The late Premier of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Robert Bradshaw, once said during the 1967 Anguilla Revolution that one reason he could not allow the island to secede was because “it held the key to the economic development of the entire Associated State.” Apart from its world-class beaches and tourism potential, Anguilla was then in fact a poorly-treated and grossly-dominated sister island which had inherited the embarrassing description as “a backwater of the Caribbean.”

It was the sheer will and unwavering courage of the leaders of the Revolution, and of the people in general, that Anguilla threw off its political millstone, set out on a course of self-determination and today has achieved phenomenal growth in its various economic development sectors, particularly tourism. With its up-market tourism industry and world-class hotels, Anguilla has become the envy of many of its neighbours, and such has been the rush by developers to “get a piece of the pie” that Government has had to put in force a moratorium on foreign investment.

St. Kitts, which has had a long history of economic dependence on its sugar industry, has now turned its attention to developing a strong and profitable tourism industry to sustain its economy. King Sugar is dead. There has been a constant turning away from the industry by local workers discouraged by low wages and certain traditional sugar plantation stigmas, reminiscent of slavery. Even foreign workers showed a disinterest in recruitment to St. Kitts as cane-cutters.
At last, unable to compete on the world market with other sugar producers because of the failing industry (due to falling prices, competition and various other factors), the Government reluctantly closed down operations. The abandoned fields have however become part of the scenic beauty of St. Kitts, and the railways formerly used to transport the cane to the boiling and processing factory are now the motorised pathways for tourism tours around the country. How creative!

The St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister says the intention of his Government is to develop an up-market tourism industry. It is known however that St. Kitts-Nevis is one of the region’s biggest cruise ship destinations with thousands of passengers regularly embarking there. Mass tourism and up-market tourism do not mix well. How St. Kitts will be able to manage this will be left to be seen. If one of the plans is to encourage smaller luxury ships of up to 250 high-end travellers or mega yachts, with big spending vacationers, it would not be a bad idea.

Anguilla must continue to maintain the lead it has taken in tourism in the Caribbean. Its up-scale tourism industry must continue to grow and succeed and all the social challenges which threaten to impede its progress must be quickly and firmly eliminated. Anguilla must continue to inspire the rest of the region with its growth and development and the empowerment of its people. St. Kitts-Nevis with which the island was once linked must be no exception. After all, that is what our Revolution was all about.

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