The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

It comes as no surprise that The Bahamas was dumped from the Ethical Traveler list for 2015. Global tourism trends are towards low-footprint, eco-friendly and sustainable destinations and away from the environmentally destructive, contrived landscapes of mega developments.

The government ought to take heed: we no longer live in the age where communication takes days weeks or months – it is instantaneous. The complaints of concerned citizens who speak out against environmental destruction and unregulated development will be heard by the world. We can no longer behave as though we live in a bubble.

Tourism is our business. As such, we should be paying attention to global trends which propel the country forward, not digging in our heels like we know what is best and ignoring our customer base.

It is no mistake that the continued construction of captive dolphin facilities was mentioned as a prime reason for our expulsion from the list.

On Tuesday, December 16, the government and reEarth went back to the courts, as the Christie Administration attempted to reinstate its appeal against the judgment closing Blackbeard’s Cay – and lost again.

The government had been ordered by the Court of Appeal to produce documents to the court by November 10, which they failed to do. Their reason – “it was inadvertent”.

The learned judges were not impressed and did not grant the reinstatement. Neither were they impressed with the fact that the developer of Blackbeard’s Cay, “Blue Illusions”, never bothered to enter the action even though they sat in as interested parties from the start of the trial in April of this year. Yet they showed up at the eleventh hour with an affidavit citing the cost of the development and lost jobs.

The judgment in July ordered that the captive dolphins at that facility be moved to a suitable location and that the land be restored to it’s original state.

The reality is that even without this disastrous case, The Bahamas would still have been dumped from the list because of existing dolphin facilities at Atlantis, Dolphin Encounters and UNEXCO. These facilities continue to tarnish our reputation; especially given the global outcry regarding captive dolphins in the wake of the documentary BLACKFISH, which exposed the inhumanity of keeping sentient, highly socialised mammals in captivity.

Additionally, the abuse of surrey horses remains ongoing and in everyone’s face. The deplorable condition of some of the horses and the rickety unmaintained carriages they have to pull for all to see is embarrassing to say the least.

The Bahamas lures tourists to our shores with stunning images of our natural beauty, while trashing these very resources and blatantly abusing animals. And this while the global shift in priorities for travellers is in the exact opposite direction. We could be leaders in conservation and animal rights, and therefore at the forefront of tourism trends once again, if only we had the right minds in government.

SAM DUNCOMBE

President, reEarth,

December 21, 2014.