Progressive Minds

I've created a new poll concerning the proposed bill to allow cruise ships to operate their casinos while in port. I feel that this issue is one that we definitely need to debate, and so I'll try to get the ball rolling.

I have voted against allowing the cruise ships to operate their casinos to operate while in port.

In general I am opposed to gambling, especially in the mass comercial sense such as national lotteries and casinos which I see as little more than a scheme to redistribute wealth away from the poorer sections of society and into the coffers of the already well-to-do. While I can understand the argument of allowing these operations with the qualifications that X% of revenue so generated goes into funding social programs, I find such a strategy to be essentially a hidden tax, and one that contributes greater problems than it solves.

I can certainly understand the need to increase tourism, and, yes, this initiative and gambling in general is certainly one option for doing so. However, as we well know, tourism - and the type of tourism in particular - can have profound impacts on our society, economy and ecology, both good and bad. I feel that we should be careful in desigining our tourism strategy in order to encourage 'good' impacts on our society, economy and ecology, and minimise or avoid the negative ones. And 'good' is not simply about generating the most profit; more often than not such an approach comes at the expense of our society and ecology.

'Good' in the economic sense should instead be about ensuring increased economic justice and democracy - equity - and not about maximising the profits of a chosen few, whether they be Blacks or Whites. Furthermore 'good' in the sense of society should seek to increase a sense of community, of solidarity and respect for our heritage, not individualism and crass materialism - bling if you will. Ecologically we should be focusing on appreciating and strengthening our natural ecosystems that both support our existence, and benefit our tourism in the first place through the aestheic beauty of our island.

I am not convinced that gambling, be it full casinos, or on cruise ships, is beneficial in the final analysis to developing our island for the better. Gambling is predicated largely on bling, on individualism and materialism - and heavily on short-term profit. Such mentalities have an impact beyond the purely economic realm and have potentially disastourous consequences for our already degraded society and ecology.

Far better a tourism strategy, perhaps not in the sense of maximising profit, but definitely in the sense of social and ecological good, as well as economic equity and justice, is to focus on alternative tourism approaches. In particular we should be focusing on eco-tourism, cultural tourism and luxury cruise liners. These initiatives bring in far fewer numbers of tourists (and with luxury cruise liners avoid the problems associated with Panamax class vessels), but they have a much greater value in monies generated per tourist than the crass and mass tourism that gambling could generate. What is more, they have the potential to strengthen our socialy, economic and ecological welfare to a far greater degree than gambling tourism can.

Let the Caribbean destroy themselves socially, economically and ecologically with crass tourism, we have no need to join them or keep up with them with visitor arrivals. Such wealth is more illusory and leads to potentially self-destructive social and ecological situations. We would do far better, as a people, to focus on alternative tourism that brings in more value while also strengthening our social, eocnomic and ecological welfare. We should, and can, offer something different to tourists, and profit handsomely from it in real terms.

Gambling tourism is a superficial and damaging tourism strategy, and its profits are not altogether different from Judas's silver - short-term gain in exchange for long-term ruin.

Our focus should be on development, not growth for the sake of growth. Gambling tourism is a false hope four our rejuvenation.