The Bahamian government has spent a grand amount of 3,103,804,144 (Archives, 2008) alone for the year of 2007 on imports, the majority of which was spent in the United States of America. These imports included items such as “Snapper fillets fresh and chilled, Stone crab claws frozen, conch live (strombus), mango trees, and many more.” A large sum of these imported items, found in the Bahamas, yet imported from foreign lands, could have more efficiently been gathered with a simple investment in fellow Bahamian fishermen. The government of the Bahamas has been focused on the tourism industry for what seems like forever. The Hotel and Steam Ship Service Act of 1898 opened the doors to the world; since then the Bahamas has received countless visitors who have come to grace our shores and indulge in our sun’s rays. “Tourism is plantation” written by Dr. Ian Strachan, is a book pursues the idea that tourism is in actuality a civilized version of slavery, where the workers of this industry are slaves beholden to their masters, the paying visitors of the Bahamas. The Bahamas and its government heavily depend on tourism. They are so dependent that it could be detrimental to the livelihood of many. The Bahamas currently owes a sum of $17.56 billion (Agency, 2013) to various investors, from whom they have borrowed. The Bahamian government has invested in the foreign rather than in its own, i.e. the citizens of the Bahamas and this habit has left the Bahamas with an unsure future. Hence, the Bahamas should set its sights on other possible forms of resource that could be beneficial not only to the Bahamian government, but also to the Bahamian people as well.
Tourism has always been the Bahamas' primary source of income, the Bahamian governme...
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... routes to take when it comes to the development of the country; however, the real objective is to make a change and secure the future of the Bahamian generations to come.
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Steven Gregory’s book entitled The Devil Behind The Mirror is an ethnographical study of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is in the Caribbean, it occupies the Western half of an island, while Haiti makes up the Eastern portion. Gregory attempts to study and analyze the political, social and cultural aspects of this nation by interviewing and observing both the tourists and locals of two towns Boca Chica and Andres. Gregory’s research centers on globalization and the transnational processes which affect the political and socio-economics of the Dominican Republic. He focuses on the social culture, gender roles, economy, individual and nation identity, also authority and power relations. Several of the major relevant issues facing Dominican society include racism, sexism, and discrimination, economy of resort tourism, sex tourism and the informal economy. The objective of Gregory’s ethnographic research is to decipher exclusionary practices incorporated by resort tourism, how it has affected locals by division of class, gender, and race, increasing poverty and reliance on an informal economy.
The proprietors of the colony had hoped to grow profitable export crops of tobacco, cotton, indigo, and olives at first but all attempts to produce these crops were unsuccessful (Roark). Then in the...
For many immigrants, especially Haitians, the Bahamas acts as a gateway to a better life and/or a passageway to America. We are considered the island of paradise, but how can we maintain this title, our identity, when there are people risking their lives while affecting ours simply to share it? Once the obstacle of getting here is overcome there is no stopping them or what they’ll do to stay here and prosp...
During a recent visit to Jamaica, I observed a number of resorts that themed their golf courses and pools after the old sugar plantations of the island. As the sun-burnt American and British children splashed among the recreation of the 'old mill', local Jamaicans in floral uniforms served drinks to the adults lounging by the pool. The association between the plantation and the modern resort did not appear to disturb the tourists relaxing in the sun. And why should it? This is a different time. The Jamaicans, of whom 91% are descendents of plantation slaves, live and work freely on the Island. As I walked along the beaches which were quickly eroding due to the coastal development by such resorts, I watched the Jamaican employees sweep the seaweed into small piles and carry them off the beach in order to maintain the postcard view of the ocean that the tourists traveled there to see. It occurred to me that something more was at work there. The way in which indigenous cultures, peoples and their land have been commercialized and commodified for the enjoyment of pleasure seeking tourists must have roots somewhere. I began to wonder in what way the acceptance of past exploration and conquest by Europeans of land and people created a justification for today's exploitation of indigenous cultures and environments through tourism and other such devices as transnational corporations and trade.
The documentary Life and Debt portrays a true example of the impact economic globalization can have on a developing country. When most Americans think about Jamaica, we think about the beautiful beaches, warm weather, and friendly people that make it a fabulous vacation spot. This movie shows the place in a different light, by showing a pressuring problem of debt. The everyday survival of many Jamaicans is based on the economic decisions of the United States and other powerful foreign countries.
Brida, J. G., & Zapata, S. (2010). Economic impacts of cruise tourism: The case of Costa Rica. Anatolia: An international journal of tourism & hospitality research, 21(2), 322-338.
In 1627 the first Englishmen landed on the uninhabited Caribbean island of Barbados. Twenty years later, Richard Ligon, a royalist fleeing political turmoil during the English Revolution of 1647-1649, arrived on the island and purchased half of a functioning sugar plantation with several colleagues. He remained on the island for three years, writing A True & Exact History after his return to
Stabler, M.J. Papatheodorou, A. Sinclair, M.T. (2010). The economics of tourism 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Cesar J, Ayala. 1999. American Sugar Kingdom. The plantation economy of the Spanish Caribbean. University of North Carolina press.
“It’s Better In The Bahamas”. This slogan advertises throughout the world to attract tourist. Is it really better in the Bahamas? Many articles on television and in the news paper address the issues in the Bahamian society. While many pay no attention to this dilemma, many Bahamians live in constants fear. Miss Bijoux a single parent lost her job two months ago. One night she lay down on her bed thinking of all the possibilities of obtaining a job. Deep in thought how is she going to care for her children, and how is she going to help her twelve year old pregnant daughter? Lost to the world her phone rings, hello she said the caller answer hi, is this Bijoux residence? I am calling from PMH (Princess Margaret Hospital). Mrs. Bijoux drop the phone and runs to her children’s rooms. When she reaches to her son’s room he was not there, she kneel down on the floor and recites a prayer “Lord please let my son be okay”. Immediately, she calls her family to pick her up and drive her to the Hospital. When she arrives at the hospital she saw her lifeless son on the ventilator in pulmonary distress with blood stains over his clothes. Without shedding a tear, she waited patiently for good news. Unfortunately, her son expires three hours later. Mrs. Bijoux is a victim of a drive by shooting in Nassau Village. While the Bahamas is battling against the economic crisis, the three major issues in the Bahamian society are crimes, unemployment and sexual abuse.
Insurance Commission of The Bahamas. 2013. Number of Licensees by Type. Available at: [Accessed Feb 16th, 2014]
Many children born to foreign parents made great contributions to the Bahamas. For example, great contributions in the government agencies such as in government house, hospitals, and many more. According Donald McCartney, Stephen Dillet a Haitian national who was the first coloured person in history to won an election as representative of Nassau. Is this not a great contribution made by a foreign national for the Bahamas? Furthermore Mr. Dillet was a spokesman for the rights of free blacks in the Bahamas (p 26). Commonly held opinions are foreigners such as Haitian and Jamaican have done nothing for the Bahamas. Moreover, they are taking over. Is it right to stereotype these two nationals because of their poor country. Additionally, the former Prime Minister Lynden ...
According to the ‘World Tourism Organization’ (UNWTO), the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, as it is estimated that by the year 2020, 7.8 billion people (roughly a quarter of the world’s population) will embark on a foreign trip (Bennett & Gebhardt 15). The Caribbean is said to be the most economically dependent on this industry, as the ‘Caribbean Tourism Organisation’ states that the industry forms the “economic backbone of most countries in the Region”(“Caribbean Tourism Industry” 1), implications for what tourism’s affect on the region have arisen and have prompted further research into matter. Since the 1970’s research regarding tourism in the Caribbean has attempted to determine the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of tourism. Much of the research has found that there are in fact many negative adverse affects, and Jackson’s article asserts that, “Governments often commit money and other resources to support the growth and development of tourism and often turn a blind eye to its negative impacts” (574). The reason why tourism looks attractive (and thus turn a blind eye) to these Caribbean countries is because of “its potential to foster GDP growth, to create employment, to increase foreign exchange earnings, and attract capital investment” (Daye, Chambers, and Roberts 2). This paper will overview such impacts by first discussing a case study conducted in Jamaican resort town, Ocho Rios, with Sheere Brooks discussing the observed social, cultural and economical consequences of Jamaica’s reliance on the tourism industry and will finally look at tourism in relation to capitalism, with Robert Fletcher suggesting in his article that the tourism industry (and more specifically...
In her essay, “Last Resorts: The Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean”, journalist Polly Pattullo presents an inside view of the resort industry in the Caribbean Islands, and how it truly operates. Tourism is the main industry of the Caribbean, formerly referred to as the West Indies, and it is the major part of the economy there. Pattullo’s essay mirrors the ideas of Trevor M.A. Farrell’s perspective “Decolonization in the English-Speaking Caribbean” in which he writes about the implicit meaning of the colonial condition. Pattollo’s essay illustrates that colonialism is present in the Caribbean tourism industry by comparing the meaning of it presented in Farrell’s perspective. In this essay I will explain how these two essays explain how decolonization hardly exists in the Caribbean.
Barbados previously dabbled in the mass-tourism industry, but currently primarily offers a more up-market and luxury product. The success of tourism was traditionally measured in percentage annual increase of arrivals, however this type of measurement ignores important variables such as length of stay or visitor expenditure and seasonal variations. This fa...