Tourism development in Creole spaces: a Saint Lucia Island perspective

The Caribbean archipelago functions in its entirety as a Creole space-the geographic boundaries and demographic compositions defining the context of Creole history and culture. As with other islands elsewhere, the region is heavily tourism dependent. Thus, exploring and gaining in-depth understanding of the relationship between Creole spaces and tourism development is important. This work examines the perceptions of the local population on tourism development in the Saint Lucian Creole space through qualitative data collection. This study is set in the western tourist capital, Soufriere, an area laden with history from indigenous people to European colonization, slavery, and indentured labour. The relationship between tourism and culture is explored in terms of Creole identity, destination marketing, and stakeholder involvement in cultural tourism development. Consequently, the Four Cs Framework for Creole Cultural tourism Space (CCTS) development is proffered. Though tourism can be perceived an invasion of the Creole space, if properly managed, it can enhance product development while enabling safeguarding the rich, Creole cultural heritage.