“JAMAICA FOR SALE” – Documentary About Tourism & Unsustainable Development Released

Though the Caribbean receives only about five percent of the global tourist trade, it is a region now economically dependent on tourism.

Jamaica’s narrow dependence on the highly volatile tourist industry is increasing as the region’s traditional agricultural exports fail. A group of islanders says that the small scale economies of the Caribbean are getting further mired down in debt, while being unable to compete with the massive engines of globalization – North America, the European Union, China, India and Brazil.

Jamaica is undergoing unprecedented large-scale, mass market, all-inclusive hotel development, as well as the construction of exclusive gated residential schemes and luxury condominiums for non-residents. Says the group – Casino licenses have been approved, major tourist attractions, another international airport and many more hotels and luxury resorts are in the pipeline.

“There is a construction boom in both tourist related infrastructure (primarily highways and water delivery systems) and mega-sized hotels built on ecologically sensitive shorelines, often in socially impoverished rural communities which are without such basic amenities as proper schools, health care, housing, sewage treatment, reliable utilities and security.”

Just released “Jamaica for Sale” takes a sharp look at the environmental, economic, and social impacts of tourism, including

* The cumulative impacts of poorly regulated large-scale development on water quality, depleted marine species, and degraded shoreline habitats

* The social impacts of the privatization of the public sphere with the removal of access by Jamaicans to beaches and shoreline

* The social and environmental impacts of uncontrolled development in areas with little to no social and economic infrastructure

* The economic impacts of relying on low-wage, unskilled labour and remittances from Jamaicans abroad as the model for economic development, while promoting an industry that leads to inflation in land and housing prices, and requires the consumption of large amounts of natural resources

* The political, environmental and social impacts of a weak regulatory framework, where environmental laws are many but often outdated and almost never enforced.

Jamaica for Sale engages with a cross section of Jamaicans: workers who labour for low wages in the tourist industry; small hoteliers and providers of tourism services concerned about the future of the industry; fishermen affected by the increasing development of the coast; citizens alarmed at their exclusion from the beaches and decision making processes that allow for development in their communities; and environmentalists fighting to have the value of the Jamaica’s natural resources recognized.

Said Ian Boxill, Professor of Sociology and Tourism Researcher, “This film boldly ventures beyond the idyllic images of an island paradise, depicted in numerous travel brochures and television advertisements, exposing the underbelly of an industry beset by serious social and environmental challenges. Sobering and riveting, this documentary is a must see for all those who love Jamaica and care about creating a sustainable tourism industry.”

See the film and the blog at:
JamaicaForSale.net

Valere Tjolle