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in direct tourism employment (hotel, restaurant, tour

include the national population censuses carried

agents, operators and guides). It can also be assumed,

out approximately every 10 years, multi-purpose

however, that for every individual directly employed

household surveys, and labor surveys usually carried

in tourism there are two or three individuals who are

out once or more per year. In most countries, census

employed in activities that indirectly depend on the

data provide the only information for the economically

tourism economy (construction, transportation, and

active population representative at the level of

other services). This multiplier factor was not applied

municipalities.  The annual labor surveys focus

to the data in the following graph.

on urban populations and are usually statistically

representative only at national and regional scales,

meaning that the random sample applied in the

survey is designed to estimate EAP at a national scale

within a reasonable margin of error but the samples

are too small to make meaningful EAP estimates at

the township, municipal or department/state levels.

Usefulness

This indicator provides information regarding the

extent to which the economic success of coastal

communities depends upon marine resources. To

understand the relationships among this indicator,

local economic success and resource conservation,

it should be interpreted within the context of the

economic drivers and opportunities motivating the

economically active population. It would be overly

simplistic, for example, to say that the greater the

percentage of the EAP involved in marine-derived

livelihoods, the more value the population places

on marine resource conservation. It would also be

overly simplistic to state that marine activities provide

an economically viable livelihood, based exclusively

Data Source13,14

upon a high percentage of the EAP being involved in

marine-derived activities. The key to appropriate use

of this indicator is to interpret results in conjunction

Thus, our existing data on tourism employment

with other social and economic indicators that

only includes activities directly related to the hotel,

influence the overall economic well-being of coastal

restaurant and tour service provision sectors. It does

communities.

not include activities indirectly dependent on the

Status

Status

tourism economy.

The state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, and especially

Data

Data Needs

the municipalities in the northern part of the state,

are the areas in the MAR in which the population is

A regionally standardized interpretation system is

most highly dependent on marine-based activities,

needed to capture the full employment derived from

due to the overwhelming importance of tourism-

tourism (direct and indirect). Additional information is

based employment. The populations of the coastal

also needed regarding:

communities of Belize and Guatemala are the most

· More specific EAP data for the hotel and restaurant

highly dependent on fishing and fish processing, due

sectors of Guatemala;

to the fact that a higher percentage of the EAP in those

areas rely on fishing as a main activity. However, the

· Occupational multiplicity (supplemental sources of

northern Honduras coast has the largest numbers of

income);

fishers overall.

· Coastal community decision-making processes;

The data presented in the graph below are not

and

exactly the same across countries, due to different

interpretations of the employment classification

· Employment opportunities in coastal communities.

system. The EAP data for tourism in Belize, Mexico

and Honduras only includes the individuals involved

SW

SW

5

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