The Cayman Islands made a terrible decision in denying a bid by
Norwegian Cruise Lines' Leeward to call there on Feb. 1. The
islands denied the bid solely because the ship was under charter by
Atlantis Events, a gay tour operator based in Los Angeles.
The government initially rejected the proposed visit last
August, explaining that two other ships were scheduled in port on
Feb. 1 and it would be too crowded. But when NCL's port captain
expressed disbelief and made a series of appeals, Thomas Jefferson,
the Cayman Islands' minister of tourism, commerce and transport,
wrote a more blatant and unbelievable explanation:
"Careful research and prior experience has led us to conclude
that we cannot count on this group to uphold the standards of
appropriate behavior expected of visitors to the Cayman
Islands."
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No matter that this particular operator never had set foot in
the Caymans or that it had operated cruise charters since 1993
without incident to the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Turks
and Caicos, as well as to Club Med villages.
The incident reminded the gay community that in 1987, RSVP
Cruises, another gay group, had been given the cold shoulder when
Grand Cayman shopkeepers closed their doors to RSVP's passengers.
One would have thought that the island nation would have caught up
with the world since then.
Its action goes against everything the travel industry stands
for. It flies in the face of one of tourism's greatest benefits,
fostering cultural understanding between travelers and hosts at
destinations. It goes against the industry's tradition of openness,
tolerance and hospitality.
It sends a chilling message to gays as well as to other visitors
who believe there is no place for discrimination anywhere.
We do not subscribe to travel boycotts, which often are
misplaced, rarely work and needlessly punish innocent parties. But
certainly agents and their clients are right to demand their own
"standards of appropriate behavior" from a destination.