PARADISE IN PERIL?

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 467

Recently my daughter Jennifer went on vacation to the Turks & Caicos Islands, and said that she had a great time and that the islands were truly beautiful. But she also read and brought back to me an article in the Times of the Islands magazine written by Ben Stubenberg entitled “Paradise in Peril?” The article focused upon several problems that I never really had considered before and, importantly, some proposed resolutions. So I thought I would share them with you. The problems all stem from over-tourism, that is to say, when a “paradise” becomes better known, big time tourist companies build big resorts, the places begin to suffer from “ceaseless expansion,” and lots of people tend to trample the flora and fauna. In addition, often the native people of the paradise get frozen out of much of the tourist revenue. And that is what Mr. Stubenberg saw was happening in Turks & Caicos.

So what to do about it? Here are some of Mr. Stubenberg’s suggestions:

• Break the cycle by passing regulations that halt or at least seriously reduce resort construction;
• Focus upon eco-friendly tourism, such as bird and whale watching, scuba diving and snorkeling, and also offer tours to undeveloped places that are remote and environmentally interesting – and keep them that way;
• Ban the sales of products like non-reef-safe sunscreens;
• Expand parks next to beaches and other attractive locations, where the focus would be upon native plants and shady trees for both tourists and locals to enjoy;
• Limit the number of people who can come to the “paradise” at any one time, so that the places do not seem as crowded as New York’s Times Square;
• Let it be known that a good part of the tax and fees money collected would be used to protect the environment; and,
• Train locals to be professional and skilled guides who are knowledgeable about local history, customs and environments, so the locals can continue to be involved in the benefits of tourism.

Yes, these suggestions would reduce the amount of money coming into the “paradise areas,” at least for a while. But in the long run it would keep those areas from eventual decline due to being saturated by a flood of tourists. And, if suggestions like these were to be adopted, many people would be willing to pay a premium to visit these areas because they would know that they were enhancing the environment instead of trampling upon it. Truly something to think about, even for areas in our country.

Chinese Proverb: “The Best Time To Plant a Tree Was 20 years ago. The Second Best Time Is Now.”