“Butch” Stewart: Caribbean leaders are ignorant

Jamaican Billionaire Gordon “Butch” Stewart has challenged Caribbean politicians to change their traditional concept of what export is and start seeing tourism as a key export product.

Stewart of Sandals and Beaches Resort fame said that this concept of tourism seems like it has been too complex for regional politicians to grasp.{{more}} He said that the concept of ships leaving the habour with sugar, bananas and other agricultural produce should be adjusted.

“People coming down the steps of an airplane which is a reverse type of export is too complex for the typical Caribbean politician that makes policy, to understand,” Stewart said as he addressed a workshop at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Miami earlier this week (June 17-19).

At the workshop which was dubbed “The state of the industry” Stewart didn’t hold punches back as he accused Caribbean bureaucrats of being ignorant policy makers and dubbed the just concluded Cricket World Cup 2007 as a failure.

Stewart said that the ignorance of the Caribbean leaders was seen in the investment of countless millions of dollars to bring the Cricket World Cup to the Caribbean amid promises of great returns.

“For the life of me I am still trying to find out what the hell did we get out of it,” he said to rapturous applause by hoteliers and tourism sector personnel.

Stewart who is also the major shareholder of Air Jamaica said that the Caribbean is too fragmented with different views and attitudes and stressed the importance of having the right people in key tourism positions in the region.

He hailed the capability of Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) chairman Senator Allen Chastanet who he said understands the tourism industry.

He also high commendation for CTO’s Secretary General Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, who has been described by the CTO as one of 50 people who contributed most to Caribbean tourism in the last half-century.(KJ)