If heaven on earth exists, it is on the small islands. Small islands are still one of the most popular destinations for travelling. People visit them to experience clean beaches, crystal clear water, exotic nature, and hospitality.

Around two thirds of the SIDS` population is employed in service industry. Like many other SIDS in the Caribbean, economy of Antigua and Barbuda is shifting from an agriculturally based model to a service based one, mainly dominated by the tourism sector, which contributes around 61.3% to their GDP (World Bank, 2022). Unfortunately, like other SIDS, Antigua and Barbuda is facing the problem of marine plastic, which affects all the spheres of life and economy. One of the impacts on tourism from marine litter comes from the polluted beaches and coastal areas, which may negatively reflect in tourists’ willingness to visit the country.

Comprehensive overview on economic impact of plastic pollution on tourism (IUCN, 2022) provides that the potential percentage of tourists who would no longer be willing to visit the country if all plastics accumulated on beaches is estimated to be between 82.4% and 97%. Providing two different scenarios of plastic accumulation from 2023 to 2040 the estimated direct impact (including revenue loss in fishery) in present value is between USD 79,445,037 and USD 191,567,014.
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