We Travel the World, But How Much of the Caribbean Have We Actually Seen?

Caribbean women for generations have been conditioned to believe that everything is better overseas. Magazines, television and other media, for example, market international cities like London, New York, and Paris, as highly desirable vacation destinations, the centers of fashion, luxury, the thrill of something different, and for their affordability.

Meanwhile, many think traveling within the Caribbean carries a heavy financial cost. In many cases, inter-island airfare can cost more than a ticket to New York City. For many, the logic is simple: If you’re spending that much money to travel to a nearby island, why not go farther and get more for your money?  But international travel isn’t necessarily more affordable overall. Because once airfare, shopping, accommodation and the overall experience are considered, the overall cost can quickly reveal itself not to be what it seems. The attraction isn’t necessarily that international travel is cheaper. It’s that it can feel like a better value.  In sharp contrast to the mindset of Caribbean women, we see visitors spending a small fortune to come to the Caribbean for beaches, food, people, culture and climate.

Meanwhile, we travel outward looking for what we lack; international visitors travel here for what we possess.

One reason why Caribbean women choose to travel internationally is not that the Caribbean lacks appeal, but that we have simply grown too familiar with our own paradise to see its worth. Which reduces the perceived novelty of regional travel.  For many who have grown up surrounded by beaches, family cookouts, similar music, and local vendors selling similar imported goods, it could feel like everyday life. Hence, they travel abroad to experience what feels different. While others travel to the Caribbean to experience what feels extraordinary.

It’s time to see our neighboring islands through fresh eyes and discover what we’ve been overlooking in our own backyard.