Question

Read the following case about Sterling Bay, and refer to the questions on the next page to guide your answer.

Sterling Bay is a small settlement of 5000 people located on the tip of a peninsular. Being situated by the sea and at an area with particularly abundant marine life, the economy of the town has always revolved around fishing and other businesses that support this industry.

Physical Geography:

The town is located at the foot of a series of hills and within easy access and view of a beautiful beach. Further along the beach are also a cluster of unique limestone caves with numerous rock pool formations within. As the town has a small population, the built up area only occupies a small portion of the land just off the beach, with a stretch of forest bordering the town. The land around the town is unfertile for any form of agriculture. Also, geographically, the land is rather flat and would be easy to develop. The town is also served by 2 roads; a narrow, 2 way coastal road and a second less developed road that comes over the nearby hills. A new highway is being built further inland and it would not be difficult to ‘cut’ an exit leading to Sterling Bay.

Human Geography:

The population of Sterling Bay consists of families with multiple generations. First generation settlers started up the town and were the original fishermen. They have had a generation of children who carried on the business. Those children have now given birth to a third generation who are reaching young adulthood, and who are starting to get involved in the livelihood of fishing. The town is also well known for fresh and tasty seafood, cooked by the women folk, who are also highly skilled in weaving.

Present developments:

As the rest of the country modernizes and diversifies the scope of economic activity, the local government at Sterling Bay are considering their options. At a glance, there appears to be a strong case for tourism as one of the potential new industries for the area.

Task: Outline a plan to develop tourism at Sterling Bay.

·    Describe the approach that the government at Sterling Bay should use to evaluate various options for diversifying the economy?
·    Assume that tourism has been selected as the preferred industry to be developed. What type of approach to tourism should be adopted?
·    Identify potential economic advantages and disadvantages of developing tourism at Sterling Bay.
·    Identify potential socio-cultural advantages and disadvantages of developing tourism at Sterling Bay.

Pay attention to the information given about Sterling Bay; facts about the place and the people residing there. Your answer should reflect a good level of understanding and analysis of the information given.

The essay should follow good academic writing by having a structure; you should have an introduction, a main body containing your arguments, followed by a conclusion.

You are required to consult and fully reference a MINIMUM of 5 references from 3 different sources of information (e.g., book; www; journal article from the full-text databases; current affairs magazine; newspaper etc.)


Summary

The question belongs to Economics and it discuses about a scenario of a town whose main source of income is fishing and various industries support fishing. The town wants to develop a tourism plan. The economic advantages and disadvantages and socio-cultural changes that can occur due to tourism development of the town have all been discussed in detail in the solution.

Total Word Count 2039

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