Tourism in the Exumas

My story map will follow a trip my family and I took in July 2019 to Great Exuma, Bahamas. Great Exuma is one cay among the 365 islands that make up the district of the Bahamas known as the Exumas. Our trip extended from July 11, 2019, to July 15, 2019, during which many days were spent exploring the many different beaches and cays of the surrounding area. Among these cays include Major Cay and Black Point Cay. The main places my story map will be focused on will be the Pig Beach, very famous to the area, Bitter Guana Cay, Thunderball Grotto, and the resort property, Grand Isle Resort and Residences. As the primary engine of growth for the nation's economy, the tourism industry is a vital, dynamic, and evolving industry. With a mature tourism infrastructure and progressive service industry, tourism has become the largest driver of economic activity in The Bahamas.

This storymap will utilize my personal vacation to the Exumas as an exploration into the aspects of tourism such as the asymmetrical relationships between the hosts and tourists, how tourist gaze impacts the marketing of the islands, as well as the tropicality of the Exumas. Each of these aspects embodies the process of shaping and marketing a place in order to gain tourist attraction. It also displays the discrepancies between the native population of the Exumas in contrast to the tourists who visit.

Pig Beach is a popular destination spot for tourists traveling to the Bahamas. Visitors from Nassau, the Abacos, and other Bahamain regions flock to see these pigs, however, they reside in the Exumas specifically Major Cay. The way the pigs ended up on the island is not factually noted, however, there are various theories and tales that discuss just how these pigs ended up on the island. Some say the pigs are said to have been dropped off on Big Major Cay by a group of sailors who wanted to come back and cook them. The sailors, though, never returned; the pigs survived on excess food dumped from passing ships. Another legend has it that the pigs were survivors of a shipwreck and managed to swim to shore, while other accounts claim that the pigs had escaped from a nearby island. Yet others suggest that the pigs were part of a business scheme to attract tourists to the Bahamas while another claims the pigs were stocked on the island in the 1990s by residents of nearby Staniel Cay to raise for food.

Despite the lack of factual knowledge on how these pigs ended up on the island, they are marketed as part of an authentic Bahamian experience as if the pigs are native to the island. The relationship between the tourist gaze and Pig Beach depicts the desire that tourists have to have "authentic" experiences that involve unique sights and encounters that can only be found in the place they are visiting. When tourists come to Pig Beach they are under a preconceived notion that they are experiencing something that ties to life in the Exumas. In reality, Pig Beach is specifically for tourist use and the tourism industry and does not pertain to "authentic" Bahamian life despite the impression the tourist is under.

Tourist gaze and Thunderball Grotto are tied together through the expectations tourists have because of Thunderball Grotto's appearance in the James Bond 007 film. The film and television industry showcase various settings leading to some being focal points of the production leading to individuals wanting to visit those places. Thunderball Grotto is among the many locations that have been made popular through the film and television industry. To be put simply, the film industry has the ability to bolster tourism and encourage individuals to visit places based on how they are depicted. The conveyances of these locations lead tourists to have a set of expectations on what they anticipate seeing. While the expectation may be fulfilled or tourists may feel let down if it does not live up it still entices people to visit these locations.

The discrepancies between the native people of the Bahamas versus the tourists visiting are stark and can be seen directly by looking at the contrast between typical Bahamian housing and life and the luxury destination properties that occupy the islands. Grand Isle is a luxury resort hotel offering a wide range of services for guests to enjoy. However, those who are employed by the hotel and other native Bahamians live under vastly different conditions than the presentation of the hotel. Within minutes of leaving the property, you enter the true authentic Bahamian lifestyle with various flea markets with locals selling and trading items. During my travels to the Exumas, we were able to talk to native Bahamians and ask about traditional life in the Bahamas. In the Exumas, access to healthcare is very limited, and serious medical attention requires a trip to Nassau, which is around 80 miles away. Many Bahamians also live in partially constructed homes because access to mortgages is not as available. When compared to the extensive amount of amenities and luxury opportunities of the hotel, Bahamian life varies greatly and many travelers do not ever see this side of what life truly looks like in the Exumas. Rather, tourists are only exposed to the idealized tropical nature and scenic aesthetics in order to create a more appealing tourism experience.

Here at Bitter Guana Cay, the tourism industry utilizes the tropics in order to draw tourists in. The cay is inhabited by iguanas that are native to the island and has beautiful views and perfect snorkeling spots for tourists to enjoy. While these iguanas are native to the island, the tourism industry has altered the typical life of the iguanas. These iguanas are marketed, photographed, and pretty much domesticated in order for tourists to be able to interact with them and visit their habitat. When visiting the island, some iguanas have been taught tricks and you are even allowed to hold them. The tourism industry highlights the tropical scenery of palm trees, crystal clear water, and exotic wildlife and alters it to be tourist-friendly. By doing this the Exumas has been capitalized on for its beauty and conformed to fit the image of what tourists want to see and visit, in turn losing some of its authenticity. The tropicalization seen at Bitter Guana Cay emphasizes the way the island: its wildlife and scenery have been reimaged for tourist consumption, which is also seen at Pig Beach.