You Really Going To Crush My Corns?

What is the worst news that a Caribbean island can get? It may be warnings of an impending hurricane: the season is long and many such alarms come and go without any damage and complacency sets in. It could be the rumblings of a volcano, signalling that one of the active, though dormant caps may blow. We have seen their devastation often enough on those tiny isles, such as Montserrat: the British arrive and offer to take people away from danger in boats, and many refuse. It could be a plague of African snails, munching on our crops and devastating what harvests were due. But if we are offered a bounty to capture these beasts the money goes unused and if we are told we can cook and eat them, people are more ready to say "Who me?" than swallow their pride and prejudice and chew on the grubs.

But worse is the news that British Airways unions are threatening a strike to happen over the Christmas period. We read that "The 12-day walkout could cost loss-making BA £30million a day and ruin the airline." But the strike could cost many islands their tourist revenues for the season. The UK news lines are reporting the frantic action being taken by airline and potential passengers (see Mirror report): court cases, re-booking like crazy.

I spoke to some academics and practitioners in the tourism sector recently about the fact that I dislike tourism for many reasons. One is that the industry is hard to control from the suppliers side: you cannot make more sun, sea or sand that easily, or make them better; you can make rooms fancier and offer more discounts, but they eat away your earnings. I also do not like it as a pillar for development, because it sucks up so many national resources that cannot then be diverted elsewhere if needed. Unused hotel rooms/nights are a 'perishable' good a well known US hotelier said recently: once past their 'sell by' date they are useless.

So what will countries like Barbados do if the Brits cannot come in a few days time? Not much Christmas cake can be made and eaten if those airlifts do not arrive? The hardy will try to get here by hook or by crook and by any airline routing they can--they have money to preserve too. Maybe it needs a Churchillian effort to 'evacuate' Blighty and deposit ship loads of Brits on the beaches--like 'Operation Dynamo' from Dunkirk in reverse. Makes you feel miserable?

Here's to a merry Christmas.