Author: Ben Stubenberg (Page 2 of 2)

For the past 30 years, Provo has stood out among other Caribbean island tourist destinations as a uniquely compelling luxury experience. Mesmerizing turquoise water, miles of stunning white sand beaches, and a low-key vibe all invited unhurried tranquility and relaxation with breathtaking splendor. But the approved construction of several new resorts, including another 12 story high-rise overlooking Grace Bay, will inevitably put extreme pressure on the infrastructure. And that in turn could change Provo special appeal.

As a longtime student of the Caribbean over the last 50 years, I have witnessed development at its attractive best and disappointingly mundane. I have seen island destinations that dazzle and engage the senses, like Turks & Caicos, and those that were lured into the fateful decision to embrace mass tourism with the hopeful promise of economic gain with all its attendant costs.

Not surprisingly, most of the destinations that have managed to hold on to their high-end magic are also the ones without big airports and thus harder to bring in big jet loads of visitors. These include the British Virgin Islands, Bequia (St. Vincent & The Grenadines), and St. Barth’s. They have continued to do extremely well. But even a few with jet airports with flights from Miami have managed to avoid unbridled development. These would include, so far, San Salvador (Bahamas) and Anguilla. Where is Provo in this mix?

The irony is that for decades Provo uniquely managed to attract high-end tourists from the US, Canada, and now the UK with direct flights while still managing to preserve that low-key, uncrowded vibe along with the splendor. So, it really didn’t have much competition. But that specialness may be sorely tested if Provo continues to lean in the direction of mass tourist destinations like St. Maarten, Aruba, Nassau, St. Thomas, and Cayman–all of which also have beautiful ocean and splendid beaches–even as they became crowded and congested.

Does Provo really want to become like those islands that process many times more visitors and have essentially turned tourism into a commodity? Or does this island remain a destination that nurtures the soul like no other while still drawing in healthy tourist dollars? If yes to the latter, the time to change course is now.

In my article, “Who Gets A Piece Of Paradise” published in the winter issue of Times of the Islands, I ask if TCI should hit pause on tourism development. Implied in the question is another question: Who do we want to be as a destination and ultimately as a society?

With six or seven new resort developments going up on Provo and projections for 1.1 million stay-over tourists by 2032 (more than double the current number of 490,000), the question takes on new urgency. In my view, the island seems to be racing toward mass tourism and losing the special magic that draws in the luxury tourists that sustained TCI.

Sure, the resorts going up are luxury in nature, but the congestion they will bring is anything but luxurious. Indeed, for the past 30 years, Provo has been without peer or competition in the Caribbean when taking into account direct flights from the US and Canada (and now UK), spectacular beaches, gorgeous turquoise water, and, above all, a sense of serenity without crowds. That’s what distinguished us.

If we keep going down the path of unbridled tourism development, we risk losing that uniqueness–some say we already have. When that happens, we become just another tourism commodity that, ironically, puts Provo in direct competition with other Caribbean Region countries that have gone down this path. In other words, we are trading in the specialness that distinguished us from everyone else to carve out a market share that, until now, was irrelevant.

I fully understand the need to generate wealth to benefit the local people and wholeheartedly support that through luxury tourism. However, if that luxury that set us apart disappears, none of us will benefit except for investors/developers who built and sold early enough. Why would anyone seeking a luxury vacation and having the means to afford it come to a place that is congested with resorts, never mind the airport and highways. In short, the benefits of sprawling development will be short-lived and lead to stagnation, as per tourism development trajectories addressed in earlier blogs and the article “Who Gets A Piece of Paradise.”

I just hope the momentum is not too great to slow down and remember who we are and what we stand for.

The trajectory of tourism development has been well established over the last four decades. In 1980 Professor Richard Butler at the University of Western Ontario published a study of the life cycle of tourist destinations. Referred to as the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC), the model identifies six or seven predictable stages that a resort destination goes through regardless of location. It is worth examining the elements of TALC, which has held up remarkably well over the decades, to see where the Turks & Caicos Islands currently fits into the cycle and what to anticipate.

Most North Americans or Europeans or Caribbean islanders who come to live on Provo don’t want to go back. Same with many visitors to Provo who want to stay longer and often opt to buy a place. Everyone, it seems, wants their piece of this paradise. With today’s modern infrastructure, paradise can indeed be home, full-time or part-time. In the past, it was usually the adventurous with a high tolerance for lack of amenities. Like pirates and, later, eccentric malcontents with an aversion for social rules in their homeland who made their way to a tropical island. But the islands are no longer for malcontents (though a few of them can be spotted). Settling comfortably in paradise has become a much more viable option. As new people move in, however, new issues arise. Who are these people? 

During the Golden Age of Piracy, legend has it that the notorious female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, hid out in the sheltered coves of the Turks & Caicos Islands after raids on passing merchant vessels. The long protective barrier reef provided a tranquil refuge after a stressful day of sword fights and pistols blazing. And turquoise waters gently lapping the long sandy beaches surely helped them to unwind while dividing up the loot. As night fell, we can imagine Anne and Mary and their fellow pirates drinking, dancing, carousing, and no doubt procreating under a billion stars strewn across a black Caribbean sky. This piece of paradise was their escape and, for a while, their home. 

Let me state upfront: I am new to blogging. In fact, this is the first blog post I have ever written. So why now? Two reasons. First, to explore and comment the changing nature of Caribbean islands and the Turks & Caicos and nearby Haiti in particular. Here you’ll read about tourism, overdevelopment, wealth, inequality, migration, disenfranchisement, and the heroes determined to empower their countries and communities. Second, to tell the world about my upcoming book The Jamaican Bobsled Captain. In many ways, the original Jamaican bobsled team, and particularly its captain, Dudley “Tal” Stokes, reflect the Caribbean grit to keep pushing past failure and doubt to succeed against the odds.