Jamaica for Sale (2008)

Jonathan Chambers, Diana McCaulay, Esther Figueroa

Jamaica may sustain a reputation as one of the most desirable tourist hotspots in the world, but this reputation is short-lived, according to documentarian Esther Figueroa, helmer of the scathing muck... read more raking documentary Jamaica for Sale. The thesis of Figueroa's film rests on the disturbing observation that tourism in Jamaica is skyrocketing, despite the fact that country itself lacks the corporate, economic and industrial infrastructure necessary to sustain the burgeoning demand. This, in turn (Figueroa suggests) will ultimately lead to the erosion of basic natural elements and aesthetic beauty that draw tourists per se. The film commences with a brief overview of Jamaican history, from the British-dominated colonialist era into the present, then spends time reflecting on the significance of a strike by poorly paid native workers, severely injured on the job at a local construction site. Figueroa both identifies and unveils a massive contradiction at hand: despite the veritable ruination of the Jamaican fishing industry and almost cataclysmic damage caused on natural venues by toxic resort runoff, the Jamaican government still insists on attempting to double the amount of tourism on the island by the year 2012 to an estimated 5 million tourists per year. The equation, as the filmmaker reminds the audience, doesn't quite add up. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi