St. Helena’s government faces a challenging economic and logistical situation that has seen setbacks in the government’s proposed plans for economic development and air transport. The interests of the island’s population must be considered in the context of developing a vision for the future. This case assignment will conduct an environmental analysis of the island of St. Helena and present options for the island’s government to consider.
Environmental Analysis
SWOT Analysis
VRIO Analysis
Discussion
The environmental analysis demonstrates that despite some potential as a tourist destination, St. Helena’s weaknesses and threats are difficult to ignore. The island lacks the necessary infrastructure, appeal, or product to become an active tourist destination. St. Helena has fragile and decaying social, environmental, and cultural assets. Furthermore, the lack of recognition by the tourism market will continue to defer investors and visitors. While the island’s isolation can be a selling point, it is also a tremendous logistical challenge in terms of transportation and supply-chain development. Shortages of fundamental supplies such as food and medication are detrimental to attracting visitors to the island. St. Helena cannot currently sustain a tourism-based economy.
Options
The first option open to St. Helena’s government is to continue implementing the plan that it has followed over the previous decade, attempting to use the airport as a central hub for economic development, attracting tourism and business. This strategy is credible to some extent since potential investors, including hotel realtors, are more likely to invest in the island’s economy if solutions are developed for a second runway.5 Another option for the government would be to focus on developing the area’s natural resources. The island has extensive natural capital that can be used for economic development by improving land productivity and sustaining the exceptional environmental landscape and heritage, an approach that would additionally contribute to tourism. Another option would be for the island to focus on developing a digital and financial economy. The case study noted that many of the island’s citizens pursue education through distance learning. An educated population could provide a foundation for building a modernized and digital economy that would allow access to new economic markets and help improve the island’s telecommunications infrastructure.6
The recommended option for St. Helena would be to use a mixed-methods approach with a primary focus on business development through enterprise based on the island’s natural capital. The government should be promoting economic development by fostering private sector growth in the long run. This would consist of providing financial support services, eliminating bureaucratic barriers, and offering grants for business expansion.7 In part, this would depend on the airport operating at full capacity, but in consideration of the country’s issues with developing the airport, inherent diversification would be a prudent course to pursue. The island possesses sectors such as fishing, a destination for filming and weddings, agriculture, and timber.8 Since the strategy to use transportation and logistics for economic development has failed, the government should attempt to grow businesses to attract suppliers and transportation companies to the island to support the ability to import and export products. This endeavor may take time, but it would guarantee that the island maintains growth and potentially achieves self-sustainability in the long term instead of relying on unstable income sources such as tourism.
References
Bostnavaron, F. (2016). St Helena gets ready for tourism take-off.The Guardian. Web.
Joshua, K., & Williams, C. (2018). St. Helena: Landing a future for a South Atlantic island. Ontario, Canada: Ivey Publishing.
St. Helena Government. (2012). SHG tourism strategy 2012-2016. Web.
St. Helena Government. (2018). St. Helena’s sustainable economic development. Web.
St. Helena Island. (n.d.). Tourism business development through enterprise St. Helena [Blog post]. Web.
The Journey Tourism Consulting and Management. (2013). Visitor demand assessment after the completion of St. Helena airport. Web.
Footnotes
- St. Helena Government, 2012.
- The Journey Tourism Consulting and Management, 2013.
- Joshua & Williams, 2018.
- Bostnavaron, 2016.
- St. Helena Government, 2012.
- St. Helena Government, 2018.
- St. Helena Island Tourism, n.d.
- The Journey Tourism Consulting and Management, 2013.