Business View Caribbean | Volume 8, Issue 12

20 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 8, ISSUE 12 empowering a community to embrace sustainable development and to develop a visionary sense of ownership requires commitment and dedication as progress can be excruciatingly slow before it snowballs. “However, observing Ali’s enthusiasm and recognizing the impact of sticking with and supporting the community makes it all worthwhile” Elliott explained. Ali has become quite a star in National Geographic circles as a National Geographic Explorer who saw his picture atop Gros Piton has indicated that she wishes to feature that image of Ali as the leading image for her Ocean and Global Climate Program. Developing community based sustainable tourism in small island developing states is an important step in building island resilience and injecting meaningful economic benefits directly into communities. Big thanks are therefore due to the National Geographic Education Program for a learning framework that has fostered the development of community-based solutions to global challenges. About the Author: Kirk Elliott is a National Geographic Certified Educator, a New York Times Caribbean Photographer, and a Certified Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States Advocate. He is also the founder and CEO of the St Lucia Photo Tour and Kirk Elliott Private St Lucia Experiences, ranked on TripAdvisor as the island’s # 1 Outdoor City Activity. linkedin.com/in/kirkelliott GUEST SUBMI SS ION