Despite fair effort over the last two years by the Tourism Division, Tobago still suffers that bane of the hospitality trade - low occupancy. Underpinning their effort we also appreciate the tourism has been negatively impacted by externalities such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the lingering global recession.
Yet there are other realities to contend with - mundane but truly grave issues like what’s coming with the hotter, drier climate of the future. Or what will life be like when Tobago is just too hot, too expensive and simply too barren to interest anything except Saharan dust.
In short Environment Tobago is suggesting we begin the process of rethinking regrowing the development plan: Ask Tobago to step back from its historic unthinking, uncaring and obviously unscientific push to ‘improve’ visitor numbers on-ground. Ask the people to make their money in smarter, more sustainable ways.
The first step, degrowth may be the safest path to a better future. Developmental degrowth sounds horrific that is true, but the alternative (its ugly, really ugly) to scaling back to move foward are failed ecosystems, endemic poverty and everything the poverty/drought combination can and will spawn.
We believe this bleak trajectory is already embarked upon; having witnessed over time a truly inequitable distribution of Tobago’s natural potential, poor management decisions in the use of its natural assets and a very weak system of prep for the local population for the creation of businesses and jobs that best serves them.
To elaborate some, in no particular order Tobago has compromised the resilience of both the Courland and Hillsborough watersheds in the interest of itinerant logging, by the building of structures that serves the few rather than the many. It has enabled untold wealth to select citizens by condoning gravel mining on coastal shores, rivers and hillside.
Even the State makes mistakes. The Buccoo Reef Marine Park is presently carded to receive the gift of a toilet or two on No Man’s Land. See what we mean about the need to degrow the tourism? Thing is, can we shunt this Tobago train of unsustainability? Transform our island’s current path of development to something better?
Common sense tells us that would require a more responsible class of Private to Government to Public partnerships than is currently going. Plus - the linking of knowledge to action to ensure that all Tobago businesses meet the needs of the community. At this point Tobago’s model of tourism just does not. It never did. If you dear reader have an interest in the concept of ‘degrowth’. the seeking of sustainability and how it can work for Tobago tourism in the long haul, join us on the next post - Soon come.