Rum Histories: Drinking in Atlantic Literature and Culture

The book examines rum in anglophone Atlantic literature between 1945 and 1973, the period of decolonization, and explains the adaptation of these images for the era of globalization. Rum’s alcoholic nature links it to stereotypes (e.g., piracy, demon rum, Caribbean tourism) that have constrained serious analysis in the field of colonial commodities. Insights from anthropology, history, and commodity theory yield new understandings of rum’s role in containing the paradox of a postcolonial world still riddled with the legacies of colonialism. The association of rum with slavery causes slippage between its specific role in economic exploitation and moral attitudes about the consequences of drinking. These attitudes mask history that enables continued sexual, environmental, and political exploitation of Caribbean people and spaces. Gendered and racialized drinking taboos transfer blame to individuals and cultures rather than international structures, as seen in examinations of works by V. S. Naipaul, Hunter S. Thompson, Jean Rhys, and Sylvia Townsend Warner. More broadly, these stereotypes and taboos threaten understanding West Indian nationalism in works by Earl Lovelace, George Lamming, and Sylvia Wynter. The conclusion articulates the popular force of rum’s image by addressing the relationship between a meme from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films and rhetoric during the 2016 election year.

Omicron variant threatens Caribbean tourism recovery

Significance The move -- a response to the Omicron variant -- comes just weeks after the country reopened fully to international tourists. With tourism across much of the Caribbean having only recently started to rebound, Omicron’s emergence poses a major threat to island economies, and could stifle recovery before it has even really begun. Impacts Investment in tourism projects may pause while investors evaluate the potential impacts of Omicron. Businesses that survived 2020 lockdowns may struggle to endure another disrupted high season. Domestic tourism within source markets such as the United States may increase if people are deterred from visiting the Caribbean. The cruise industry may be particularly vulnerable, with cases among passengers causing sailings or port visits to be cancelled.

Caribbean-Wide, Negative Emissions Solution to Sargassum spp. Low-Cost Collection Device and Sustainable Disposal Method

Sargassum spp. blooms exacerbated by climate change and agricultural runoff are inundating Caribbean beaches, emitting toxic fumes and greenhouse gases through decomposition. This hurts tourism, artisanal fishing, shore-based industry, human health, standards-of-living, coastal ecology, and the global climate. Barriers, collection machinery, and Sargassum valorization have been unable to provide sufficient, sustainable, or widespread relief. This article presents a total Sargassum management system that is effective, low-impact, and economically scalable across the Caribbean. Littoral Collection Modules (LCMs), attached to artisanal fishing boats, collect Sargassum in nets which are brought to a barge. When full, the barge is towed to the deep ocean where Sargassum is pumped to ~150–200 m depth, whereafter it continues sinking (Sargassum Ocean Sequestration of Carbon; “SOS Carbon”). Costing and negative emissions calculations for this system show cleanup costs <$1/m3 and emissions reduction potential up to 1.356 → 3.029 tCO2e/dmt Sargassum. COVID-19 decimated Caribbean tourism, adding to the pressures of indebtedness and natural disasters facing the region. The “SOS Carbon strategy” could help the Caribbean “build back better” by establishing a negative emissions industry that builds resilience against Sargassum and flight shame (“flygskam”). Employing fishermen to operate LCMs achieves socioeconomic goals while increasing Sargassum cleanup and avoiding landfilling achieves sustainable development goals.

Central American and Caribbean tourism destinations’ competitiveness: A temporal approach

This study presents a new method for measuring tourism destination competitiveness based on data covering a specific time span. Issues, such as the type of data gathered, tools and methods employed, and the size and number of destinations, are addressed, as is the consideration of a specified time period. The proposal is based on the information given by linear regression equations, which not only enables the behaviour of destinations to be observed over time, but also facilitates their comparison. The data employed was from the period 2000–2019. Cluster Analysis was introduced to group destinations according to their performance. Moreover, various aggregation methods are proposed to obtain competitiveness rankings. A comparison between destinations was carried out using the non-aggregative and an aggregative approach. Certain destinations attained better positions than others that are considered as being more competitive in global international rankings. Five clusters were clearly identified. The results were consistent with the World Travel and Tourism Council outputs and underlined the importance attached to tourism development in the destinations from Central America and the Caribbean.