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By Terrance Rey
For decades, Caribbean governments have proudly boasted about record-breaking tourist arrivals, expanding hotel developments, and billion-dollar tourism industries. But there is one uncomfortable question that we rarely ask ourselves:
Who is actually getting rich?
Jamaica deserves praise for finally confronting that question head on. Its Government has announced plans to repeal its outdated Tourism Act, dating back more than seventy years, and replace it with a modern Tourism Authority Act designed for today’s realities. The objective is not merely to modernize bureaucracy. It is to fundamentally change how tourism benefits the Jamaican people.
That is exactly the kind of leadership the Caribbean needs.
Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett has openly acknowledged what many of us have known for years. While tourism has grown tremendously, far too much of the money generated by visitors immediately leaves the country again through imported food, imported products, imported services, and foreign-owned supply chains.
A tourist may spend US$5,000 during a vacation.
But how much of that money actually stays in Jamaica?
Or in St. Maarten?
Or in Barbados?
Or in Antigua?
That question matters far more than how many tourists arrived last year.
Tourism Leakage Is the Caribbean’s Biggest Tourism Problem
Across the region, governments celebrate billion-dollar tourism industries while local farmers struggle to sell their produce. Hotels import vegetables that could have been grown locally. Restaurants import seafood that local fishermen could have supplied. Gift shops sell souvenirs manufactured thousands of miles away instead of products crafted by local artisans. Cleaning supplies, furniture, construction materials, artwork, uniforms, transportation, technology services, maintenance contracts, landscaping, and countless other products and services are routinely sourced overseas.
Every imported dollar is another tourism dollar leaving our economies.
The result is that many Caribbean islands have thriving tourism industries but relatively poor local populations.
That should concern every policymaker.
Tourism Must Build Local Wealth
The real wealth of tourism does not begin when the airplane lands. It begins long before that. It begins with the farmer planting vegetables. The fisherman preparing his boat. The carpenter building hotel furniture. The software developer creating reservation systems. The baker supplying pastries. The laundry company washing hotel linens. The taxi driver transporting guests. The artist painting local scenes. The tour guide telling local stories. The event planner organizing authentic experiences. Tourism should create an entire economic ecosystem. Not simply hotel jobs.
Time for “Local First”
Jamaica appears ready to move beyond voluntary encouragement toward building stronger legal and institutional mechanisms that encourage or require greater local participation in tourism supply chains. That is a bold move. Every Caribbean island should be studying this legislation carefully. Governments spend millions attracting tourists. Perhaps they should spend just as much energy ensuring that local businesses actually benefit from those visitors.
Imagine if hotels were expected to source a significant percentage of their fresh produce from local farmers whenever quality and availability permit. Imagine if government incentives for tourism developments were partially tied to demonstrated local purchasing. Imagine if annual reports measured not only visitor arrivals but also the percentage of tourism spending retained within the domestic economy. Those are the statistics that truly matter.
St. Maarten Should Pay Attention
This conversation is especially relevant for St. Maarten. We proudly call ourselves one of the tourism capitals of the Caribbean. Cruise ships arrive daily. Private jets fill our airport. Hotels operate year-round. Restaurants remain busy. Yet many local entrepreneurs still struggle to access this enormous tourism economy. Small businesses often cannot penetrate established procurement systems. Farmers face uncertain demand. Creative industries remain underdeveloped. Meanwhile, imported goods continue filling hotel kitchens and gift shops. That is not sustainable economic development. That is simply economic leakage.
Tourism 3.0 for the Caribbean
For years, Caribbean governments focused on attracting more tourists. The next phase should focus on creating more local wealth from the tourists already arriving. Success should no longer be measured only by arrivals. It should also be measured by:
- Money retained locally
- Local businesses created
- Farmers supported
- Manufacturers strengthened
- Young entrepreneurs empowered
- Communities benefiting directly from tourism
If tourism generates a billion dollars but most of that billion leaves the island, then something is fundamentally wrong with the model.
Jamaica Is Showing Leadership
Jamaica deserves recognition for being willing to rethink legislation that no longer reflects today’s tourism economy. Updating laws may not make headlines like a new resort opening. But it may ultimately prove far more important. The Caribbean has spent decades perfecting how to bring tourists here. Now we must perfect how to keep more of their money here. Because the true success of tourism should never be measured by how much visitors spend. It should be measured by how much our own people earn.
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Related news: New Tourism Authority Act to be developed in Jamaica
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