Caribbean News
There are New Ways to Lure Travellers says Tourism expert From Jamaica
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#Jamaica, May 27, 2022 – Sun, sand and sea are no longer enough and Jamaica should know; said to be the Caribbean country with the highest bookings into Summer and with its tourism leaders continuously blazing trails and making bold global statements about its destination.
Carolyn McDonald-Riley Director of the Tourism Linkages Network at Tuesday’s Invest Turks and Caicos Economic Conference stood resolutely at the third installment of the Invest Turks and Caicos Agency Economic Conference and announced, ‘Caribbean countries must shake it up if they want to remain some of the most sought after tourist destinations worldwide.’
McDonald-Riley explained that tourism is being largely pushed by the younger generation who were traveling more, spending more and traveling longer and wanted “new authentic and customized experiences.”
With the advent of social media, newer niche destinations which can offer that are gaining more and more traction.
“Travelers now are more interested in connecting with places and people. They desire more memorable experiences that are intrinsically personal, engage their senses and leave long lasting impressions. The observations imply that Caribbean destinations may now need to revisit the whole notion of competitiveness.”
She explained that destinations that failed to differentiate themselves from others by developing tourism products that allow them to expand their appeal would likely be left behind in the changing market. She insisted that in the Caribbean, “There is an urgent need among us to prioritize strategies that will allow us to achieve greater segmentation and product diversification.”
She explained five strategies that Jamaica had used between 2017 to 2022 in an effort to snag 5 million arrivals, in 5 years, to earn 5 billion dollars. They included identifying new markets, developing new products, developing new partnerships, new investments and embarking on human resource development.
She insisted that it was time for students to not just leave school with academic skills, but experience and certification insisting that building human capital is what is key to a successful tourism industry.
She also stressed that developing passion points, which only our respective people could offer and that interested tourists in one country specifically would expand the appeal of the respective destinations and get locals involved in the tourism value chain.
This explained the veteran tourism advisor would help with the high level of ‘leakage’ in the Caribbean.
Leakage is the revenue lost because of how much of the goods associated with tourism are imported McDonald-Riley explained, noting that the Caribbean has about 80 percent leakage.
“This means that for every dollar spent by foreign tourists 80 is lost to the importation of goods.”
Increasing the consumption of local goods is the way to lower this number and keep more money in the islands. She noted that agriculture and gastronomy were two surefire ways to do so, mentioning kite festivals and regattas as marketable events.
“The ability of the country to provide through local and indigenous processes determines the wealth gain from the industry, it could be the bed that they sleep in, do we manufacture it? The products that they use, the transport, this is an opportunity for us to earn a part of tourism.”
The event was held to a cozy but vested audience at the Beaches Turks and Caicos resort, and deemed a strategical success as it welcomed country leaders including Hon Washington Misick, TCI Premier and Anya Williams, TCI Deputy Governor.
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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