Last Resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean [Paperback ed.] 0304336920, 9780304336920

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THE COST OF

TOURIT IN

THE

CARIBBEAN

ft

'.-:?'-

-

Polly Pattullo Foreword by Michael Manlev

A

3 Last Resorts

i

c-s \

x

Last Resorts The Cost of Tourism in

the Caribbean Polly Pattullo

T CASSELL

LtAJ

Cassell

Wellington House 125 Strand

London

WC2R OBB

© Polly

Pattullo 1996

All rights

reserved.

No

part of this publication

may be reproduced

or trans-

any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. mitted

First

in

published 1996

Published Latin

in

association with

America Bureau (Research and Action) Ltd

1 Amwell Street London EC1R 1UL

in North America by Monthly Review Press

Distributed

122 West 27 Street 10001,

New York, NY

USA

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data record for this book is available from the British Library.

A catalogue

ISBN 0-304-33693-9 (hardback) 0-304-33692-0 (paperback) Excerpt from Omeros, by Derek Walcott, published by Faber (UK), and Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc. (USA). Reprinted by permission of the publishers.

Cover photograph by

Philip

Typeset by Ben Cracknel Printed

and bound

in

& Fnber Ltd

Wolmuth

I

Great Britain by Biddies Ltd, Guildford and King's Lynn

Contents

Foreword

ix

List of Illustrations

xi

Acknowledgements

xiii

1.

The Lock and the Key: History and Power

2.

Linkages and Leakages: The Planning Factor

3.

From Banana Farmer Employment

4.

'Like

an Alien

The 5.

6.

In

to

2

28

Banana

Daiquiri:

52

We Own

Land':

Social Impact

80

Green Crime, Green Redemption: The Environment and Ecotourism

104

The Holiday and Its Makers: The Tourists

136

7.

Sailing into the Sunset:

8.

Reclaiming the Heritage

The Cruise-ship Industry Trail:

Culture and Identity 9.

New

Footprints The Future

in

Books from the

Latin

178

the Sand:

202

Select Bibliography

Index

156

212

America Bureau

215 217

Foreword

The governments and leaders of the Caribbean have finally and almost unanimously come to the view that tourism is anything from 'an means of economic economic summit of the newly

important', to 'the most important', to 'the only' survival for their states. Indeed, the

first

formed Association of Caribbean States (ACS), held in August 1995 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, focused on tourism, trade and transport. Those present included Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba, Ernesto Zedillo of

Mexico, Rafael Caldera of Venezuela, Violeta Chamorro of Nicaragua,

Cheddi Jagan of Guyana and almost every prime minister from the Anglophone nations of the Caribbean Community. Yet, as acceptance of this view of tourism as an indispensable economic tool spreads, it is essential that we avoid the twin dangers of unthinking triumphalism on the part of the industry's advocates or uncritical acceptance by governments and the general public. Last Resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean by Polly Pattullo is a timely and penetrating study of this subject. At the beginning of the book,

Ms

Pattullo juxtaposes diametric views in St Lucia concerning the

and deeply symbolic

beautiful

pragmatists proposed a

site

pair

of volcanic cones, the Pitons. The

between the Pitons

for a

new

hotel complex,

the Jalousie Plantation Resort and Spa, as an exclusive enclave for the

diversion of the wealthy.

The

idealists

opposed the plan on grounds

that

ranged from concern for the delicately balanced ecosystem to resistance to the desecration of history. Poet

and Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott,

holder of the Order of the Caribbean Community, spoke with cutting passion of those

who

'make

a fast

Last Resorts explores the

opened

in

becomes

a

buck off a

question,

shrine'.

who won when

Jalousie

was

1992? The contest which preceded the hotel's opening

metaphor

for the

problems which

lie at

the heart of Caribbean

development; and in describing the intense controversy surrounding the issue,

the

The

book

lays bare the contradictions at the heart

vacation industry

is

clearly here to stay.

of tourism

itself.

But the question which

IX

Foreword

we

dare not ignore

is

whether we, the Caribbean people,

have the wit and the will to make not,

it

become our

will

diminishing returns while

it

are

going to

the servant of our needs. If

on

master, dispensing pleasure

a

we do

curve of

exacerbates social divisions and widens that

it

legacy of colonialism: the gap between small, comfortable minorities and large majorities barely surviving at the social margin.

In succeeding chapters, Polly Pattullo examines the effects of tourism

on Caribbean

Of

culture and the region's environment and social cohesion.

particular importance

her analysis of the threat posed by the

is

booming cruise ship industry. The Caribbean, from Cuba

Cayman

to the

Islands,

needs

tourism.

described

as 'the

engine of growth' for the region. Yet

Indeed,

dynamics are not understood,

it

industry

this

from Haiti

to

now commonly

Tobago,

is

if its

underlying

can be an engine of short-term cash

enhancement and long-term disaster. The danger lies in an industry based on the all-inclusive resort, walled off from the surrounding countryside and importing its food and furniture, its designs and designers, its fabrics and fashions from the US mainland. On the other hand, with proper planning and popular participation,

increasingly

the tourism sector can

become

products and

involving whole industries, professional groups

and

activities,

individuals.

builders, for

our

the best market for a great variety of

can be the primary target for our architects and

It

artists

and

tourism can provide a

crafts

vital

people,

as

catalyst for a process

workers, for example,

groups and provides sports pursued, tourism could

whole region and

a

people. This was, in its

it,

and

a vital

their guests.

In addition,

hotel

facilities for

sponsors local theatre

itself

the youth. If

all

such goals are

become an engine of self-sustaining growth for means towards the greater empowerment of all fact,

the

hope behind the

first

ACS

summit and

agenda.

Last Resorts leaves

no need

to carry

can be encouraged to become part of the

shareholding structure while the industry

the rationale for

short,

of regional integration which can spread beyond the

immediate scope of the hotels and

the

our farmers. In

as

enhanced regional trade with the transport

for

its

well

stimulus to regional production, the reason

no doubt

for despair.

that there

Anyone who

proceed with care and, equally,

how

is

reads

no room it

will

action that

is

for triumphalism, yet

know why we must

both bold and wise can

place the tourism industry at the service of all. Polly Pattullo has brought a

keen mind and lucid

style to

one of the most important

issues

of our times.

Michael Manley September 1995

List of Illustrations

Foreword

Dominica 1987. Philip Wolmuth.

Chapter

Jalousie Plantation.

1

Philip

Chapter 2

vii

1

Wolmuth.

Varadero, Cuba: construction.

27

Bruce Paton/PANOS Pictures.

Chapter 3

St Lucia: Jalousie. Philip

Chapter 4

St Lucia: security guard. Philip

Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

tourist,

Dominican Republic.

135

Wolmuth.

Cruise passengers disembark, Antigua. Philip

103

Wolmuth.

German Philip

79

Wolmuth.

Golf course, Dominican Republic. Philip

51

Wolmuth.

155

Wolmuth.

Tropicana nightclub.

177

M. O'Brien/PANOS Pictures. Chapter 9

Barbados bar owner. Wolmuth.

201

Philip

XI

Acknowledgements

My thanks

to

my

helpful editor, James Ferguson, for asking

Last Resorts; to those

who

read

all

me

to write

or parts of the manuscript, in particular,

Edward Cumberbatch, Lennox Honychurch, Anne Walmsley, Martin Mowforth, Peter Prince and Ros O'Brien; and, above all, to the people of the Caribbean - whether ministers or tourism officials, hotel workers or beach vendors — who so generously offered information and advice.

And

to

Roseau

my friends in Dominica, valley,

who

first

especially those living or

inspired

me

to think

more

working

in the

closely about the

future shape of the Caribbean tourist industry.

xiii

r^**c*Ac

CHAPTER

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