Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Ryan R. Peterson, PhD is General Manager of Economic Policy at the Central Bank of Aruba. Prior to his current position, he was the Dean of the School for Hospitality & Tourism Management Studies at the University of Aruba, where was also appointed as full academic professor of sustainable tourism.

Abstract (150 Words)

While the global economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ascent is long and winding, riddled with uncertainty. Caribbean Small Island Tourism Economies (SITES) are in a particularly challenging situation as they weather current conditions and muster the capacity to regenerative tourism. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between government stringency measures and international reserves as a measure of safeguarding resiliency. The results show that there is a dynamic relationship between stringency and reserve adequacy, which is largely moderated by capital flow management and fiscal support. Contrary to popular belief that there is a tradeoff between preserving livelihoods and saving lives, the findings suggest that there is an optimum level of stringency controls at which point both lives and livelihoods are safeguarded, albeit contingent on swift and coordinated macroeconomic and tourism policy execution, in addition to adequate (pre-crisis) reserve buffers and fiscal space. These findings underscore the importance of structural policies for regenerative tourism within the context of strengthening small island tourism economic resiliency.

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Safeguarding Caribbean lives and livelihoods for regenerative tourism: Surveying the stringency-resiliency nexus in small island tourism economies

While the global economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ascent is long and winding, riddled with uncertainty. Caribbean Small Island Tourism Economies (SITES) are in a particularly challenging situation as they weather current conditions and muster the capacity to regenerative tourism. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between government stringency measures and international reserves as a measure of safeguarding resiliency. The results show that there is a dynamic relationship between stringency and reserve adequacy, which is largely moderated by capital flow management and fiscal support. Contrary to popular belief that there is a tradeoff between preserving livelihoods and saving lives, the findings suggest that there is an optimum level of stringency controls at which point both lives and livelihoods are safeguarded, albeit contingent on swift and coordinated macroeconomic and tourism policy execution, in addition to adequate (pre-crisis) reserve buffers and fiscal space. These findings underscore the importance of structural policies for regenerative tourism within the context of strengthening small island tourism economic resiliency.