How many beach chairs will be occupied this season?

But the global financial slowdown is threatening to put a damper on the 2008/2009 peak season.

Many hotels are offering special packages to tourists and in return, they are demanding relief measures from governments, some of which are being considered.

Already there have been lay-offs in the sector and more are expected.

From the Bahamas to Barbados, across the Caribbean governments are grappling with how best the 'save the season'.

BBC Caribbean's indepth report on the tourism industry coinciding with the start of the peak winter season - December 15

Have too many countries in the region become too dependent on tourism?

Who really controls the Caribbean's tourism industry?

What other industry should the Caribbean consider?

Is it too late to change?

In concept, tourism is also an implementation of the failed "trickle down" economic theory that is primarily responsible for the economic meltdown currently facing the US, the Caribbean, and the rest of the world. Hoping the well-to-do will leave some of their excess cash behind in the Caribbean when they come to have some fun in the sun is great; as extra income to the local economy, but this should be the exception not the rule. It's time we break away from the colonial mentality still deeply rooted in the minds of many islanders. It is time we become truly self-sufficient and look within for solutions, instead of looking for handouts from the outside. The time has come to put self reliance and sustainability in the forefront of what are the most important issues in the Caribbean today.
Ashmead Ali
Texas, USA

Caribbean islands have definitely become too dependent on tourism to fuel their economies. The credit crunch should be a wake up call for all. Diversifying into other activities would reduce the risk of economic doom. Given the friendly nature of our people we could bid for call centre contracts. If India can do it, why can't we?
Agriculture could be a favourable activity providing there is adequate land space.
Change takes time and careful planning like anything else.
Vidya Sookram
Vreed-en-hoop, Guyana

It is evident that tourist industry is and always was a temporary solution. Just take a look at the construction of the hotels themselves. A fifteen year depriciation is "plenty."
Curtis Adams
Sweetes Village, Antigua

The tourism industry is primarily dependent on external factors and as such is rather sensitive to international mishaps. I believe funds, especially those allocated by national governments, should be redirected towards other areas such as agriculture, sustainable manufacturing and technological and scientific development.
Candice Allen
Kingston, Jamaica

An over-emphasis on tourism by the former British Caribbean colonies is a classic example of intellectual and social policy failure. They inherited it from their parents' generation and continue with it as a matter of faith.
There are any number of better policies which could replace tourism as the main bread winner - although it should remain an important one.
For example, the CSME region has a market of about six million - twice the size of New Zealand and about that of Norway.
A proper endogenous growth policy, which bypasses the narrow restrictions of micro-states and treats the CSME area as one if properly executed, would see the region grow by leaps and bounds.
But a fragmented policy that depends on foreign direct investments, including dodgy financial regulations, tourism and remittances, is doomed to fail when there is a serious economic downturn, as we are currently experiencing.
We also have over-priced hotels that, in the case of Barbados, had a 70 per cent occupancy rate during the Cricket World Cup, a disgrace. Here is not the place to fully debate these failed policies, but these ideas are a start.
Hal Austin,
London

The notion of diversifying is truly wonderful, but with the limited finance and the shortage of the tourism dollar(pound & euro),that thought is fleeting in the wind. The Caribbean as Ja mentioned should have been looking at how to be as self sufficient as possible. Working from South American to Bahamas, each country growing, making, manufacturing something where the Caribbean nations don’t have to look outside of the region.
Now the crunch is on it is impossible for countries to come up with the capital to generate a second or even a third avenue of income for the country to run on.
Still, I am no economist, so maybe there is a way after all.
Beam King
Potters, Antigua

Caribbean governments have over relied on tourism as a quick fix for economic growth. Some governments base their budget address solely on the amount of cruise ship visits projected and the number of new hotel construction.
There is a pressing need for the region to feed itself. Many families rely on canned goods that have replaced food crops that are no longer grown locally. These issues/problems can be remedied by a renewed focus on agriculture. Although not a sexy thing for the young, agriculture saves precious foreign reserves and stimulates local and regional economies. It is comical to import salted cod when you are engulfed by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean governments, why do you import beans? Beans are easy to grow.
Former agricultural lands are now tourist resorts or poorly planned local housing.
Tourism is necessary, but let us see more emphasis on all the no brainer things.
Rogers
Nevis

This should be a wake-up call to all Caribbean countries which rely on tourism to diversify to other service industries that are compatible with tourism. Otherwise they will be caught off guard whenever this occurs. The industry isn't really controlled by us, however we can encourage & facilitate it with sustainable tourism incentives that targets different segments. We should be looking at IT, software dev., financial services, reinsurance & agri & mari-culture to divesify the economy to its fullest. Never too late, but the sooner the better
Lawrence Sticca
San Ignacio, Belize

I think the current economic downturn in the U.S. has definitely confirmed that tourism cannot continue to be the mainstay of fragile island economies. We need to bolster this tourism business by investing in science and technology, producing more jobs and making Caribbean countries less dependent on products that we might be able to produce for ourselves.
Oliver Thomas
Bridgetown, Barbados

Though it would be great for the region to diversify, towards what is the big question? Certainly I believe that we are by no means an example of sustainable tourism, do not co-operate enough at a regional level and promote tourism for the region in a vacuum. How many regions can boast of a foray into the Chinese market which is quite simply the next bastion of eager tourists to be explored? We have never fully understood the link between air transportation and tourism and there is a high degree of revenue leakage which means we do not benefit as much as we should. And we import too much food period. Who controls it? No one, at a stretch it is controlled by overseas interests and that's one of the biggest problems. It is not too late to change as it is imperative that we do.
Juanita Collins
London, UK

Diversification is the answer!
I am no economist but it is clear that relying on extra-regional income for non-essential services/products is haphazard.
The Caribbean ought to develop agro-industries to satisfy local demands, export regionally including to south America; develop regional maritime transportation so that inter-regional (movement) tourism may develop & contribute to integration with lesser reliance on extra-regional tourism.
Ja
Mayaro, Trinidad

Tourism is the life line of many Caribbean islands and a sudden change is just wishful thinking. The cottage industry, travel agents, tours buses, taxis and entertainment fraternity link directly to the Tourism Sector which accounts for thousands of jobs in the Caribbean. As a Jamaican, I am concerned with the downturn in tourist arrivals in the industry, the second highest foreign exchange earner to remittances. God help us all!
Dwight
Kingston, Jamaica

The Caribbean should now aim at a more balanced economic structure, with restoration of the status of agricultural production, and introduction of educational services.
In some regional countries, heavy reliance on tourism has contributed to chronic inflation, especially in the housing sector; this coould be a big problem in a recessionary environment, mimicking the current experience in America and the UK.
Meade Martin
Toronto, Canada