There was a day not long ago, when the average American could only afford to travel to exotic destinations while sitting in the comfort of their favorite easy chair and reading the National Geographic Magazine. The pages of the magazine took us to pristine nations, islands and undeveloped nations where live was fairly undisturbed and people were largely happy, in a simplistic natural environment. Then came their television show and making it all that much more real. That was the biggest mistake.
Some rich Americans noticed the popularity of shows like National Geographic and the Travel Channel and an idea was born to coax American travelers with the lure of cheap cruises to visit those once exotic destinations, and the explosion of the cruise industry was born.
Now, National Geographic Magazine has issued a Cruise Bruise to the industry for decimation of the Caribbean. The October / November issue of their online travel section, National Geographic Traveler (NGT) takes aim at the cruise industry for reducing Caribbean islands into nothing more than crime ridden, over-crowded, American owned and operated tourists traps, with a score for each island.
On the surface, this seems like a just another travel opinion by somebody with an axe to grind. Nay, nay. NGT assembled 522 experts from around the world, only some from within the travel industry.
Experts participated from many sectors including ecologists, geographers, sociologists, environmental experts, World Bank representatives, marine scientists, biologist, travel consultants, sustainable tourism experts, tour operators, hoteliers and so many more. This team gave their opinions on the destinations anonymously, then they were collected and based on the consensus a smaller team of experts in the field that covered the consensus topic, wrote up the summary, which was then edited, heavily. The unedited report must have been volumes.
If you are looking for travel tips, that last person you want to get them from is someone within the industry due to make a commission off your sale, the drunk who barely remembers the cruise, or the drug addict who sits in a industry forum all day with nothing better to do.
A person who spent all their time in the casino aboard the ship you are looking at can hardly be considered an expert unless you plan to sit in the casino all day too. You need objective advice from experts in a wide range of fields if a cruise is more than just gambling, drugs and booze to you. With 522 experts assembled, this critique by by NGT tells the real story.
There were few surprises from what I saw in the Caribbean. A perfect score would be 100, and none went above 77. The average for the islands was 57 with the lowest being a pathetic 37.
In the case of quite a few islands, the cruise industry was to blame for much that had gone wrong. Of the twelve bottom listed, six had the cruise industry taking blame for at least some of the problems.
The list bottom dwellers were St. Thomas at the bottom with a 37, and is noted that up to 10 cruise ships call at the exact same time creating a fiasco on many levels. The experts said locals have borderline down right hostility towards tourists. Egad.
Cozumel squeeked out a 47 score with a dozen ships in port at the same time. Grand Caymen could only muster 47 points with more Americans on the tropical island than Caribbeans. While Aruba racked up only 48 points after having created a "tacky downtown."
Some contributing factors to these low ratings were tourism overkill, over-crowding, horrendous traffic, high crime, ecological blindness, American businesses owners dominating the marketplace, lack of local products, failure to contribute financially to the financial growth and jobs of the town or island, lack of indigenous habitants, over development of the water front, poor location of cruise terminals infringing on the aesthetics of the town, and poor sanitation with lack of adequate water or sewage treatment. As you can see the problems are vast facing these Caribbean nations. Most sound more like a trip to an American mainland city.
There were statements about downtown areas full of nothing but jewelry that was imported from other nations and cheap manufactured souvenirs, that had no local flavor. This is something we have been reporting here for months.
The critique was overwhelming. There was an enormous amount of information, that you really have to read for yourself to believe it.
The bottom line is the Caribbean is no longer a tropic destination for anything more than a out-of-control party. Those nations that held their ground, refused cruise ships or limited them, and kept prices high are still great places to relax.
While St. John received a score of 70, there is mention of cruise ship visitors coming from St. Thomas on a ferry and creating congestion on their beaches. Such a shame.
Grenadines received a score of 77, the top prize for Caribbean Islands. Even then, the cruise industry was mentioned as doing little for the local economy.
If you listen to the cruise industry and their supporters, they tell an entirely different story, where the cruise industry is portrayed as saintly saviours of poor third world nations, when nothing could be further from the truth. 522 experts, with nothing to gain financially, can not be wrong.
The main page for the island reviews is - here
You will note the Caribbean Islands mentioned above, listed at the bottom of that page.
To see the review of just the Caribbean Islands go - here
You will find information on their review team - here
National Geographic Magazine Report
Rates Caribbean And Blames Cruise Industry
November 5, 2007
