contribute significant to improve the economic and social
condition of Vanuatu by fulfilling their responsibilities. Before starting the tourism business they
promised to invest money to bring positive changes in the communities but in reality it did not.
The company can hire more people in their business and train new people to successfully get

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involved in the business. The basic facilities like toilet, water or primary school should be built
by them to prove their concern for the community in order to establish a sustainable business.
The company should promote agroecological tourism to enhance the livelihoods of smallholders
(Addinsall et al. 2017).
2) The Tourists
The tourists must change their perspective towards the islanders, specifically regarding
money handling issues (Desmond 2016). They are getting used to the contemporary cash flow
system gradually. The tourists have to trust them. The tourists should not just act as passive
observer of the inhabitants’ poor living condition and the inequality, their review and feedback
for the company can encourage the company change his strategies.
3) The Government
The Vanuatu Government can change the situation by implementing certain specific rules
and regulations related to the business of outsider Tourism Company in its land (Lee, Hampton
and Jeyacheya 2015). The policies must be in favor of the local islanders and should be
implemented in such a way that the any government officials or others can take any wrong
advantages.
4. Australian and Vanuatu’s governments could have resolved identified issues
The Australian and Vanuatu government could have implemented various strategies in
order to resolve the issues. The Australian Government should have monitored the tourism
business of the cruise ships in the Vanuatu islands. The monitoring would have helped to identify
the problem areas in the initial stages only. The monitoring would have helped to realize the
inequality that is taking place regarding the development only for tourists and generate more

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profit (Tabani 2017). The Australian Government would also have checked the ethical
misconducts by appointing some government officials in Vanuatu that has been affecting the
country’s reputation in the global tourism market.
The Vanuatu Government should have participated during the initial phase of the
business more actively. The government would have implemented the policies related to the
improvement of its land more effectively. The government should have initiated an investigation
while the finance report was not published by the tourism committee for 5 years. The local
people have lost their faith in the government as mentioned by the freedom fighter in Broken
Dreams. The government should have proved their presence and participation the development
process by ensuring that local people are getting jobs in the cruises and local tourism based
business is flourishing. The government would have taken initiative programs to educate the
local people about the tourism business and they could get money. The government would have
checked the physical condition of the development and how unfair and unequal it was for the
people and informed the management and the Australian Government. Finally the Vanuatu
government should have evaluated its policies at regular interval and made sure that the
government officials are not involved in corruption.
5. Recommendations for future
1) The Vanuatu government should immediately evaluate the existing laws related to the
tourism business by outsider companies. If the legislation is already in favor of the local
inhabitants the government should immediate take actions to implement them effectively. If the
legislation needs improvement, it should be immediately done by a committee of skilled
professionals that must include a representative of the local people and businessmen. The

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modification of the legal aspects is not enough; the government must set a committee who will
monitor the cruise management activities, tourists’ activities and the activities of various local
business committees. The government will investigate every stage of the system to find out the
corruption and will make sure the money is getting spent in the right places.
2) The cruise company must evaluate their code of ethics and update accordingly if needed.
The gap between their policies and the reality must be bridged. The P&O Australia practice the
code of ethics that states that they are responsible for protecting the environment of the
destination’s surrounding by sound ethical practices. The company immediately develops a
community toilet and clean water system for the local people. This way the company will gain
their trust and rectify their issues and establish a fair and sustainable business for the future.
3) The local people should make their presence more visible to the company and to the
tourists. Their lives should be integrated with the practice of mutual benefit through successful
tourism business. The people must reestablish their faith on the government and take active
participation in the effective programs initiated by the government. Finally they must grow their
knowledge regarding the financial issues and engage more positively in the micro finance
operations. This way the country will become financially independent and the issues will be
minimized in the future.

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Reference
Addinsall, C., Weiler, B., Scherrer, P. and Glencross, K., 2017. Agroecological tourism: bridging
conservation, food security and tourism goals to enhance smallholders’ livelihoods on South
Pentecost, Vanuatu. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(8), pp.1100-1116.
Aph.gov.au. (2014). Assessment of the Economic Impact of Cruise Ships to Vanuatu Report.
[online] Available at: http://aph.gov.au [Accessed 13 Sep. 2017].
Coles, T., Fenclova, E. and Dinan, C., 2013. Tourism and corporate social responsibility: A
critical review and research agenda. Tourism Management Perspectives, 6, pp.122-141.
de Grosbois, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility reporting by the global hotel industry:
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Desmond, J.C., 2016. Afterword: Ambivalence, Ambiguity and the ‘Wicked Problem’of Pacific
Tourist Studies. Touring Pacific Cultures, p.439.
Lee, D., Hampton, M. and Jeyacheya, J., 2015. The political economy of precarious work in the
tourism industry in small island developing states. Review of International Political
Economy, 22(1), pp.194-223.
News. (2013). Vanuatu's Broken Dreams. [online] Available at:
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/story/vanuatus-broken-dreams [Accessed 13 Sep. 2017].
P&O Cruises Australia. (2017). X741 | Discover Vanuatu. [online] Available at:
https://www.pocruises.com.au/cruises/discover-vanuatu/x741 [Accessed 13 Sep. 2017].

HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
Scheyvens, R., Hughes, E., Pratt, S. and Harrison, D., 2015. Tourism and CSR in the
Pacific. Tourism in Pacific Islands: Current Issues and Future Challenges, 48, p.134.
Tabani, M., 2017. Development, Tourism and Commodification of Cultures in Vanuatu. Tides of
Innovation in Oceania: Value, materiality and place, p.225.
Wittersheim, É., 2011. Paradise for sale. The sweet illusions of economic growth in
Vanuatu. Journal de la Société des Océanistes, (2), pp.323-332.
YouTube. (2013). Vanuatu's Broken Dreams. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMACsi8j3us [Accessed 13 Sep. 2017].