Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change
Editors: Prof. Mike Robinson (Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds Metropolitan University) and Dr Alison Phipps (University of Glasgow)
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Volume: 2 Number: 3 Page: 185–202
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Small Entrepreneurs and Shifting Identities: The Case of Tourism in Puerto Plata (Northern Dominican Republic)
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Carel Roessingh and Hanneke Duijnhoven
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Culture, Organization and Management, The Netherlands
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This article focuses on the way small entrepreneurs in the tourism industry of the Puerto Plata region try to cope with contextual changes caused by the development of (mass) tourism. These entrepreneurs struggle with all sorts of problems, mainly resulting from the dominance of the large, multinational, all-inclusive resorts in the tourism industry. With the introduction of these large resorts in the early 1980s, the local entrepreneurs were hoping to obtain a substantial part of the income-growth derived from this new industry. As a result many locals shifted from their previous jobs to professions in the tourism industry. Nearly 30 years later, most of them are disappointed with the results, but because of the region's dependence on tourism they feel they have no way out. The Puerto Plata case is used to further explore the impact of tourism on the culture and identity of the small entrepreneurs.
Keywords: cultural change, shifting identities, small entrepreneurs, tourism industry
© 2004 C. Roessingh & H. Duijnhoven
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