May 23, 2008
It's hard to know how a travel writer should feel about the fact that Nicaragua is becoming the least expensive Caribbean destination
Frequently, our ability to enjoy a luxurious vacation at low cost is brought about by the sub-standard wages of the people serving us. Years ago, the ultra-low rates of all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica were (and to some extent still are) based on cheap labor costs in Montego Bay and Negril. The same in the Dominican Republic. But both of these modestly-priced destinations are pikers compared to Nicaragua.
In a devastating article appearing in the current edition of The New York Review of Books (June 12, 2008), Stephen Kinzer points out (in "Life Under the Ortegas,") that 80% of the Nicaraguan population "subsist on less than two dollars a day." Twenty-seven percent of the population "is undernourished." The country has become a basket case of the tropics. Abandoned by the United States after the defeat of the Sandinista movement, left to drift without substantial aid or investment, Nicaragua is presently governed by a president (Daniel Ortega) who hasn't the slightest knowledge of economics or a plan to improve his nation's economy, and survives only because of essentially-free oil shipments from Hugo Chavez' Venezuela.
The United States, preoccupied with the Middle East, pays little attention to a nation that once worried us a great deal.
One hope for the future, according to Kinzer? Tourism. It has, he writes, a
Like many other travel writers, I have often written and spoken about the touristic appeal of Nicaragua, but without dwelling on the reason why costs there are so low. And it is perhaps fitting that we travel writers should leave un-mentioned the plight of the population in such a wretched country, all in the interest of slightly improving the lot of the people through increased tourism.
Or should we? As we lie on the beach and bask in the sun and click our fingers so the waiter will bring another drink, should we travelers pay some thought to the dreadful conditions that brought about our vacation pleasure?
Write and read comments about this post.
In a devastating article appearing in the current edition of The New York Review of Books (June 12, 2008), Stephen Kinzer points out (in "Life Under the Ortegas,") that 80% of the Nicaraguan population "subsist on less than two dollars a day." Twenty-seven percent of the population "is undernourished." The country has become a basket case of the tropics. Abandoned by the United States after the defeat of the Sandinista movement, left to drift without substantial aid or investment, Nicaragua is presently governed by a president (Daniel Ortega) who hasn't the slightest knowledge of economics or a plan to improve his nation's economy, and survives only because of essentially-free oil shipments from Hugo Chavez' Venezuela.
The United States, preoccupied with the Middle East, pays little attention to a nation that once worried us a great deal.
One hope for the future, according to Kinzer? Tourism. It has, he writes, a
... large potential: Nicaragua is among the safest and cheapest places in Central America, and a booming tourist enclave has already emerged around the beach town of San Juan del Sur. Some entrepreneurs also dream of creating retirement communities to attract middle-class retirees from the United States.Elsewhere in his article, Kinzer emphasizes that the crime rate in Nicaragua is "remarkably low, nearer to the rates in placid Costa Rica than to those in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the region's comparably poor countries".
Like many other travel writers, I have often written and spoken about the touristic appeal of Nicaragua, but without dwelling on the reason why costs there are so low. And it is perhaps fitting that we travel writers should leave un-mentioned the plight of the population in such a wretched country, all in the interest of slightly improving the lot of the people through increased tourism.
Or should we? As we lie on the beach and bask in the sun and click our fingers so the waiter will bring another drink, should we travelers pay some thought to the dreadful conditions that brought about our vacation pleasure?
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: nicaragua
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
