Impacts of Tourism Development on Livelihoods in Placencia Village, Belize

摘要

Placencia Village is one of Belize's leading "eco-destinations," due to its sandy-white beaches, coral reefs, and nearby wildlife sanctuaries. The use of "green washing," in this case the process of deceptively marketing tourism as being environmentally friendly, has proven to be effective in attracting consumers, but the exponential growth of large-scale tourism, coupled with the absence of established policies, represents a significant threat to this part of Belize. This thesis examines the political-ecologic dimensions of rapid tourism expansion in Southern Belize by investigating how the health of the biophysical environment is perceived, what processes are responsible for environmental change, and how these changes are impacting the socioeconomic livelihoods of local people. Visual methods and ethnographic interviews were used in the study to understand experiences of environmental and social change on the Placencia peninsula and consider the future implications of continued development of large-scale tourism.