Graduation Year
2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree
Master of Science
Program
Biological Science
Program Director
Patti Culross, MD, MPH
First Reader
Vania Coelho, PhD
Second Reader
Brett Bayles, PhD
Abstract
Island sustainability and climate change mitigation have evolved rapidly as island nations across the globe are forced to respond to climate change. Specifically, sustainable and regenerative tourism have risen to the forefront of climate change mitigation strategies as the negative effects of tourism become more apparent. Increased travel post-COVID-19 has exposed how small islands are particularly vulnerable to current tourist practices. Small island developing states (SIDS) are designated by the United Nations (UN) as a distinct group of 39 Nation states and 18 accompanying members that are especially susceptible to social, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities. Building off of the UN SIDS list, the Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (STPF) includes 19 south Pacific countries that have pledged to conduct more sustainable tourism practices. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for others to analyze resort sustainability, as it details current resort practices and can represent a guideline for other resorts to emulate. The data collected from Fijian resort websites fell into one of the following categories—conservation efforts, energy, water, building, food production, waste management, and community improvement. When comparing the frequencies of sustainable practices employed between luxury and non-luxury resort groups, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups (p < 0.05). Our study concluded that although luxury resorts employed more sustainable practices than non-luxury resorts, luxury resorts must raise their standards if the goals of the STPF and UN are to be truly realized.
Included in
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Sustainability Commons