Ryan Walker takes a hard look at tourism's impact on Jamaica.
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For those Americans living near the coast, imagine, if you can for a second, your favorite beach spot. That beach is pretty nice, isn’t it? You like it because it may be the best beach in your eyes, or you went there for spring break or a senior trip, or it may have been the best one back when your parents used to go there as kids. Now, take that beautiful image of fun on the beach, catching waves in the tide, and getting a nice tan and throw it all away. Imagine that beach is now property of some resort and the only way to get to back to that beach is pay an outrageous fee to get into the resort. That is the reality for Jamaica, home of Caribbean honeymoons, wild Spring Break trips, and tropical paradise.
This tropical island has had its best beaches taken away from it so that American, and other tourists, maybe like yourself, can come and enjoy the best of Jamaica.
Offended?
If you have never been to a resort in Jamaica, or the Caribbean for that matter, then maybe you have that right, but for those that have, please read the rest of this article. In the 1960s, Jamaica gained its independence, August 6, 1962, to be exact. At about the same time, the government of Jamaica realized the “value” that could be had from developing a tourism industry that catered to tourists around the world, but mainly from the United States. As a result, development began all over the island, most heavily along Jamaica’s Northern Coast. International hotel management companies invested in large, resort complexes that provided their visitors everything they might need with the resort wall. Companies paid bottom dollar for construction cost and labor wages, and the environment was the last thing on most developers mind.
Fifty years later, those same resort walls and gated entrances with security guards liter the highway from Montego Bay to Port Antonio. These walls serve as a physical barrier keeping Jamaicans out, and sheltering tourists. The best of Jamaica’s coastal and maritime landscape was either taken from its people, or destroyed as a result of environmental damages from environmentally irresponsible development. That statement may be enough to get a few hits on the internet from concerned Americans, or a second thought about booking that vacation to Sandals in Ocho Rios, but other than that, there may not be much change. So the favorite beach spot metaphor didn’t strike the strongest chord? Now imagine the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, or Yellowstone National Parks and all their natural beauty being privatized as resorts. That gets a better reaction, does it not? Those are our national beauties.
So what does this issue of the all-inclusive resort have with sustainability? Besides the glaring environmental impacts of beach, and in some cases, water side development, there is a troubling issue of social sustainability. By creating resorts that have excluded Jamaicans, the Jamaican society is already feeling the side effects. Jamaicans no longer have public access to many of its better beaches, creating a rift the sense of ownership that is inherent between citizen and native landscape. Many towns that have all-inclusive resorts in or near them have experienced financial struggles. In Ocho Rios, the number of restaurants has gone down based on a lowering demand for food services. Many shops have also closed because tourists are getting their shopping needs within the resort itself. The impact has reached even agriculture, where farmers are no longer providing food for these resorts, not being able to compete with the prices of imported food that go straight to the resort kitchens.
The true impact of all-inclusive, all-exclusive resorts is one at the social and cultural level. These impacts have robbed many Jamaicans of their land, their livelihood, and the prospect to sustain themselves and their families.
I vacationed in Ochos Rios in 1983. We had a great time but even then the contrast between the tourist area and where the people lived was stark. The beaches were still public though and it was fun to joke with the rastas and give the kids a dollar to fetch a fresh coconut. Sounds like things have gotten worse since then. I think it is true that most of the Caribbean islands are still reflective of their colonization. But isn't it true that the examples of "our" natural beauty were essentially stolen from the native people too? Visit an Indian reservation if you want a sense of inequity in our country.
ReplyDeleteMr. Lau, thanks for your comment. One of the people that we students have been interacting with has been living in Ocho Rios since 1984. She has some very choice opinions about tourism and the all-inclusive resort's impact on Jamaica and Ocho Rios as well. Your statement about the National Parks that I claim to be mine is a very challenging one. Your comment raises the question and issue of who has the historic right to land and who should profit from its natural beauty. In regard to the Indian Reservations, I actually spent a week out in Arizona at a place east of Holbrook, AZ just south of the Navajo Indian Reservation. The amount of poverty I saw was comparable to many developing or third world countries. I also went to Canyon de Chelly National Park and experienced the beauty there so your comment does hit home for me. There is an article published in this month's edition of National Geographic Magazine that looks at communities in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Wounded Knee Massacre. The article is a very interesting read and I suggest it should you have time. Once again, thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeletehttp://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/08/pine-ridge/fuller-text