December Cruise to West Indies

I recently came back from a seven day cruise to the West Indies. For those how don't know where that is, the islands are located right on the equator, on the Atlantic Ocean by the Caribbean Islands and north of Brazil in South America. Not only was being on a cruise ship amazing, but seeing the culture of these islands and the geography of them was a shock to me also. tiny islands with beautiful mountains on them, exotic animals that we go to see at a zoo are just running around in the wild.
I talked to some of the residents who live on the islands. They told me about some of their culture and how their everyday life is. The people i talked to seemed overall happy with their lifestyle. But i was troubled a little bit.
They told me that their islands only income is tourism, which I linked to the mass poverty on these islands. Sure from a distance they all look beautiful and lavish, but when you actually walk through the resident areas of the island your mind changes about the living condition there.
There were family's of five to six people living in sheet metal shacks, trash almost everywhere, animals roamed through multiple properties, crime, violence and corruption. But still people visit these islands, and as long as tourism is their only form of income then the poverty level will stay steady or go up. Everyone has to make ends meet I guess, either that or help someone get there while they go on vacation.