A review of changes in the Caribbean tourist industry

Whereas avoidance of hostile northern winters via escaping to balmy tropical shores is a time‐honored pattern of tourist movement in Europe and North America, in the past twenty years or so, this flow has changed significantly. International tourists, largely from industrialized midlatitude countries, are vacationing equatorward in ever‐increasing numbers and dispersing themselves well beyond traditional destination areas into newly emerging tourist centers. The effects of this growing and spreading influx include a blend of economic, social and environmental impacts.