Sometimes things seem to happen in pairs. Right now, for instance, we are going through a tempestuous time in Guyana with a range of voices and concerns connected with the country’s looming development as a producer of oil, with the back and forth an almost daily experience. Coincidentally, at the very same time, in the Cayman Islands, where I lived for 25 years in my previous marriage, the farthest point in the Caribbean from Guyana, there is a similarly tempestuous situation as that country is struggling with issues pertaining to proposed looming changes in its already successful tourism industry. The Cayman story is interesting because, unlike Guyana, it is happening in a place one-hour by air from Miami, and already generally deemed to have one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean stemming from the highly successful tourism industry started in the 1960s.
The similarity, though, is that both countries are on the cusp of seemingly significant economic booms, with the one in Guyana being connected with oil discoveries offshore. The turmoil in Cayman is connected with essentially a further stage in their tourism development, which has to do with the arrival of the mega ships in Caribbean tourism and which, given its proximity to Miami, and Cayman’s pristine beaches, is creating the furore now raging there.
Historically, Cayman’s cruise ship tourism has operated largely through a port in the capital, Georgetown, on the western side of Grand Cayman Island. From that downtown hub, cruise ship passengers fan out in island tours that cover, literally, every part of Grand Cayman and even to the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Coming from Miami, most of the ships anchor off Grand Cayman and visitors come ashore in tenders disembarking at the west-side port of Georgetown. However, a key difference is that with the recent development of mega cruise ships, most them carrying upwards of 5,000 passengers each, the powers that be in the industry are now calling for piers to be built in Grand Cayman so that passengers can simply step ashore as opposed to the slower and less comfortable tender transfer.
Reactions to this proposed “port development” is the hinge upon which much of the Cayman uproar swings. Some see the mega port idea as ultimately destroying the unique relaxing serene flavour of a Cayman visit and there are widely held fears that the dredging needed for the new piers will cause major damage to Cayman’s magnificent coral reefs and its marine environment; the new port proponents say this is false. The controversy led to government introducing a cruise ship referendum, with the entire population eligible to vote “Yes” or “No” on the proposed modernised port, so much so that some pundits are positing that Cayman’s present government, in favour of the new port, will be removed from office in the next general election if the vote comes back “No”.
The Cayman story is almost totally different from ours except that both essentially have to do with development of a natural resource – in our case, oil, in their case the natural environment – and the turmoil is at full boil in both cases. The other difference, of course, is that the Guyana one does not include public opinion surveys on any aspect of “Mister Oil” coming here, and also that there are major economic differences between the two countries.
As this is being written, the date for the proposed “Yes or No” Port Referendum is being finalised in Cayman for some time this month. The two cases are quite different, but they are very much alike from the standpoint of the controversy revolving around the prospect of “the better life” upon which they both swing. Largely a bystander watching the permutations, one is struck by how similar they are: one at the very top of the Caribbean archipelago, and one at its southern end. It should be noted that the Cayman controversy has been well ventilated with prominent voices on both sides being heard. There have been public meetings and several talk-show segments in the media, but there has been no clear sign of a swing either way. Will there be a clear “No” vote to the new port in Cayman; will there be a renegotiation on oil revenue with Exxon in Guyana?
